Forte Labs

The modern frontier of productivity.

Feb 12, 2019

The Free Agent Ecosystem

One of the most exciting trends in coming years will be the formation of cooperative working groups made up of independent contractors.  Whe

Aug 14, 2018

The 5 Challenges of Becoming a Digital Nomad

In Part 1 of the Going Nomad series, I explained why my partner Lauren and I are moving to Mexico at the end of the year. In Part 2, I’ll te

Oct 10, 2018

Tiago’s Life Goals

I’ve decided to post my list of life goals here, after years of being cagey and secretive about them. My fear has been that people will some

Jul 20, 2019

Tiago’s 2019 Mid-Year Review

The following are the results of my Mid-Year Review, which I do every year around the beginning of July. It is a simple process of reflectio

Oct 16, 2020

The Ins and Outs of Offers

After you’ve written your proposal and sent it to publishers, the future of your book is in their hands.  If you’ve done your job effectivel

May 22, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #9: Placeholders

In Part 8, we looked at divergence and convergence as the two fundamental modes of all creative work. Now let’s see what this looks like in

Oct 8, 2018

A Maker’s Ethos in the Era of Networked Attention

Once upon a time, we faced the scourge of Information Overload. Too many emails with too many details producing too many open loops to keep

Jun 24, 2018

PARA Part 8: Core Principles of Digital Organization

Over the past year, I’ve seen P.A.R.A. implementations of all shapes and sizes. I’ve seen them from every corner of the globe, in languages

May 22, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #8: Divergence and Convergence

In Part 7, I argued for the importance of interacting with information, instead of just passively consuming it. Interaction results in bette

Apr 30, 2019

Superhuman: The Fastest Email Experience Ever Made

This is a recording of a live walkthrough of Superhuman, an email client that works in the browser and on iOS and connects to any Gmail acc

Dec 3, 2018

10 Things I Learned as a VA with Tiago

By Kathryn Tongg 1. Establish the preferred method of communication right away. Everyone has a way they prefer to communicate. Whether this

May 19, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #5: The Iron Triangle

In Part 4, I introduced the idea of “intermediate packets.” Instead of delivering value in a big project that spans huge amounts of time, we

Oct 16, 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

Jul 24, 2018

Why I’m Moving to Mexico

My partner Lauren and I are moving to Mexico City later this year. This post explains why, both to clarify for myself, and to be able to sha

Jun 9, 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

May 21, 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 9, 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 8, 2019

The Four Pathways of Modern Book Publishing

In The Future of Ebooks, I laid out a vision for what books could become in a world free of technological constraints. But the modern realit

Oct 13, 2019

Interview with Billy Broas of Email Boss

This is an interview with my online course marketing coach and creator of the Email Boss program Billy Broas. It is an in-depth discussion i

May 18, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #3: Flow Cycles

In Part 2, I described the sublime and powerful experience of flow, which could be considered the “holy grail” of productivity. I argued tha

May 26, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #10: Structure, Features, and Purpose

In Part 9, I explained why it is so important to create placeholders for your work-in-process: to allow you to pursue multiple projects acro

Dec 27, 2017

Progressive Summarization II: Examples and Metaphors

Let’s look at how a single source can proceed through the layers of progressive summarization. These are Layer 1 notes I took on an article

Oct 16, 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

May 30, 2018

Just-In-Time PM #13: Component Thinking

In Part 12, I described the shift from a just-in-case to a just-in-time philosophy of work, using late starts as an example of the benefits