How a Google Docs Aficionado Embraced AI

I'm fascinated with how the smartest people in the world get their work done. That's what Superorganizers is about: seeing all of the little habits that make up a great work day and a great life. Artificial intelligence has changed what it means to be productive and efficient at work, so we decided to revisit some of our favorite interview subjects to understand how their routines have changed in the era of AI models. Most recently, we spoke to engineer and personal encyclopedia creator Caesar Bautista. Today, we’re back with an update from Scribe CEO and author Eric Jorgenson.—Dan Shipper

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up to get it in your inbox.

In 2020, Eric Jorgenson told Every that he sees himself as a “hunter of knowledge” who used Google Docs as his primary habitat for capturing ideas.

As the author of The Almanack of Naval Ravikant and, more recently, The Anthology of Balaji, which detail business wisdom from AngelList cofounder and CEO Ravikant, as well as the investor Balaji Srinivasan, respectively, Jorgenson had built an intricate system of documents—all on Google’s workplace products. His philosophy was simple: “My work product is in Google Docs, and words are my medium.”

Five years later, Jorgenson’s digital habitats have changed slightly. Now as the CEO of Scribe Media, a book publishing company that helps subject-matter experts write and publish books, he’s evolved beyond Google Docs to embrace new productivity tools. But perhaps the most significant shift in his workflow has been the integration of AI as what he calls an “incredible sounding board” in his daily work.

Automate compliance and accelerate growth with Vanta

Achieving SOC 2 compliance can help you win bigger deals, enter new markets, and deepen trust with your customers—but it can cost you real time and money.

Vanta automates up to 90% of the work for SOC 2, ISO 27001, and more, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving you up to 85% of associated costs.

Download the SOC 2 checklist to learn about the compliance process.

Download the checklist

Want to sponsor Every? Click here.

We caught up with Jorgenson to discuss how his organizational systems have evolved, the ways AI has transformed his decision-making process, and why the human element of “taste” remains out of reach for even the most powerful AI tools.

How has your life and work changed since we talked?

In September 2023 I joined Scribe Media as CEO, where we help experts, entrepreneurs, and executives write, publish, and market their books. Scribe was founded 10 years ago by Tucker Max and Zach Obront, with a business model allowing authors to retain 100 percent of the creative, legal, and financial control of their books. I’m excited to get to support authors now after all the help I received publishing my first two books.

In 2020, you were devoted to Google Docs. How did you get hooked on using them as an organizational tool?

The simplicity, universality, and collaboration was what brought me into Google Docs. It is still a go-to, but the functionality and integration feel like they’re now behind other tools like Airtable and Notion, so those are much more commonly used in my day-to-day now.

Google Docs are still my preference for when I’m writing or editing books (often in offline mode). At Scribe, we also use running Docs to organize all of our meeting notes and agendas, which is extremely convenient. We use Notion for our knowledge base and Teamwork to manage our projects.

Has AI changed the way you work?

Become a paid subscriber to Every to unlock the rest of this piece and learn about Eric's app stack.