# Spend time with your own words

> You can't hope to understand something unless you put the work in.

Yesterday me and Lucy spent the day going through categories `21 Products (etc.)` and `31 Marketing (etc.)` in our own small business JDex. They're where the bulk of our stuff is, and they'd been neglected as we spent a few months with our heads down [rebuilding this site](/blog/0193/).

There's about 23,000 words across those two folders in maybe 100 separate notes. It was a bit of a chore, honestly. But it needed doing, and I'm glad we did it. Because that's my business in there. Ideas that I've had, patterns, thoughts, notes-for-future-me. Yesterday morning I didn't really know what was in there. Now I do.

I don't think there's a way to shortcut that work. I know it can be tempting to get _the machine_ to do it for you, but would that move you forward? Would you now be in a better situation than we were yesterday morning? I don't think you would be.

They're your words. They're thoughts that came out of your brain. If they're worth anything at all, spend some time with them.