This is the time of year when I check in. It’s not just about what I need to finish off the year. It’s really more about what I want for next year. And not in those big dreamy terms but in what I need to do, practically, to make things smoother for me in the next year.
And as I think and start to implement these things, I also reconsider, or refine what I had previously said I would do or never do.
This month’s check-in has me rethinking just the way I do all my technical/operational things. Do I want to keep doing them the way I’m doing them, which is more Luddite than AI? Or do I want to consider using some of the newer tools and processes that supposedly make my life easier?
One of those tools on my list was Wispr Flow. So I spoke my initial draft of this post into Google Docs instead of writing it.
I wouldn’t call it a full success. There was a whole paragraph it missed – interestingly enough, where I questioned the difference of dictation vs. keys to a keyboard (vs. hand to a piece of paper). The tool also crashed and locked up my computer for a bit.
Hmmmm…
This is another example of why I stay as Luddite as I do. I research a new thing, try it and find myself always reverting back to my old tools. Because sometimes nothing works as well as a simple tool designed for one thing. And sometimes it is about the flow and feel of the work as you are doing it.
I felt lost as I was speaking into it since it wasn’t putting the words down as I spoke. I know I could use other software to do the same thing…still….
As I’m editing (and editing a GREAT deal), I’m not sure it was any success at all. Except that I don’t think I’m going to use it and can take it off that mental list of things to try.
Still I know that I am at the point where I could use assistance on some basic tasks. I am not ready to hire out though. I want to be in control of when, where, and how. And I know that I am not ready to show someone how I want it done. That’s just me. Maybe I’m being a control freak or maybe paying attention to my capacity at a given time.
So right now, no changes.
I will keep double-checking my spreadsheets and just checking in on what I am doing. For both my side business and keeping track of my larger professional career in other capacities. Similarly, I have tried multiple and other ways to track my progress over the years yet I stick with the ones that I grew up or grew into an adulthood with.
I will likely always argue that the simplest is best.
Sometimes all of these new things, particularly all of these AI things that are jumping up and “helping” you – they aren’t. They do not know you and do not know your business. They do not have your best interests (or anyone’s best interests) at heart. It’s all about feeding into it – it is a taker. I’m not going to say don’t use it. I’m just asking you to remember that.
I recently listened to a talk by the Thoreau Society about the book Finding Your Walden: How to Strive Less, Minimize More, & Embrace What Matters Most by Jen Tota McGivney. The discussion was about the true cost of things. Not just the financial costs or even the time cost, but the other costs to society as a whole, to the people you love. This quarter’s check in really was about having the time and space to consider those things and how I want to and would like to engage in many things in the future.
So what do I really need help with right now?
I need help with slowing down and letting myself power down into a quieter mode, a more reflective mode, especially around this time of year. And I’m not sure any technology “tool” is going to help with that.
