The deeper conversation

Instead of writing again about the same thing, I should continue writing about the same thing.

Cleaning the canvas

I’ve gone about writing the wrong way for as long as I’ve been writing.

There are usually two things I do. The first is writing about what’s on my mind. Usually, this is a mix of things I’ve read about, experienced, and the synthesised insights that come from them.

These are usually long notes, focused on a single topic that’s been on my mind that day, or sometimes for a couple of days. It’s like an offload. Cleaning the canvas, if you will.

The unfinished list

The other thing is that I sometimes plan what I want to write about. It’s usually a list of potential topics. I don’t think I’ve ever finished a list. At most, I’ve finished two topics.

It’s mostly been dead ends. Once I’ve decided on a topic, the fun of it dissolves because it starts to feel like a commitment. This is not conducive to my style of writing, which is very free.

Returning to what I’ve written

The first approach helps me write freely, but I tend to leave those thoughts behind. The second gives me a plan, but takes away the freedom that makes me want to write.

So what I’ve started doing is connecting my thoughts better, by returning to what I’ve already written.

It’s shit I care about

First of all, I stopped seeing notes as fleeting. They’re not fleeting. They’re not scratch pads. And what I write down is not just some random shit. It’s shit that I truly care about. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the interest in writing about it.

Secondly, I created a rule for myself: notes need to be revisited and written on further. This way, they can evolve from a thought to a research document to a finished piece.

Expansion and continuation

I see two ways of developing that depth.

One is expansion: raising questions within a note and answering them with new information. There is a time delay, because finding those answers takes time.

The other is continuation: one note’s content provides the starting thread of a new one. The thought develops across notes because the next one begins where the previous one left off.

Continue the conversation

The general rule is: continue writing on the same notes. Only start new notes if I encounter something truly inspiring or relevant, or if an existing thought opens a new thread.

Why do I care about this? Because when I read my notes, I find that I tend to write about similar things. Perhaps they’re distilled from different vantage points, but the core message is often closely related.

The deeper conversation

This means that my format is inefficient. Instead of writing again about the same thing, I should continue writing about the same thing. By staying with it, I can uncover more of what it means and how it connects to other things. In thoughts. In insight. In things I see.

I call this “the deeper conversation.” This conversation is about self-discovery more than anything else.

I believe that, ultimately, self-discovery is what anyone is most interested in past a certain point in life, unless they get stuck along the way.

A permanent place

To keep that conversation going, it helps to have a structure that gives the notes a more permanent place. I do this by periodically going through my notes and adding them to my slip-box, my system for organising and connecting them. This ensures that I revisit every note I’ve ever written at least once.

A temporary window into your past

Sometimes I just go through my slip-box for fun. Rediscovering old thoughts is fun. A temporary window into your past.

Surprisingly to me, reading an old note also calls up memories of the moments around the time it was written.

First written in September 2026.