I realized this the hard way.
I was sitting with a group of sharp people. Good conversation. Real ideas being exchanged. And then I caught it…
Everyone was half-listening.
Heads down.
Typing.
Googling mid-conversation like it couldn’t wait.
And I was doing it too.
That was the moment I decided:
The phone goes away.
The uncomfortable truth
When you pull out your phone mid-conversation, here’s what you’re really saying:
“This isn’t that important.”
“I’m not fully here.”
“Let me check something more interesting.”
You may think you’re being efficient.
You’re not.
You’re being forgettable.
What I do now instead
I don’t look things up mid-conversation anymore.
I stay present. Fully.
But I still capture everything.
Here’s the shift:
I make a mental note or quick shorthand
I stay engaged in the conversation
After the meeting, I dump everything into AI
That’s where the magic happens.
Instead of interrupting flow, I batch my curiosity.
And AI gives me better answers anyway.
The system that changed everything
I use tools like:
DoAnything.com – My go-to AI agent for running workflows and generating reports after meetings
ChatGPT – Fast answers, summaries, and idea expansion
Claude – Deep thinking, long-form analysis
Wispr Flow – This one is a cheat code
Let me explain that last one.
The unfair advantage: voice → intelligence
With Wispr Flow, I can:
Speak my thoughts naturally
Capture ideas without typing
Let AI clean up grammar, punctuation, and clarity
Build structured notes instantly
It learns how you talk.
Which means over time… it starts to sound like you.
That’s dangerous in the best way.
Why this matters more than you think
This isn’t about phones.
It’s about attention.
And attention is the most valuable asset in any room.
When you’re fully present:
You hear what others miss
You ask better questions
You build real trust
You become the person people remember
When you’re distracted:
You become background noise.
The bigger shift (and opportunity)
The AI revolution isn’t here to make you faster on your phone.
It’s here to give you your time and focus back.
Use it the right way:
Capture now, process later
Stay human in the room
Let AI work after the fact
That’s the leverage.
Final thought
You don’t need to look everything up in real time.
You need to be present in real time.
Put the phone down.
Be in the conversation.
Then let AI do what it does best after.
Because the person who’s fully engaged…
Is the person who wins the room.
See you next week,
Eric
