Who is Tiago Forte?
Tiago Forte created the Building a Second Brain methodology that 50,000+ students have taken. His framework (PARA method, progressive summarization) changed how people think about knowledge management.
Started Forte Labs over a decade ago teaching productivity systems to individuals and companies. Clients include tech startups, Fortune 500s, and creative professionals trying to manage information overload.
His book Building a Second Brain became a bestseller in 2022. The whole premise: your brain is for having ideas, not storing them. Tools should capture, organize, and surface knowledge when you need it.
The Tiago Forte tools list reflects 15+ years of testing productivity systems. He's not chasing new apps, he's using battle-tested software that survived multiple workflow iterations since the early 2010s.
Building a Second Brain with Evernote
Evernote is the foundation of Tiago's second brain. 15+ years of knowledge stored using the PARA method: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives.
Projects are active work with deadlines. Areas are ongoing responsibilities. Resources are topics of interest. Archives are inactive stuff. This structure makes finding information fast because everything has a logical home.
Progressive summarization is the secret sauce. First pass: highlight the best parts. Second pass: bold the best highlights. Third pass: summarize at the top. Each layer adds value without re-reading the whole note.
He still uses Evernote despite newer tools like Notion and Obsidian. Stability and search performance matter more than fancy features when you have thousands of notes accumulated over 15 years. Migration would lose context and break workflows.
How Tiago Manages Tasks
Things 3 handles personal task management following the same PARA structure. Projects sync with Evernote projects to keep everything aligned.
Quick capture inbox gets processed during weekly reviews. Tasks get assigned to projects or areas. No task lives homeless in the inbox for long because that defeats the whole GTD methodology.
The interface is minimal and Apple-native. After years of testing complex task managers (Todoist, OmniFocus, Asana), he settled on Things 3 because simplicity beats features when you just need to get stuff done.
BusyCal integrates for time blocking. Scheduled tasks appear on the calendar so deep work sessions are protected from meeting creep.
Capturing Knowledge from Reading
Readwise captures highlights from books, Kindle, articles, and podcasts. Everything syncs automatically to Evernote where it gets processed into permanent notes.
Daily review emails resurface old highlights using spaced repetition. Insights from books read 5 years ago pop up when they're relevant again. This compounds knowledge over time instead of forgetting everything a month after reading.
Progressive summarization gets applied to the best highlights. Not every Kindle highlight needs bold text and summaries. Only the truly valuable ideas get that treatment. Filtering signal from noise is what makes second brain systems useful.
The Tiago Forte productivity apps work together like a knowledge assembly line. Readwise captures raw highlights, Evernote processes them with PARA and progressive summarization, then future projects pull from that reservoir when needed.
Running Forte Labs Operations
ClickUp handles complex project management for course launches and workshop logistics. Gantt charts map out multi-month timelines with dependencies and milestones.
Notion serves as the team collaboration workspace. Course materials, student resources, workshop templates. Database views organize everything by cohort and topic for quick access.
Superhuman keeps inbox zero despite hundreds of weekly emails from students and clients. Keyboard shortcuts and snooze features align with GTD principles of processing everything without letting messages pile up.
The Tiago Forte tech stack separates personal knowledge management (Evernote, Things 3) from team operations (Notion, ClickUp). Different tools for different contexts prevents everything from becoming one messy workspace.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tiago Forte's Stack
What note-taking app does Tiago Forte use?
Evernote has been Tiago's second brain for 15+ years. He organizes everything using the PARA method (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives) and applies progressive summarization to distill key insights. Despite newer tools like Notion and Obsidian, he sticks with Evernote because migrating 15 years of knowledge would break workflows and lose context.
What is Tiago Forte's PARA method?
PARA stands for Projects (active work with deadlines), Areas (ongoing responsibilities), Resources (topics of interest), and Archives (inactive stuff). This organizational structure works across all his tools - Evernote for notes, Things 3 for tasks. Everything has a logical home which makes finding information fast instead of endlessly searching scattered files.
What productivity apps does Tiago Forte recommend?
The Tiago Forte productivity apps include Evernote for knowledge management, Things 3 for personal tasks, BusyCal for time blocking, Readwise for capturing highlights, Notion for team collaboration, ClickUp for complex projects, and Superhuman for email. Each tool survived 15+ years of workflow testing. He's not chasing new apps, just using battle-tested software that actually works.
How does Tiago Forte capture knowledge from books?
Readwise captures highlights from books, Kindle, articles, and podcasts. Everything syncs to Evernote automatically. Daily review emails resurface old highlights using spaced repetition so insights from books read 5 years ago pop up when relevant. Progressive summarization gets applied to the best highlights - not everything needs processing, just the truly valuable ideas.
Does Tiago Forte use Notion or Evernote?
Both, but for different purposes. Evernote is his personal second brain with 15 years of accumulated knowledge. Notion handles team collaboration at Forte Labs - course materials, student resources, workshop templates. Separating personal knowledge management from team operations prevents everything from becoming one messy workspace.
What makes Tiago Forte's workflow different?
Long-term stability over shiny new features. He's used Evernote since the early 2010s while everyone else switches apps every 2 years. The PARA method and progressive summarization work regardless of tool, but consistency over 15 years means his second brain actually compounds instead of resetting with every migration. That's the real advantage - accumulated knowledge that doesn't evaporate.