Monday Morning Ritual

It is Monday morning, and I am starting the week the way I often do, coffee in hand, clipboard on the desk, pen uncapped. My laptop is open, my phone is nearby, and my AI tools are ready to go. And yet, I am about to write on paper.

I use AI every day for everything from scheduling to writing to voice cloning. I work with clients to integrate AI into their businesses, helping them automate, streamline, and innovate. But when it comes to certain kinds of notes, I still reach for the clipboard and pen.

Some habits stick not because they are old-fashioned, but because they still work better than anything else.

The Ritual of Note-Taking

Everyone has their quirks when it comes to notes. I am a circler. When I finish a task, I circle it instead of crossing it out.

My wife crosses items out. Early in our marriage, we realized we could not share a notepad. My circles clashed with her slashes.

Over time, I noticed others have their own variations too. Some add checkmarks, others highlight or use asterisks. It is personal shorthand.

That is part of what I love about handwritten notes, they are personal. My pages carry my marks, spacing, and emphasis. Even my rushed handwriting tells a story.

A Visual Learner’s Best Friend

I have always been a visual learner. I remember things as images, whether maps, layouts, or how a page looked. Handwritten notes work with that strength.

They create a mental snapshot I can recall later. Where the circled items were, how far down the list something was, or even the doodle I made in the margin.

It is not just about memory. Writing slows my brain just enough to process. That slowing down is valuable in a fast-paced digital world.

The Pause Effect

AI can record and transcribe everything instantly. But that speed can make us skip the thinking step.

When you write by hand, you cannot capture every word. You have to listen, decide what matters, and summarize. That act of choosing is reflection itself.

It is like panning for gold. Digital tools scoop up everything. Handwriting forces you to sift and notice the flecks that matter.

The Hybrid System

In most meetings, I take digital notes and let AI transcribe. But I still jot a few lines on paper.

Why. Because my brain works better with the tactile feedback of pen on paper. It is not about replacing transcripts, it is about reinforcing what matters most.

Students and entrepreneurs I mentor often do the same. They know they will get a clean digital summary later, but they still take notes. It is about making sense in the moment, not just preserving for later.

Digital Is Not the Enemy

I rely on digital tools daily. They let me search months of notes in seconds, summarize meetings, or read them back to me.

But they do not give me the visual anchor of handwriting. They do not recreate the scrawl in the margin or the underline I made in a rush. Those details matter because they are mine.

Why It Matters

We live in a time where almost everything can be captured automatically. That is amazing for productivity, but it risks making us confuse recording with remembering.

When you write by hand, you are not just recording. You are distilling. You are leaving a mark inseparable from the moment it was formed.

For me, the clipboard is less about notes and more about navigation. A map I draw as I go, one circle at a time.

Final Thought

Even with a GPT in my pocket, I keep my pen in hand. Not because AI is not extraordinary, but because some parts of thinking cannot be outsourced.

Writing by hand slows me down in the best way. It gives me space to connect the dots before deciding which ones to circle.

That is worth keeping, ink smudges and all.