With AI coding agents, it is very easy to jump straight into coding.
I can build a prototype, test a UI, throw together a mockup, start shaping an idea in minutes. It is also very fun to do that.
On top of that, I designed my dev environment to remove friction. I can jump into a project and start coding instantly. Tmux sessions persist. Neovim is always ready. Custom git scripts automate flows. I used to run multiple projects in parallel. I could use git worktrees before AI coding agents existed. I put a lot of effort into removing any friction for coding. It’s very personal, but you can find about 10 years of optimizations in my dotfiles.
This does not work anymore.
Nothing changed with AI, but everything changed.
Now it is too easy to start a new project in the middle of another one, because I do not have to literally type the code. I can branch into a new idea with almost no cost. That means I start too many things and think less about each of them.
Is this the part where we complain that AI is ruining our attention spans?
No.
This is the part where I fix it.
Enter paper first.
Before producing any code or starting any new project, I must write about it by hand on paper.
Not in a note-taking app. Not in a scratch buffer. Not in a prompt.
On paper. With my hand like it’s 1999 and The Matrix just came out. This could also be deliberate friction and slowing the fuck down.
This changed my mindset from one day to the next. I focus more. I feel less anxious. I write more. I sleep better. And I still do not have to literally type the code when the time comes.
We’ll see what happens over the next few weeks. I expect I’ll get generally better results. Maybe. Or, if you prefer, Alan Watts can tell it better.
Go paper first.