Emotional Tagging… Yes, you can, and should.

With thought types and tags in TheBrain you can add a level of classification that has no limits. Thought tags and types work great as secondary attributes on a topic, like how things make you feel. Create emotion tags like joy, inspiration, love, nostalgia, etc. This method can help in recalling information more vividly and can make the process of reviewing notes a more personal and emotionally engaging experience.

Capturing Life's High Points, because you will forget.

And this leads me to the more general effort of capturing life’s high points. I encourage all users to document not just academic or professional information but personal milestones, happy moments, and significant life events. These can be tagged as 'joyful moments', 'milestones', 'love', or 'personal achievements'. By doing this, your knowledge base becomes a repository with personal history and emotional journey. One of TheBrain’s power users Omer Aziz has a very cool thought type in his Brain called “strong moments”. It was something he demoed in one of his webinars several years back and I absolutely loved it because you don’t often think of these special ah ha moments when you peak, so capturing them in your Brain can bring huge personal insights.

Anecdotal Notes, the Juicy Stuff.

Include personal anecdotes related to the information topics. For instance, if you are researching a topic you are passionate about, include a note on why this matters to you personally, how you first became interested, or a memorable experience related to it. Now you may be thinking I already know the answers to this why bother here? Well, like any good journal or picture album these clear luminous events tend to fade with time. Having a digital memory of this stuff becomes a treasure as the years go by.

People-Focused Thoughts and Notes

Create a section in your Brain for people who matter. Include notes about family members, friends, mentors, anyone significant in your life. These notes should capture not just names and contact information but also cool memories, why they are important, and what you have learned from them.

Passion Projects, Always

Your Second Brain is really for everything. Work-related projects and thoughts are critical but don’t forget to add your passion projects. This includes hobbies, volunteer work, or any personal projects. Detailing the journey, challenges, and what one loves about these projects can make the knowledge base more holistic and personally meaningful.

Mood-Focused Reflection

In addition to thought types and tags you can create sections in your Brain that focus on emotional or mood-based content. This gives you the freedom to brainstorm and go deep on an emotive subject. Add areas for your inspirations, motivations, as well as a reflections section. Your notes can have inspiration quotes, images, and more in-depth diary entries.

Visual Emotional Cues and Aesthetics

You can dramatically alter the mood of your Brain by curating thought type colors and wallpaper. Use visual cues like colors, icons, or images to represent different emotions. For example, red for things you’re passionate about, light blue for calm, reflective thoughts, or yellow for joyful ideas. TheBrain's zoomable icons can be used to instantly mouse over images of events or inspirational photos to get you in the right mood.

In addition to your overall Brain's default wallpaper setting, you can utilize TheBrain’s dynamic wallpaper feature. This enables you to change your background when you click on different thought types. For instance, a "completed projects" thought type can launch an image of a horizon to support the mood of progression. These subtle cues make your knowledge base visually appealing but also emotionally intuitive.

Reflective Prompts to Get Started

Adding affective based tags opens the flood gates for new self-knowledge but sometimes if you have an existing Brain focused mostly on work projects or research you may wonder how to get started. You can start by revisiting past notes and key sections in your Brain with a focus on emotional growth and understanding. Ask yourself questions like “How did this event make me feel?” or “Why is this memory important to me?” Or as mentioned above you may prefer to create a fresh new area to brainstorm in.