Friday, April 17, 2026

Don't Stop Writing

In the Age of AI, it may sound quaint, but when I used to teach writing courses, I recommended that students write every single day, 365 days of the year.

For those who find writing to be a challenge, that sounds like a pretty harsh assignment. Even for those to whom writing comes more easily, it may sound extreme.

But my reasoning (and my experience) is that making writing part of your daily exercise routine will pay dividends over time. And only over time can you expect to improve; with writing there are no instant fixes.

Enter artificial intelligence. Now, students can and are taking advantage of this technology to replace the work of learning the craft or writing with robot-generated texts.

It would appear that old writing teachers like me have lost the battle — definitively.

But wait! There is new evidence that living the more friction-less life AI offers is bad for your cognitive function. This is one of those “use it or lose it” situations.

According to neurologists interviewed by the Washington Post, “Making life harder sounds deeply unfun, but it might be good for your cognitive function.” Also:

“The brain’s No. 1 job is to help you survive.”. 

The article continues: “Throughout your daily routines, the brain conducts a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether a choice is worthwhile. Challenges require more energy, so, whenever possible, the brain prefers ease to difficulty. The brain also responds to rewards, such as the dopamine hit that comes with instant gratification (whether easy entertainment during a social media scroll or a perfectly written text message courtesy of Claude, the artificial intelligence chatbot).”

Also: “In a 2025 study, researchers looked at 580 university students, 57 percent of whom used AI on a daily basis while the rest used it several times a week. They found greater AI use was linked to a reduction in critical thinking skills, possibly because of an association with cognitive fatigue — a depletion of mental resources essential for complex thinking. In another 2025 study, which looked at 666 people of diverse ages and educational backgrounds, a researcher found that AI was linked to a reduction in critical thinking skills. Cognitive off-loading, which is essentially using tools to reduce the cognitive load on your working memory, might impair the ability to engage in deep reflection.”

The good news is that by adding friction to your daily routines, this cognitive decline can probably be reversed. Here are five ways listed by the Post:

1. Try puzzles and games you’re not good at.

2. Learn something new.

3. Cook a recipe.

4. See a friend in person.

5. Don’t look up the answer.

***

To these five, I would add a sixth: 

Write something, perhaps just a page per day.

It will work wonders over time.

(Thanks to Leslie for pointing me to this excellent article.)

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