As a father of two, I often ponder this. I grew up with, fell in love with, and became reliant on the internet and apps—sometimes a little too much. Now, it’s AI.

A few days ago, I felt that my multiple projects (field notes, weekly newsletter, and Fernsage) weren’t working that well together. I opened up the Claude iOS app and started chatting with it to refine my ideas. I appreciate being able to bounce ideas with someone (or something, in this case). But Claude’s responses weren’t getting me anywhere. Frustrated, I picked up a pen and scribbled in my notebook.

Unlike chatting with Claude, which allowed me to be vague and still get a response, the physical act of writing on a page forced me to be precise. As Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” It wasn’t like I solved my challenge immediately. But writing exposed gaps in my thinking, which I had to confront. You could write on a computer, too. I prefer the flexibility to write and draw on paper, without having to think about what apps to use.

In the end, even though I didn’t find the perfect solution, I made better progress on paper than with Claude. (If you are curious: I write for fathers who want to be better parents in this tech/AI world; field notes serve as daily reminders while newsletters go deeper. And I use Fernsage to collect relevant stories and quotes for my writing and myself, as a dad.)

Despite the convenience and wonder of new technologies, a pen and a notebook sometimes work better. Are you stuck on any problems that could be better solved by thinking on paper? Are you doing the work or outsourcing too much to AI?