> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.cesarrg.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # [Weekly Retro] A notebook and a pen - URL: https://www.cesarrg.com/weekly-retro-a-notebook-and-a-pen/ - Published: 2026-03-15T10:37:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-03-15T10:39:14.000Z - Author: César Rodríguez - Tags: Weekly Retro, Creativity #276 - Mar.2026 ***Weekly Retro** **is a short e-mail with a wrap-up of ideas from the week, interesting links I found, and food for thought before you head off for the weekend.* Hi there! Here is a quick idea for the weekend: > *"If you’re thinking without writing, you only think you’re thinking."* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/f4/10f4a52f-1b7d-4284-b66d-0fccfd9dc5da/content/images/2026/03/Scan3-2-1.jpeg) One of [my first](https://www.cesarrg.com/sketch-your-notes/) posts on this blog was about writing notes and sketching as a way of thinking. Carrying a notebook and taking notes has been one of my stronger habits during the last 13 years. It has become somewhat obsessive! (I always buy the same brand of notebooks and I recognize spending *too* much time and energy thinking about what is the best pen to write with...). Today, I feel that carrying a notebook and pens seems odd. It looks so impractical when digital tools can do a better job organizing information, automating meeting notes and sharing with others. While I take tons of digital notes too, my notebook is an important piece in my toolkit. Taking hand-written notes continues to have "something" that keeps me coming back. And I'm not referring to the[ scientific evidence](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/benefits-of-handwriting?ref=cesarrg.com) that writing by hand engages other areas of your brain improving retention, but I'm almost talking about the *spiritual* experience of writing this way (I told you that I've become obsessed). It creates a certain level of awareness. **Self**\-awareness. The [slow thinking](https://www.cesarrg.com/slow-thinking-in-a-accelerated-world/) that is much needed today. Yes, it feels unsexy. Old school perhaps? An anti-pattern for productivity? So, why keep doing it? Well. I don't really know. What I *do* know is that: It helps me when Im creatively blocked. I recall things better if I write them down. It's like an anti-stress pill (try doodling!) And when I go through my notes from previous years I realize how much I've changed. It helps me learn more about...me. ¡Saludos! ### ✍🏼 Tip on taking hand-written notes Over the years, I've been testing many ways of creating an **INDEX** to find things better in my notebooks (no, there is no "search option"). I haven't found any better technique than this one. The trick is making a **small mark** in the very edge of the page that you want to add to your index. In the first page of your notebook, keep all references aligned to these marks. When you want to find something, just blend your pages and you will quickly where you want! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/f4/10f4a52f-1b7d-4284-b66d-0fccfd9dc5da/content/images/2026/03/image-2-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/f4/10f4a52f-1b7d-4284-b66d-0fccfd9dc5da/content/images/2026/03/image-1-1.png) ### 📖 Word of the week #### AI brain fry > Which we define as *mental fatigue from excessive use or oversight of AI tools beyond one’s cognitive capacity.*Participants described a “buzzing” feeling or a mental fog with difficulty focusing, slower decision-making, and headaches. From a recent study published by HBR arguing that certain patterns of AI use are driving cognitive fatigue, while others can help reduce burnout. [When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry”As firms increasingly incentivize employees to build and oversee complex teams of agents—for example, by measuring and rewarding token consumption as a proxy for performance—people are finding themselves pushed to their cognitive limits. Participants in a recent study described a “buzzing” feeling or a mental fog with difficulty focusing, slower decision-making, and headaches. The authors call this phenomenon “AI brain fry,” defined as mental fatigue from excessive use or oversight of AI tools beyond one’s cognitive capacity. This AI-associated mental strain carries significant costs in the form of increased employee errors, decision fatigue, and intention to quit. The findings also show how AI-driven workflows can be designed to diminish burnout and point toward specific manager, team, and organizational practices to avoid mental fatigue even as AI work intensifies.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/f4/10f4a52f-1b7d-4284-b66d-0fccfd9dc5da/content/images/icon/android-chrome-512x512.png)Harvard Business ReviewJulie Bedard![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/f4/10f4a52f-1b7d-4284-b66d-0fccfd9dc5da/content/images/thumbnail/Mar26_06_1053577584.jpg)](https://hbr.org/2026/03/when-using-ai-leads-to-brain-fry?ref=cesarrg.com) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Learnings and insights for innovation. No spam, ever. Unsubscribe at any time. ### 🧪 Tools I'm experimenting with I write by hands but I still capture a lot of digital notes too. Continuing my personal [experiment](https://www.cesarrg.com/weekly-retro-knowing-yourself/) from the last couple of weeks, I'm added automations, skills and agents to my Obsidian vault. Giving Claude's agent explicit guidance to use [Obsidian CLI](https://obsidian.md/cli?ref=cesarrg.com) makes each operation much more accurate vs. using direct file operations over the .md files. Searches are more efficient and you can leverage Obsidian's tagging and classification operations. Adding this to your Claude.md file or agent prompt seems to work well: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/f4/10f4a52f-1b7d-4284-b66d-0fccfd9dc5da/content/images/2026/03/image-3.png) ### 🖋️ Quote of the week > **“Chance only favors the prepared mind.”** – Louis Pasteur ![César Rodríguez](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/f4/10f4a52f-1b7d-4284-b66d-0fccfd9dc5da/content/images/2024/09/image-2.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/10/f4/10f4a52f-1b7d-4284-b66d-0fccfd9dc5da/content/images/2024/02/CR_sign_2024-3.png) **César Rodríguez** [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/crodriguezguevara/?ref=cesarrg.com) / [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/cesarrg.blog/?ref=cesarrg.com) / [X](https://x.com/cesarrgv?ref=cesarrg.com) ****New ideas, every week.** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Join other innovation leaders, product managers, and creatives getting frameworks, ideas, and lessons for the builders and thinkers shaping what's next. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.