Forte Labs

The modern frontier of productivity.

May 30, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #12: Just-In-Case to Just-In-Time

In Part 11, I introduced the concept of a “critical path” of tasks in a project, and the rationale for pushing tasks as late as possible on

Oct 17, 2020

The Complete Guide to Landing a Book Deal

I recently signed a six-figure book deal with Simon & Schuster for my book Building a Second Brain.  As a first-time author, and in the

May 22, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #7: Interaction Over Consumption

In Part 6, I recommended treating any deliverable (whether it’s a simple email all the way to a full-fledged product) as a series of evoluti

Mar 16, 2021

Introducing: Praxis Fellows Essays

Hello Praxsters!I have something special to share with you today: the first contributions of our Praxis Writing Fellows!I recruited a few of

Dec 10, 2018

The Structure of Information Revolutions

In 1962, philosopher Thomas Kuhn published his landmark work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, forever changing our view of the histo

Dec 28, 2017

Progressive Summarization III: Guidelines and Principles

In Part I, I explained Progressive Summarization, a method for easily creating highly discoverable notes. In Part II, I gave you many exampl

Dec 31, 2019

My 26 Favorite Essays of 2019

As part of my year-end review, I always review my favorite reading of the year. These usually tend to be “long-form” online essays diving de

Oct 17, 2020

Introducing: How to Land a Book Deal

A Nine-Part Series, from Concept to Launch

Oct 17, 2018

The Maker’s Guide to Content Curation, Part 1: Open-Sourcing Your Learning Process

One of the best ways to advance your career, start an extra income stream, or become an entrepreneur is by creating content.  By “content” I

Feb 16, 2019

Behind the Scenes of a Profitable Online Course

I advise everyone I know to create an online course. Everyone has something to say. Everyone has valuable knowledge that others could benefi

May 22, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #6: Evolving Deliverables

In Part 5, I introduced The Iron Triangle of Project Management and the idea that any given deliverable can be reduced or expanded in scope

Jun 3, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #16: Effective ROA

In Part 15, I advocated for multithreading, or weaving together multiple projects to take advantage of unexpected opportunities and synergie

Jun 10, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #20: Speed as a Capability

In Part 19, I argued that continuously finding new sources of motivation was the most important challenge for knowledge workers, and that th

Aug 17, 2017

Strategically Constrained: How to Turn Limitations Into Opportunities

I first came across the idea that great strengths can emerge from great constraints in Ryan Holiday’s book The Obstacle is the Way. He takes

Oct 17, 2020

Negotiating Your Contract

Once you’ve accepted an offer for the publishing rights to your book, it’s time to draw up and sign a binding contract. Many of these contra

Jun 10, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #19: Explosive Inspiration

In Part 18, I introduced the idea that our states of mind come and go in “waves of motivation,” and that we should try to use them to our ad

Mar 16, 2021

Paranoid Productivity

By Christina LuoProductivity is about managing emotions as much as projects. Yet we often focus on productivity as a toolset more than a min

May 28, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #11: Late Starts on the Critical Path

In Part 10, I argued that digital knowledge work was fundamentally different than other kinds of work, because its structure, features, and

Oct 17, 2020

Own Your Writing Platform

Publishing a book is like running for political office. There are a lot of people out there who you want to take a certain action, at a cert

Oct 17, 2020

Evaluating Your Book Idea

In the beginning, is a message. You have something to say. A message that wants to get out of you. That needs to get out of you or else it w

Mar 5, 2018

Progressive Summarization V: The Faster You Forget, The Faster You Learn

In Part I, I introduced Progressive Summarization, a method for easily creating highly discoverable notes. In Part II, I gave you examples a

Mar 11, 2019

My 10-Step Book Publishing Strategy

In The Four Pathways of Modern Book Publishing, I described the main routes for a writer to get published today, and in The Case for Traditi

Apr 12, 2018

Trekonomics: The Economics of Post-Scarcity

I recently finished listening to the audiobook of Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek (Amazon Affiliate Link), by Manu Saadia. It was pr

Jan 22, 2021

The Modern Swipe File

15 Unexpected Uses for Digital Notes