{"id":1527,"date":"2023-01-01T23:02:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T07:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/?p=1527"},"modified":"2023-01-02T12:31:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-02T20:31:15","slug":"second-brain-video-producer-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/second-brain-video-producer-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"The One System That Slashed My Work-Related Stress by 90%"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-b741ef09 gb-headline-text\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/create-illuminate\/the-one-system-that-slashed-my-work-related-stress-by-90-73d7f7d16c95\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">This post was originally published on Medium.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"9f48\"><strong>As a corporate video producer (on the agency side), stress has been a near constant in my life during the past decade.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"06f5\">If you also manage creative projects for a living, you can probably relate to this short, non-exhaustive list of things that&nbsp;<strong>spiked my stress<\/strong>&nbsp;daily:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Remembering details<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>from past meetings<\/strong>&nbsp;(and not looking dumb or unprepared in future meetings)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Taking action at just the right time<\/strong>&nbsp;(particularly when waiting for dependencies), minimizing bottlenecks and costly delays<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Giving workers just the right information at the right time<\/strong>, increasing the odds of creative iterations being well-received (and therefore keeping the entire project on time and on budget)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Keeping track of a jumbled mess of assets and constantly evolving info<\/strong>&nbsp;spanning across client emails, internal chat threads, agency DAMs, and my own meeting notes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"3e91\">Although I\u2019ve been taking digital notes at work for many years, more often than not, my notes never ended up being particularly helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"39df\"><strong>Stripped of identifying context, my cryptic notes from different projects were often jumbled together, making them barely searchable\u2013 much less actionable.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"82b9\">And inevitably, I\u2019d often find myself in meetings where many of us (colleagues and clients alike) seemed unable to accurately remember the latest developments\/decisions in a project, resulting in delays, frustration, and backtracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"1327\"><strong>Everything changed when I committed to a structured, unified, systematic approach to digital note taking and task management.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ddc7\">Enter: Second Brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-1921207b gb-headline-text\"><strong>Benefits of Using a Second Brain at Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<figure class=\"gb-block-image gb-block-image-6f9636a9\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-for-Video-Producers-Apple-Notes.png\" class=\"gb-image-6f9636a9\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-for-Video-Producers-Apple-Notes.png 3000w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-for-Video-Producers-Apple-Notes-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-for-Video-Producers-Apple-Notes-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-for-Video-Producers-Apple-Notes-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-for-Video-Producers-Apple-Notes-1536x1024.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-for-Video-Producers-Apple-Notes-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n<p id=\"f648\">Unless you\u2019re new to the productivity space, chances are you\u2019re familiar with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Z18No1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow sponsored\">Tiago Forte\u2019s hit book, \u201cBuilding A Second Brain.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"1e0a\">Most of the people who champion the idea of the Second Brain online tend to fall into a few distinct camps: students, authors, online content creators. (Basically people who are working on sprawling, long-term personal projects.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"9247\">But&nbsp;<strong>9-to-5-ers and freelancers<\/strong>&nbsp;(especially Creative Project Managers like you and me), can benefit tremendously from building a Second Brain for work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"4814\">Here are just a few of the&nbsp;<strong>benefits<\/strong>&nbsp;you\u2019ll enjoy if you commit to building a Second Brain for work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Effectively knock out your most urgent tasks in short bursts<\/strong>, leaving you with plenty of time and energy to prepare for what\u2019s next without feeling overwhelmed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stop lying awake at night worrying about in-progress projects<\/strong>\u2013 all needed information and action items has been captured in your Second Brain, ready resurface at the appropriate time<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Never forget to respond to another message ever again!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"80c3\">Let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-cb5706df gb-headline-text\"><strong>Inside the Second Brain of a Busy Video Producer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"1b28\">To be useful, your Second Brain should be frictionless and readily available at all times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"ab45\"><strong>All Second Brains benefit from structure, simplicity, and speed<\/strong>, but it\u2019s particularly important for those of us who want to use our Second Brains to manage multiple creative projects with lots of moving, interdependent parts (often at breakneck speed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"65ad\">If you have to wait 30 seconds for Notion to open before you can take a single note in a bloated database during a fast-paced meeting, you\u2019re going to miss a critical piece of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"70ff\"><strong>For my Second Brain, I use only Apple native tools\u2013 Notes, Reminders, and Calendar.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"f80d\">That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-464700f5 gb-headline-text\">Apple Notes: The Knowledge Management Hub of My Second Brain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"30a2\"><strong>In my Second Brain, Apple Notes is the home of all information that isn\u2019t an action.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"b9e5\">For my work as an agency video producer, my Apple Notes includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Meeting notes<\/strong>&nbsp;(one note per meeting, with a header that clearly identifies the project\/account, meeting attendees, and meeting date)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Meeting agendas<\/strong>&nbsp;(oftentimes the agenda becomes the intro section of the meeting notes for a particular meeting)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Major decisions<\/strong>&nbsp;(e.g. the voiceover artist or music track that has been chosen for a particular project, with a link to the resource)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Budget overviews<\/strong>&nbsp;(at-a-glance summaries of how many hours\/dollars are assigned to each phase\/contributor of a project)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Checklists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"40c4\"><strong>Keeping all of my notes atomic (small and self-contained) has made them 10x more useful to me.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"eea7\">For instance, I used to keep all meeting notes for a project in one looong note, adding the latest info to the top. This made the notes unwieldly, and it was harder to find past information when I needed it. (Like when the client keeps subtly verbally increasing scope in the hopes that we won\u2019t notice\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"356a\">Now that each meeting note has it\u2019s own \u201ccard,\u201d I can easily see at a glance the key information that was discussed during each meeting \u2013 including how important details have changed\/shifted over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"gb-block-image gb-block-image-0e1e1b85\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2688\" height=\"1680\" class=\"gb-image gb-image-0e1e1b85\" src=\"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Notes-Video-Producer-2.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"Second Brain - Apple Notes - Video Producer 2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Notes-Video-Producer-2.png 2688w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Notes-Video-Producer-2-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Notes-Video-Producer-2-1024x640.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Notes-Video-Producer-2-768x480.png 768w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Notes-Video-Producer-2-1536x960.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Notes-Video-Producer-2-2048x1280.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2688px) 100vw, 2688px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"593d\"><strong>Another essential aspect of my Second Brain is using&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/fortelabs.com\/blog\/para\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Tiago\u2019s PARA method<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"1dfc\">Every project gets its own sub-folder\u2013 not just in Apple Notes, but in Apple Reminders too. (More on this shortly.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"053d\">As you can see in the screenshot above, I currently have 12 active projects that I\u2019m managing, which are all coded with an emoji that indicates the type of project it is (i.e. \ud83c\udfac is for video projects).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"0594\">Once a project is wrapped, I drag it down to my top level \u201cA R C H I V E\u201d folder (not visible in the screenshot).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"d557\">Because every project has its own folder, I can easily review my active projects at a glance, and quickly spring into action on the most urgent and important next steps awaiting my attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-3f025c9d gb-headline-text\">Apple Reminders: The Taskmaster of My Second Brain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"c601\"><strong>In my Second Brain, Apple Reminders is where all solo actions\/tasks live.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"fdfc\">Although knowledge management is the core function of a Second Brain, an effective task management system is essential for turning all that information into action and results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"37cd\">For my work as an agency video producer, my Apple Reminders includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Daily informal check-ins<\/strong>&nbsp;with the various editors, designers, and animators working with me that day, so I can help remove any roadblocks they\u2019re facing, decipher stakeholder feedback, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Time-sensitive research &amp; planning&nbsp;<\/strong>that needs to happen (i.e. music searches, creating production schedules, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Important client communications<\/strong>&nbsp;that need to be drafted and sent (i.e. sharing review files on a particular date, following up when feedback is due, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Crew bookings and communications<\/strong>&nbsp;that need to happen (i.e. staffing different crew positions, sharing logistical details with the crew prior to a shoot, etc.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"5d5b\">Even though Reminders don\u2019t need to be scheduled,&nbsp;<strong>I always assign a date and time to every single task<\/strong>, because I want to receive a notification when it\u2019s time to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"75c7\">By choosing&nbsp;<em>when<\/em>&nbsp;Apple Reminders notifies me about a task, I\u2019m able to avoid overwhelm, focus just on the actions that need to happen today (via the \u201cToday\u201d view), and find satisfaction in checking off tasks as the day progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"gb-block-image gb-block-image-8c9806d6\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2688\" height=\"1680\" class=\"gb-image gb-image-8c9806d6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Reminders-Video-Producer.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"Second Brain - Apple Reminders - Video Producer\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Reminders-Video-Producer.png 2688w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Reminders-Video-Producer-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Reminders-Video-Producer-1024x640.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Reminders-Video-Producer-768x480.png 768w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Reminders-Video-Producer-1536x960.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Second-Brain-Apple-Reminders-Video-Producer-2048x1280.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2688px) 100vw, 2688px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"64b6\">Like with Apple Notes, my tasks in Apple Reminders are organized according to PARA as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"74a3\">Because every video project has its own emoji-coded folder, every task that pops up in my \u201cToday\u201d view has a handy visual \u201ctag\u201d that indicates which project it\u2019s assigned to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"f0e0\">Apple Calendar: The Scheduling Center of My Second Brain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"4c08\"><strong>In my Second Brain, Apple Calendar is where I schedule all actions\/tasks that require real-time collaboration with other people.&nbsp;<\/strong>(In other words, meetings.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"cf5a\">I will also bring in some solo tasks from Reminders that require uninterrupted focus, and use&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/the-ascent\/to-do-list-not-getting-done-heres-why-9cd619f03af6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">time-blocking<\/a>&nbsp;to fill in the rest of my day around my meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"af4f\">While my calendar is arguably the least sexy component of my Second Brain, I wouldn\u2019t be a successful video producer without it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"2c5b\"><strong>For every meeting that\u2019s scheduled on my calendar<\/strong>, I pre-populate the header and agenda for a new meeting note for that meeting in the project folder. A minute before that meeting starts, I open the prepped note\u2013 and I\u2019m ready to start taking notes immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"089f\">And so my Second Brain comes full circle\u2013 from meetings, to info capture, to tasks, back to meetings, and so on\u2013 and with each subsequent project that crosses my threshold, I\u2019m building a treasure trove of increasingly optimized workflows for my job as a video producer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"57a4\">And when the next big, complicated, rush project comes my way\u2013 I\u2019m (calmly) ready for it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1527"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1527"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1545,"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1527\/revisions\/1545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.createilluminate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}