The Curse of Convenience

ByJowi Witt

Hey Reader,

I just started a new book:
​4000 Weeks – Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.

I picked it up because after all the years of trying to beat productivity,
I start to have my doubts what productivity really means.

He also starts to talk about how everything is getting more convenient.

I like to use AI.
It gives my productivity a big advantage.
It’s a major boost.
I think that I actually get 20x more done than without AI.
AI definitely makes my life more convenient.

Yet there is also the chat about AI agents that can do more things.
As we are still in the beginning stages of AI—
who knows what will be developed.

At the same time, I’m writing this newsletter with a fountain pen on paper.
I write my newsletter on paper because I want it to feel personal.
My goal is to have you feel like you received a letter from a friend.

To make this personal, I can’t make it convenient.

The convenience would rob the personal touch.
The thought behind this newsletter could feel mechanical.

This is the curse of convenience.​
There is a lack of genuineness.

You can order a birthday card online.
It will be handwritten by experts.

Still—it feels impersonal to the receiver.

We ought to be careful about making our life too convenient​
or it will lose the human connection.

We might start with a lazy coffee stop,
but doing our customer service with an AI chatbot might be convenient—
but it’s not adding a human interaction.

We need to be careful to add friction back into our lives​
to make more meaningful interactions.

​

🪵 Keep chopping Wood!

Your Jowi

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