I Write (sometimes). Maybe You Should too.

2026-05-04

Thinking is hard.

Well, that statement isn't entirely accurate. I should say: intentional, focused, and sustained thinking is a challenge. It is a skill. And as you likely know, the best way to hone a skill is through diligent practice.

I enjoy writing my ideas down. Sometimes it feels like a plain white jigsaw puzzle that I must painstakingly piece together without clues. Other times, my conscious mind simply needs a place to offload. It feels overloaded with themes, music, and images—all weirdly linked by a thin string that connects them in an incoherent but meaningful way. With this essay, I am somewhere between those two extremes. Regardless of the motivation, I never regret the time spent putting pen to paper (though my handwriting still sucks).

I believe writing is the gateway for the physical materialization of a thought. Not all of us are blessed with telepathy, and oral traditions have waned over time. Personally, I wouldn’t trust our 21st-century, information-saturated brains to carry our knowledge to the next generation. The quickest way for a thought to gain material form is through writing—whether digital or old-fashioned.

For now, let’s focus on writing as an asset for clearer thinking. If you have ever struggled to remember what you did yesterday—or lost the "brilliant punchline" to a pitch or joke—then you understand the value of an audit trail for a wandering mind. I keep a weekly work journal to document who I talked to and where I left off with my code or team discussions. Being human, I also admit I use it to remind myself that I was a contributing member of society the day before.

The best part of documenting is the compounding effect. Reading a simple note from a decade ago catapults you through time. You wonder what sparked that thought, what you were craving when you wrote that grocery list, or what you were "high on" when you wrote that masterpiece of an abstract. In that moment of discovery, you might not notice that by evaluating your past self, you have become a tad wiser and more nuanced. You have to be a better thinker just to accurately judge the value of your past work.

If you’re looking for a way to start, here is some unsolicited advice:

1. Choose a tool. I have tried Notion, Obsidian, Evernote, and fancy binders. My current partner is Craft. I’ve also experimented with voice notes and video blogs; they aid in documenting thoughts, but I personally don't make the time to re-watch or re-listen to unscripted monologues. If that is your jam, go for it—there are plenty of AI tools that can transcribe your speech anyway.

2. Just start. The "how" doesn't really matter. A decent tool and a preservable surface are enough. Our ancestors used pointed sticks and stone, and that is now a whole field of study. Surely, you can do better.