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

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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.

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?

Absolutely. I can get much deeper answers much more quickly using AI now. This lets me make better, more informed decisions faster.

AI is an incredible sounding board. I often keep a voice chat open as I write or work, so there’s no friction to asking questions. I'm still disappointed with the ability for ChatGPT to write into Google Docs, but I'm sure that will be resolved soon.

AI is also an inexhaustible source of feedback. People get tired of being asked the same question 10 different times or 10 different ways. But with AI, options and iterations are essentially free. As long as you have the energy and effort to keep asking questions, it will keep answering them. 

As a very practical example, I use AI to run through our whole team’s individual goals to check against the SMART criterion (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). I run my monthly financials and board decks through AI and ask what questions I’m likely to get from the board. I think the expectations of quality and output for every knowledge worker just doubled—at least.

Every illustration.

Have you incorporated AI into this project or any other of your organizational practices?

AI has dramatically improved transcription technology, which is core to our product. We also do a lot of complex project management, and it has helped manage and intelligently access all of the necessary information.

What AI doesn’t yet do—and part of what we’re so good at—is taste. Of the 1,000 options AI can generate, which is the most excellent? Which will people respond to emotionally? 

The implications of AI across our lives and the entire economy are impossible to overstate.

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