Why we need to ditch the pressure and just let thoughts flow

We read a thread by Paul Graham (@paulg) on X the other day that stuck with us. He was talking about how AI might replace writing, and in doing so, we might lose the ability to think deeply. Because writing isn’t just about getting words down—it’s how we understand the world.

But here’s what really got to us. That freedom to think? We’re already losing it. Not just because of AI, but because we’re obsessed with productivity. We've become so focused on organizing, templating, and systematizing everything that we've forgotten how to just write. That’s what we want to talk about.

The weight of productivity culture

Everywhere we look, productivity is treated like a virtue. Every app, every tip, every plugin is trying to make us more efficient. Note-taking tools aren’t just for notes anymore. They’re dashboards. Databases. Collaborative hubs with AI built in.

Before we can even start writing, we’re expected to pick a structure. Build a workflow. Decide where every thought fits. For a lot of us, that pressure makes writing harder, not easier.

We’ve felt it firsthand. Some of us have ADHD. The thoughts come fast, but they’re messy. We tried turning to tools to help bring order to the chaos. But instead, we ended up spending hours setting up systems we never stuck with. What we needed wasn’t more organization. We needed space to be messy. Space to just write.

AI and the risk of outsourcing thinking

In his thread, Graham paints a picture of a future where writing becomes niche. A handful of professionals might still write deeply. But most people won’t bother—because AI will do it faster and cleaner.

And sure, AI can put together a polished paragraph in seconds. But that’s not the point. Writing isn’t just typing. It’s thinking. If you can’t explain something clearly, you probably don’t fully understand it. That’s what writing helps you do. It makes your thoughts real. It sharpens them.

When we let AI do the writing, we’re not just giving up a skill. We’re giving up the mental process behind it. And if we’re already too burned out or boxed in to write freely, it becomes even easier to give up altogether.

Writing without rules

This is where we think the resistance starts. With writing that isn’t for productivity. That isn’t for output. That’s just for the sake of thinking.

There’s something incredibly freeing about letting your thoughts spill out with no structure. No expectations. No templates. Just pure, messy brain-to-page. The kind of writing where you start with nothing and end up somewhere surprising.

We’ve found that the more we tried to “optimize” our thinking, the less we actually wrote. We kept getting stuck at the starting line. It was only when we gave ourselves permission to be unstructured that things started to flow again.

Why this kind of writing matters right now

Graham’s point was that the people who keep writing will have a major edge. We agree. But we think that edge comes from how you write, not just whether you do. If your writing is always boxed into some system or purpose, you lose something. You lose the room to wander.

Writing freely helps preserve imagination. Curiosity. The ability to connect dots that don’t obviously go together. These are things AI can’t do. They’re also things structure-heavy systems tend to shut down.

If we only write to be productive, we’re already narrowing the way we think. But if we write freely, we keep that mental space alive.

A space to be messy

That’s exactly why we started working on Rebrew. We didn’t want to make another app that asked you to build a system before you could think. We wanted a space where you could just start. Where you didn’t have to choose a template or follow a framework. Just open a blank page and go.

Rebrew is built around that idea. Think first, organize later—if you even want to. It’s not about helping you be productive. It’s about giving your mind the freedom it deserves.

Let’s write like no one’s watching

So here’s our ask. Write without pressure. Don’t wait for the perfect system. Don’t worry about whether AI could have written it better. Just write. Let it be messy. Let it be weird. Let it be whatever your mind wants it to be.

Because in a world where everything is being optimized and automated, that kind of writing is one of the few things that still feels truly human.

Free your thoughts. Free your mind.

AI might change how we write, but it doesn’t have to change how we think. That part is still up to us. So let’s not give it away. Let’s write to think. Write to feel. Write to stay alive in our own heads.

That kind of freedom is worth keeping.

Rebrew Team