Essentialism Meets AI: How We Wrote a Book in a Weekend While Prioritizing Self-Care
Essentialism Meets AI:
How We Wrote a Book in a Weekend While Prioritizing Self-Care
I’ve always been pro smart ways of working. On the weekend I tested this with my dear friend and colleague Inger Mewburn (aka The Thesis Whisperer and a quarter of The Whisper Collective collaboration) on a writing retreat with what I called ‘mission write this book’. We’ve been talking about writing a book on side hustles for years and we decided to finally do it, adding on a weekend to conference commitments as we were both in the same state at the same time. But here's the twist: we've had a third collaborator – an AI assistant from Anthropic named Claude! Together, we formed a cyborg team of incredible brilliance, leveraging each other's strengths and skills and feeding into my curiosity of how human and AI can work together to do good!
(Side note: I know many of you right now are saying something like, “you did what?”, “what did you write?”. Well, here it is…Rich Academic, Poor Academic (purchase a download from my website or via Ko-Fi), a medium sized book (200 + pages!) loaded with practical tips and insights into the Creative, HR, Marketing and Finance Departments that we have learnt, are often asked about, and now share out to you to help you set up your side hustle. You can purchase it for the cost of a coffee (the literal cost of a coffee that Inger purchased in Port Elliot, helping us recoup some of the expenses from our writing retreat on the coast of South Australia.)
Images: On location for our writing retreat, young person selfie (thanks for the lesson, Inger) capturing our cottage and writing space in Encounter Bay (left) and editing in the South Australian State Library before Inger caught a flight back to Canberra (right).
As humans, Inger and I brought our knowledge, content, and personal experiences to the table. Claude, on the other hand, provided the crafting expertise, helping us shape our ideas into a cohesive and engaging piece of writing. Throughout our collaboration, we had several insightful discussions that not only enhanced our work but also taught us valuable lessons about the power of human-AI collaboration.
Image: Feedback, encouragement, and the cyborg connection.
We noticed several themes that contributed to the success of our partnership:
1. Train Claude to know what each voice writes like and then what this looks like as a shared collaborative united co-authored voice.
2. More detail and specifics both trains and drains (it is a fine line), push the cyborg collaboration but careful of it becoming a bit silly and over creative that the tone moves towards something unfamiliar to your style.
3. Know the content so you can highlight specific features.
4. Clear and specific instructions.
5. Providing context and background information.
6. Openness to clarifying questions and additional guidance.
7. Receptiveness to suggestions and alternative perspectives.
8. Specific feedback and guidance for refinement.
9. Positive and appreciative communication (even AI works well with this – screen shot).
10. Collaborative problem-solving.
11. Editing (you have to edit and craft Claude doesn’t do it all).
By leveraging these practices, we were able to create a supportive, motivating, and creative environment that allowed “us” to produce our best work. What's more, we discovered that collaborating with an AI like Claude not only led to better outcomes but also supported healthier ways of working and enhanced our overall wellbeing…we are for the cyborg way of working illuminating smart ways of working that meant our best selves thrived. Interested in what might be possible for you, try these coach yourself questions.
Coaching Yourself:
1. How can I identify areas in my work or personal life where collaborating with an AI could be beneficial?
2. What steps can I take to establish clear communication and guidelines when working with an AI collaborator?
3. How can I remain open to suggestions and alternative perspectives offered by an AI, while still maintaining my own vision and goals?
4. What strategies can I employ to ensure that my collaboration with an AI supports my wellbeing and promotes healthy ways of working?
5. How can I leverage the lessons learned from this cyborg team's experience to enhance my own collaborative efforts, both with humans and AI?
We wore the AI co-author out: That was unexpected!
Inger and I embarked on the 2.5-day writing retreat over a weekend, fully expecting to emerge exhausted and drained, as we normally would for a writing retreat. However, we finished feeling energized, refreshed, and accomplished, despite having pushed ourselves to new limits. We entered the weekend with clear intentions – a plan, pre-writing, a structure, and a stretch goal of what we wanted to achieve. We smashed this goal, and more with a clear output (the book written) and well-defined next steps (book to workshop translation), without the usual level of exhaustion. It was like having a superhero sidekick who could take on some of the heavy mental lifting, helping us avoid that dreaded cognitive overload that so often leads to total burnout (and a need to have a day off after the writing retreat). But here's the thing: we wore out Claude our AI teammate. We believe this is because the tipping point of cognitive overload was dispersed to our AI collaborator. Interestingly, Claude required afternoon naps and rest periods, as we had pushed our digital teammate to its limits at times. The training, crafting, reminders, content, queries, rephrasing, speed and depth of our work pushed Claude to need rests, in blocks of time before they would be able to continue working with us.
Image: Claude rest check in.
This was a good thing for all of us, we can both have an overwork streak in our working routines when we are in flow and geeking out. We integrated self-care into our schedule knowing Claude also was not able to work ten hour writing days. We planned gentle easing into the day, roadmap for the day and check ins over a coffee/green tea, lunch away from the screen, walks, actual stopping before we made mistakes or couldn’t sleep at the end of the day, cooking dinner, and enjoying trashy television to totally wind down. Our cyborg partnership was healthy this way, so unexpected, so appreciated. This experience led us to ponder: is this how AI and humans can come together in creative ways that are mutually beneficial? Is this how AI can help us to work smart and work to the essential?
Essentialism in Action: Applying the Three-Step Process to Your Projects and Wellbeing
“When we don’t purposefully and deliberately choose where to focus our energies and time, other people–our bosses, our colleagues, our clients, and even our families–will choose for us, and before long we’ll have lost sight of everything that is meaningful and important.”
— Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown (https://amzn.asia/961LzEX)
In connection to the concept of essentialism, there are principles we can apply to the process of undertaking a project or task (we were writing but we can translate the principles to anything really) and caring for our mind and body. I love how Greg McKeown's work challenges us to be intentional about where we focus our time and energy, and I think there's so much wisdom we can draw from that, especially when it comes to our approach to projects/tasks and overall wellbeing.
So, let's imagine that our projects and habits are like the clothes in our wardrobe. Just like we might hold onto clothes that no longer serve us, we can fall into the trap of clinging to habits or projects that don't align with our goals or values. We keep saying yes to everything, piling more and more onto our plates, until we're left feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from what truly matters.
But what if we took a cue from the essentialist playbook and started being more intentional about our projects? What if we got crystal clear on what we want to create and why, and then focused our energy on the projects and habits that support that vision?
Here's how we might apply McKeown's three-step process to our projects with self-care integration into the everyday:
1. Explore and Evaluate: Instead of asking, "Is there a chance I might want to complete project this someday?" we get honest with ourselves and ask, "Does this project light me up? Does it align with my values and goals? Is it an absolute yes?" If the answer is no, then we know it's a candidate for the chopping block or at the very least some serious tweaking and job crafting. This is where we get intentional about what we say yes to, and start letting go of the projects that don't serve us.
2. Eliminate: Once we've identified the projects and habits that aren't essential, it's time to actively eliminate them. This can be tough, especially if we've invested a lot of time or energy into something. But just like McKeown suggests asking, "Does this task or commitment align with my project's core purpose? Will it move me closer to my goal, or is it just a distraction?". This helps us get clear on what's truly worth our time and energy, and let go of the rest.
3. Execute: Finally, once we've streamlined our energy levels and honed in on the projects that matter most, it's time to create a system that makes executing our intentions as effortless as possible. This might mean carving out dedicated time each day, finding an accountability partner to keep us on track, creating rituals that support our wellbeing and creativity or tuning into energy levels at various times of the day according to elements/parts of the project. The key is to make the essential things as easy and automatic as possible, so we can stay focused on what really matters.
So, my invitation to you is this: take a cue from the essentialist playbook (and our cyborg Claude weekend collaborative writing adventures) and start being more intentional about your projects and the integration of self-care practices. Get clear on what lights you up, and let go of the rest. Find collaborators (including the AI type) who can help you, share your vision, and/or support each other in staying focused on what matters most. And above all, remember that caring for yourself is not a luxury – it's an essential part of the creative process.
Coaching Yourself:
1. What physical, emotional, and mental cues can I learn to recognize as indicators of my energy levels throughout the day?
2. What small changes can I make to my daily routine to better support my physical and mental wellbeing, such as incorporating regular breaks or movement practices?
3. How can I prioritize self-care activities that recharge my energy levels, even when faced with a busy schedule or demanding workload?
4. What strategies can I employ to maintain focus and motivation when pushing through challenging tasks, while still being mindful of my limits?
5. How can I leverage my collaboration with an AI like Claude to optimize my energy management and support a healthy balance between mind and body?