In his latest work, productivity guru Tiago Forte expands upon his PARA method for organising information across projects, responsibilities, interests, and inactive materials. This brief book promises to help readers gain focus, unlock creativity, and stop wasting time looking for information - lofty goals for such a slim volume. Yet by focusing readers’ efforts around concrete goals rather than broad topics, Forte makes an ambitious case for the power of simplicity.
At just 18,000 words, The PARA Method introduces no major revelations for readers already familiar with Forte’s PARA framework or Zettelkasten note-taking system. Instead, Forte elucidates his model with ample examples and no-nonsense writing, stripping away needless complications from the world of personal knowledge management. Seasoned adherents may baulk at the book’s brevity or lack of new material. However, for newcomers overwhelmed by elaborate life organisation schemes, the book provides a simple and flexible starter kit.
While one reviewer felt the book contained too many filler graphics, its visual and textual examples help simplify concepts some readers have struggled to implement. By naming the inherent categories we organise around — Projects, Areas of responsibility, Resources, and Archives — Forte provides intuitive homes for life’s influx of information. Breaking broad topics like “research” or “marketing” into component projects and resources, he argues, allows for more targeted focus and clearer tracking of progress over time.
Critics caution that Forte’s system Constable constrains certain types of thought work, namely the free-association encouraged in the note-taking framework. However, PARA’s focus on actionability makes it uniquely fit for goal-oriented knowledge work. Though projects impose more structure than some may like, Forte insists perfectionism should take a backseat to simply maintaining the system. Even an outdated or messy PARA method, the book urges, beats muddy, overwhelming chaos.
Accessible and blessedly jargon-free, The PARA Method distils personal knowledge management down to its essence. By organising information by intended use rather than topic, Forte brings order to the deluge of modern life. While not without limitations, PARA’s simplicity lowers the barrier to entry for readers seeking to apply productivity principles amid real-world responsibilities and constraints. For those struggling to implement sophisticated methods like Zettelkasten or Building a Second Brain, The PARA Method offers an action-focused starter framework ripe for customization. More manifesto than manual, the book provides a philosophical lodestar and launching pad for readers charting their own paths toward creativity and control.
Reviewer: Chris Reed
Profile Books