Hey friends,

It's safe to say that technology has enabled a lot of good things for us. For one, we wouldn’t be together here in this inbox without it. We wouldn’t be able to send pictures to our loved ones in faraway places without it. If anything, the chief benefit of technology is its ability to sustain human connection across space and time.

But the trade-off is that it tends to cheapen that connection, turning our relationships into mere bits that require minimal effort to sustain.

In today’s reflection, I want to dig into why this happens, and how my own experience as a writer has helped me navigate this conundrum. Because while technology promises a more connected world, the reality is that it has contributed to a lonelier one. And the first step to pivoting back toward its initial promise is to be aware of how it went astray.

When you’re ready, let’s dive right in:

​Tech Is No Substitute for Depth​

Draw Your Words: A More To That course

Drawings are a cheat code for any writer, and I still feel like they’re underutilized. When you draw illustrations to complement your writing, it gives your words an immediate visual identity, which makes it stand out right away.

That’s why I created a comprehensive course on drawing, and as a newsletter reader, you can get it at a discount for a limited time (it’s usually $150, but just $99 for today).

You might think that AI can do the work for you, but the truth is that people can tell. An AI-generated image in a post isn’t fooling anybody; everyone knows it didn’t come from your hands.

The best way to build a visual identity around your writing is to create it yourself. But instead of scouring the web for tutorials, I’ve distilled everything you need to know about drawing in a simple package that you can reference at any time.

Check out Draw Your Words today and enter coupon code NEWSLETTER to get the discount (or simply use this checkout link). Enjoy =).

A Thought I’ve Been Pondering

Much of our misuse of technology comes from our inability to handle boredom. This made me think of some musings from a previous piece:

Running away from boredom results in a desire for excitement, which only leads to more boredom because your threshold for excitement keeps increasing. Instead, if we acknowledge that even the best lives are punctuated with boredom, then we will understand how this slowdown in attention can be interpreted as a welcomed state of mind.

The antidote to boredom is to actively seek it at various moments in your life. By giving yourself the space to do nothing, you cease looking outward for novel experiences, and look inward to uncover the meaning that can be found within the nuances of your mind.

A Brief Parting Question

I loved this recent post from Sherry Ning:

At first, I just thought it was funny, but I realized she was saying something deeper about technology in general. In a way, today’s piece can be viewed as a response to it.

How do you interpret her post? And do you feel the same way as well?

As always, hit reply to share any thoughts, to respond to the parting question, or to simply say hello. I love hearing from you.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to share this email with anyone who might enjoy it. Have a great rest of your week!

-Lawrence Yeo

P.S. Thanks to everyone who supports the blog on Patreon! It means so much. If you’d like to support More To That and get access to book recommendations, exclusive AMAs, offline posts, and other reflections, join as a patron today.