As we all experiment with AI and how it can help, I went down a rabbit hole over the last month that I wanted to share. I called it “The Daybook”. It was an automated daily note. It ran every night, pulling in my calendar, my open tasks, my repeating chores, and anything else I might need before the day started. It was pretty advanced and I enjoyed building it.

But I found myself not looking at it. So I tinkered with it. And I still didn’t read it. The assembly was never the problem. By the time that page existed the thinking was already done, and somebody (or some thing) else had done it.

A note handed to you is something to review. A note you wrote yourself is something you already know. I realized that writing the list is how I find out what’s on it.

For a long time I’ve had an analog version of the Daybook. It’s a Field Notes notebook I carry around with me. The technology is wood and graphite and paper. The process is full of glorious friction and my Daybook experiment proved I actually need that friction in my life.

So I retired the Daybook. There is a lot that my computer can help me with. It just turns out I need to manage my life for myself. If I want to know what matters today, I have to be the one who writes it down.