A Digital Spring Clean
A new tool transforms my writing process
A weekly digest of notes, an eclectic blend of content and writing using the tools I use every day - Twos, Voicenotes and Kortex. (I’ve not created a digest for a while - I thought it was time I started again).
Here’s how this week went down!
The Short and Sweet Version
What Piqued My Interest
There’s a new tool in my kitbag! Something of a surprise and a very recent addition. It’s called Kortex. (Described as The AI Powered Second Brain. One place for all of your ideas, notes, highlights, and writing. Synthesize it all with kAI, without sacrificing your creativity).
I’ve been a Second Brain/PKM/notetaking fan since around 2021 when I first came across the concept, and the methodology of Zettelkasten. It transformed my writing and journaling, and led me to create my own digital garden, some of which I published.
At first I used Obsidian, then I dabbled with Notion, and spent some time in Tana. All amazing tools. All adding something new to my creative process.
Kortex has taken that a step further. It’s a tool designed by a writer specifically for writers, and while you can use it for a myriad of purposes, Kortex is for writing.
It comes with quickstart templates. Like many Second Brain tools, Kortex builds on connections (sometimes called backlinks) so that you can create your own jigsaw of content. Instead of staring at a blank screen, you can pull together notes that are connected by their themes, and construct an outline or post. It’s just brilliant. You can do this with Obsidian and Tana, but Kortex seems to make it easier.
I’m really enjoying using Kortex. I’ve imported all my existing notes, and synchronised with Readwise and Voicenotes (genius). I can pull any of this content into a document and craft something new.
This is a view of how I’m organising my documents right now. It will evolve!
These are some of my notebooks from 2019/2020 when I was more dedicated to cataloguing! I still don’t know what’s contained in these journals.
I’ve been writing a book called The Essence Map for a long time. It became unwieldly in Obsidian and difficult to corral all the content. I think Kortex is going to help with this.
I’d like to, gradually, pull out relevant sections from my notebooks so that I can add them to my book.
What I Created
The main topic of conversation on my Substack has been Muffin! He seems to have captured the hearts of so many, as he has captured mine. I’ve shared how he was successfully adopted by a ewe whose lamb had not survived and, after a few days in the orchard, they set off to pastures new with all the others lambs and their Mums.
From the Archives
While the whole now or never philosophy seems to have come into sharp focus post-60, I’ve obviously been thinking about this for some time.
I unearthed this post about Debbie Ford from my new Kortex archive.
Don’t do things that you don’t want to do. Don’t do things that bore you.
Best Quote of the Week
"You need to build a mausoleum in your head with big iron doors so that nobody can get in there except you. You don't let me in there. You don't let June in there, you don't let your manager in there, you don't let the record company people in there. You have to decide for yourself what you want to do with your music – and not let anyone else tell you."
– Producer Bob Johnson to Johnny Cash
Try the Tools I Use
Twos, Voicenotes and Kortex