It used to take me 8 hours toiling over a hot laptop to write my fortnightly newsletter. Now I do it in half that time.
Generative AI, right? Nay-nay, friends... pretty much the opposite. It's about Process.
"Process" sounds as much fun as scrubbing dirt from beets. But stick with me. Here's the non-robot, non-A.I., counter-intuitive first step in mine:
1. START WITH PEN + PAPER.
Write a list of your key points on paper with a pen. Flesh out those key points with a few bullet points.
Don't worry about "writing." You're welding the scaffolding for ideas that will become writing.
Why this works:
1️⃣ You write slower than you type. Working with analog tools slows you down. Your high-speed locomotive brain isn't screaming ahead to get to Next Sentence Depot. It has to wait patiently for your hands to catch up, like a car driver at a railroad crossing waiting for the train's caboose.
That slower pace ultimately delivers better insights.
2️⃣ You can't backspace or start over. You can only keep going.
3️⃣ It's the ultimate in distraction-free writing. Checking email. Scrolling LinkedIn. Clicking to another tab. You cannot. Because... well, paper.
***
Gen AI as a tool can help us write more efficiently (I share an idea or two about that in my Process, too).
But the point of our writing is to deliver insights and craft that could come only from us. No amount of AI-fueled efficiency or optimization is going to replace that.
Pens and paper and other analog tools can help exponentially.
Sometimes, the slowest way is the fastest way.
Love,
Ann
p.s. If you're not on my list, I would love to write to you every two weeks, too: https://lnkd.in/gsiMkmzZ
CEO / Managing Partner at DPDK Digital Agency
3yGreat insights from you, Ann, and Chip House!