Capture practices — what to save and how✎

Capture is the first and most foundational step of the CODE framework. Without a reliable capture habit, no organizational or distillation practice can function, because there is nothing meaningful to organize or distill. The challenge is not finding more things to save — the information environment is already overwhelming — but developing the judgment to save the right things in the right way.

The resonance filter

The most important decision in capture is what not to capture. Forte's primary rule of thumb: save anything that "resonates" with you on an intuitive level — often because it connects to something you care about, wonder about, or find inherently intriguing. Resonance is a faster and more reliable criterion than analytical evaluation, which is time-consuming and prone to second-guessing. By training yourself to notice when something resonates at a deeper level, you improve not only your ability to identify valuable information but your understanding of your own interests and patterns.

A closely related filter is surprise: if an idea or concept surprises you — if its significance is not immediately clear but something registers before your logical mind has fully processed it — that is your subconscious signaling value. Saving surprising observations in one centralized place increases the odds of discovering unexpected connections later.

Equally important is knowing what not to save. There is no value in capturing easily searchable facts (e.g., "the population of France") that a quick search engine query can retrieve in seconds. The second brain is better used for things that can't be easily re-found: inspiring images, moving poems or song lyrics, stories that touch you, and — especially — lessons distilled from your own life experiences. When you experience failure, disappointment, or major life shifts, you gain unique personal wisdom that lives nowhere else. Capturing those insights allows you to reflect on them and understand yourself better over time. In this sense, capture is not just about external information but about narrating your own experience back to yourself.

This means thinking like a curator rather than a collector. Much of the information flooding in through devices and feeds is useful and interesting in the abstract — but "useful in the abstract" is not the same as useful to you, in your current work and life. Unless you make conscious, strategic decisions about what to consume and save, you remain at the mercy of what others and algorithms choose to surface.

Read-later apps — separating consumption from capture

One of the most effective structural interventions is using read-later apps (Readwise Reader, Instapaper, Pocket) to separate the act of encountering content from the act of consuming it. Instead of immediately reading whatever appears in front of you, you save it and revisit it later at a time reserved for deliberate consumption. This breaks the reactivity loop where incoming information dictates attention, and allows you to choose what to consume rather than simply reacting to what appears.

Capture tools

The capture ecosystem consists of several categories of tools, each handling a different type of content:

• Ebook apps: export highlights and annotations from books directly into your notes app
• Read-later apps: save online content for deliberate later reading; export highlights into your notes app
• Basic notes apps: capture text snippets on the fly from a mobile device
• Web clipper apps: save parts of web pages, often built into the notes app itself
• Audio and voice transcription apps: create text from spoken words
• Social media apps: "favorite" content and export it to your notes app

The act of capturing typically takes seconds — hitting share, export, or save — and the content is preserved in the second brain permanently, synced across devices. The goal is a single, centralized place where diverse content intermixes freely, enabling unexpected connections and patterns to emerge across domains.

Where captured material goes

Captured material flows first into an Inbox — a temporary holding area — and is then processed into the appropriate PARA folder during a regular (typically weekly) review. This separation between capturing and filing means capture can happen quickly and without interruption; the judgment about where something belongs is deferred to a dedicated processing session. The whole filing process, once the habit is established, takes only a few minutes per week.

Everyday and relationship applications

Some of the most vivid illustrations of capture's value come from low-stakes, everyday contexts rather than professional projects. Forte describes keeping a "Christmas Presents" notebook: throughout the year, whenever a family member mentions something they like or he stumbles on a unique item, he clips the link or takes a quick note. At year-end, instead of stressing over holiday shopping, he simply opens the notebook and matches ideas to recipients — appearing highly thoughtful with minimal effort at the moment of purchase. Similarly, if you happen to be driving past a hardware store, you can open your second brain, navigate to a "household projects" folder, and instantly see a list of supplies compiled over previous weeks — turning a spontaneous moment into an efficient errand rather than a wasted trip or a forgotten need.

Relationship management is another underappreciated application. Abdaal describes maintaining a "People" folder in Apple Notes: after conversations with friends or colleagues, he notes personal details (e.g., travel dates, things mentioned in passing). When they next speak months later, a quick glance at the note allows him to ask tailored, thoughtful questions. What might seem robotic is, in practice, a way of showing genuine care — ensuring that limited attention is spent on what matters rather than on trying to reconstruct details from memory.