Write Every Day, Even When Your Brain Is a Mess
Don't wait until you have the perfect system. Don't postpone until your thoughts are "organized enough." That day never comes. Instead, just start writing. The writing itself will bring the clarity you seek.
I used to think I needed to be organized before I could write. That my thoughts had to be perfectly arranged in advance. Turns out, that's exactly backward.
The Power of Daily Writing
Writing isn't just about producing content – it's about processing your thoughts. When I stumbled across the Zettelkasten method on that flight to San Diego, I realized I'd been thinking about note-taking all wrong. I wasn't building knowledge; I was just collecting information.
The magic happens in the daily practice. Writing forces your brain to make connections it wouldn't otherwise make. Those fleeting thoughts you have during meetings? Write them down. That insight you had while reading a technical paper? Capture it. The crazy idea that popped into your head during your morning shower? Get it on paper before it vanishes.
Why This Changes Everything
Here's the transformative part: writing daily reshapes how you experience your role as a CTO.
My satisfaction no longer lies in the doing of my CTO responsibilities, but rather in the cultivation of my own knowledge. Everything I encounter becomes potential material for my personal knowledge system - meetings aren't just tasks to complete but opportunities to learn something new.
When you write regularly, your brain starts operating differently. You notice patterns that were invisible before. You make connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. The random chaos of daily CTO life transforms into a rich tapestry of interconnected insights.
As Niklas Luhmann, the creator of the Zettelkasten method, put it: "Every note is just an element in the network of references and back references in the system from which it gains its quality."
Start Today (Yes, Today)
Don't wait until you have the perfect system. Don't postpone until you have more time or until your thoughts are "organized enough." That day never comes.
Instead:
- Just start writing. Open any tool – Obsidian, a text editor, even a paper notebook – and dump your unstructured thinking. Don't judge yourself.
- Keep it small. Even 15 minutes counts. On your Momentum Monday, squeeze in 15 minutes to jot down obstacles to delivery speed. On your Teaming Tuesday, spend 15 minutes noting capabilities your team needs in the next year.
- Embrace the mess. The most valuable insights often emerge from chaotic thinking. Trust that your brain is making connections even when you can't see them yet.
- Build the habit. Make a non-negotiable appointment with yourself. I've found that writing first thing in the morning works best for me, before the firehose of Slack messages and emails begins.
Remember, your CTO Notebook is a body of knowledge. Your knowledge. It's a work of art – the art that is you. It doesn't belong to your CEO. You are the boss.
The serendipity of recalling knowledge adjacent to what you're looking for mirrors how the brain already works. And it is beautiful.
So write. Today. Right now. Even if – especially if – your thoughts are disorganized. The writing itself will bring the clarity you seek.