You must work on your ideas if you build a digital garden. And sometimes you need a few days, or even months, to fully elaborate a concept — that’s why you need a workbench.Project, drafts, research notes — collect everything you’re working on in this section.Example: Draft blog posts, research notes, ongoing projects.

🛠️ Workbench — Ideas in Progress

Use this section to capture fleeting thoughts, inspirations, or interesting conversations. It may be the book you read or the podcast you listened to this morning.Collect here everything that catches your attention. Anything that has the potential to be helpful in the future.Example: Notes from books, conversations, articles, podcast extracts.

🌱 Seed Notes — Raw Ideas

Your digital garden should follow whatever structure you want. It’s yours — organize it as you wish. But a clear structure will help it thrive if this is your first time. Here’s a proven setup.

2 — Set Up the Core Sections

Choose a tool that fits your style or that you already know. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, especially if you’re beginning.Popular options include Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research, or your website. I recommend Notion because it’s user-friendly and highly customizable. Also, if you’re already using my second brain template, it’s easier to integrate it into your existing workflow.

1 — Choose Your Platform

I started building a digital garden a few weeks ago, but it has changed my creativity.It transformed scattered thoughts into clear connections. Over time, this habit became more than just productivity — it enhanced my creativity and clarity and reduced stress.Download the Notion template and create your first three seed notes — ideas you've recently found intriguing, insights from something you read, or conversations that sparked your interest.Share screenshots or descriptions of your digital garden with our community. Let's inspire each other and celebrate these initial steps!

The Challenge of The Week

The resource library is a fundamental piece of a second brain, so we will also integrate it here. In this section, you will keep all your favorite articles, books, videos, and podcasts organized for easy reference.You can easily retrieve the source if you need to check an incomplete note. Or maybe you want to consult a resource to get more ideas. Put here everything you consume.

📚 Resource Library — Curated Inspirations

In this section, you will keep all the polished ideas you’ve developed further.Some ideas will never make it to this section. Yet, you will upgrade the best ones. You will actively take and build them further. They will become more complex systems. And you can always get back to check them whenever you need it.Example: Personal lessons, frameworks, summaries.

🍃 Evergreen Notes — Refined Insights

If you’re using a digital reader, you may have built small knowledge centers organized for each book. But you can’t decide how to organize those ideas. You are limited to the scope of the book. And that can become frustrating. Also, what about podcasts? You can’t take notes on Spotify or any other podcast app. At this rate, your mental notes will pile up, and you will forget most of them.

Tradition Note-Taking

Traditional note-taking is linear and static. You have a notebook or any other space and write everything there. But a digital garden isn’t organic. It’s interconnected and ever-evolving. And that’s why it works.Think of planting seeds (raw ideas), nurturing them (on the workbench), and harvesting valuable knowledge. If done right, a digital garden offers:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Organized, easily accessible thoughts. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">A dynamic system that grows with you. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Clearer, actionable insights that avoid overwhelm.</li></ul>Whatever your daily responsibilities, cultivating a digital garden can transform your productivity and creativity.

What Exactly Is a Digital Garden?

I love the <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/the-second-brain-method">idea of a second brain </a>. I wrote about it. I shared my Notion template a few months ago and have used it since then. But building a second brain is not for everyone. You don’t always need that level of complexity. Sometimes, all you need is something simpler to store notes and ideas. A dynamic space that lets your ideas breathe, grow, and connect naturally.Are you ready to grow your garden? Here's how to do it step-by-step. But first, what is a digital garden?

The Second Brain Technique

You're reading an excerpt from <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">The Challenge</a> — a weekly newsletter dedicated to self-improvement, goal-setting, habits, time management, and health tips.Every week, you'll receive:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">A life-enhancing challenge</li><li class="ql-align-justify">A custom infographic to track your progress</li></ul><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">Join 3700+ driven individuals</a> and take your first challenge.

The Challenge

Finally, you will have a central entry point with quick access to recent notes, favorites, and easy note-taking tools.

🏡 Dashboard — Central Hub

<a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">Unlock exclusive content</a> and take your self-improvement to the next level with a premium subscription.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">✅ The Productivity Mastery Series – Proven productivity systems in Notion, ready for you to implement.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">📚 The Challenge Book Club – Actionable insights from the best personal growth books so you can apply their lessons without reading them all.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">🔥 Monthly Exclusive Content – The top 5 must-read articles, behind-the-scenes life updates, full archive, and more.</li></ul><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">Join 3700+ driven individuals</a> who are serious about growth. Upgrade now and invest in your future.

Next Steps

As for a real garden, a digital one will thrive only if you give it attention daily.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Make it a habit. Add one new note per day to keep ideas flowing.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Refine regularly. Review seed notes every month and turn them into evergreen content.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Delete old ideas. Some concepts remain frozen for so much time you don’t even remember why you wrote them. Delete them before your seed notes section becomes too crowded.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Connect ideas. Use internal links and tags to create meaningful connections.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Experiment with formats. Don’t limit yourself to text. You can build mind maps, lists, tables, or visual notes. </li></ul>

3 - Keep Your Digital Garden Growing

Traditional note-taking is broken and outdated. You highlight books, save articles, and jot down ideas. But when was the last time you used those notes? Probably never because it’s not efficient.

The Problem With Taking Notes

Creating a digital garden doesn’t need to be complicated. I will also give you a Notion template to start. But if you wish to update it or create your own, here’s what you may want to do.

How to Build a Digital Garden

To get you gardening quickly, I've created a <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-building-a-digital-garden">comprehensive Notion template</a> you can use immediately (find the button below in the article).What’s Inside:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Pre-build sections: Seed Notes, Evergreen Notes, Resource Library, Workbench and Dashboard.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Tagging & filtering system for organizing ideas.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Example notes demonstrating how to use it.</li></ul>How to Use It:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Beginner user → Use it as it is for immediate productivity and creativity.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Advanced user → Customize with your categories and workflows.</li></ul>

The Digital Garden Notion Starter Kit

Stop losing ideas! Learn how to build a digital garden to organize, connect, and grow your knowledge — plus grab a free Notion template to get started!

2 — Set Up the Core Sections

Similar ideas to 2 — Set Up the Core Sections

Effective communicators rely on structure

Set Clear and Achievable Goals

Get emotional