I learned this with t-shirt designs. I would have an idea for a t-shirt design and write it in a notebook. Then another idea on a post-it note. Then some ideas in a Google keep note. More ideas in an email to myself. Eventually, ideas everywhere.

(These are barely t-shirt designs. I have no artistic ability. They’re all text based.)

I think naturally, out of fear of losing any of those ideas, I told myself I need a central repository of t-shirt ideas. I now have an Airtable database with about 1000 rows on it.

It’s totally backfired. I haven't done in a t-shirt design on Canva in probably over a year now.

That spreadsheet takes all the wind out of my sails. I should probably just delete it.

Seeing idea after idea in a column doesn’t leave room for any of them to breathe. If I try to pick one, none of them jump out, and that’s depressing in a way.

I’m not a robot. I can’t just pick the next idea on the list. That statement almost feels misleading though. I’m not totally sure if I even pick the ideas. Maybe the ideas pick me? But with that big list, nothing happens.

The irony here is I compiled this big list to prevent losing any and now I don’t do anything with them.

I’m being more careful with writing now. I already have my rule against unpublished drafts. Now I’m recording writing ideas everywhere and leaving them everywhere. If I lose one and can’t find it again, well then hopefully it comes back to me later. It’s much better than the alternative. A list full of writing ideas but you can’t write about any of them.

And there is a hidden bonus by doing it this way. Rummaging through notebooks and post-it notes usually leads to a new idea being found. Or it finding me.

I used to be able to say that I’m getting more out of social media than it’s getting out of me. But now I’m on the downside of that see-saw and it pulls way more out of me than I get from it.

At this point, It feels like I’m allergic to feeds and timelines.

I wonder for what percentage of people social media is a net positive.

The 80-20 rule absolutely cannot apply here. This is a net negative for most.

There should be a mood ring that blocks social media when you’re down.

A bracelet would also be fine.

We already have Fitbits and Oura rings. They are already connected to our phones.

Autoplaying short form videos should be banned.

It’s a shame because there is some really great stuff out there. But finding it feels like looking for a piece of hay in a stack of needles.

Writing this, here, is a bit ironic but it doesn’t feel hypocritical. People (including me) still want to connect and relate.

There is a gap between scrolling and connecting online. It’s harder to distinguish because both are on the screen of your phone or computer. It was easier to distinguish when the options were watching TV or actually talking to people.

It was also easier to determine the motives of the other person when you’re talking in person or even on the phone. Behind the screen it’s much harder. You don’t know if the other person actually wants to connect or if their reply to your reply is the top of their sales funnel.

My quote attributions will be a mess.

Especially when the books are overlapping in theme. Did that sage financial advice come from Morgan Housel or Scott Galloway? I have no idea.

(Is it still a quote if they’ve both said the exact same thing? I’ll steer clear of this rabbit hole for today.)

This is only a problem with quotes ranging from good to great.

With the really really great quotes, I either write it down with attribution or buy a copy of the book, highlight the quote, and dog ear the page for future reference.

I didn’t realize it at the beginning but this post is a carefully disguised library appreciation post.

I would like to add some specificity on that, but it’s like I cannot even complain on his behalf. Not yet at least. I will get there eventually.

But in my aversion to complaining, I have lost the ability to articulate negative observations. Mostly out of confusion. I don’t know where the line is between a negative observation and a complaint.

On top of this, I generally believe the world needs more good vibes and it’s better to add my 2 cents of positivity and stay quiet on the negative bits.

Never complain, never explain.

There is an entire Wikipedia article on the quote above. It was essentially the standing policy for the British royal family for sometime.

I like this quote a lot. It speaks to me. It sounds strong and confident.

Unfortunately, I fear that in present day this quote is more likely to be used to brush off cruelty and disrespect.

This quote definitely lacks nuance. And it’s a bit of a problem if I’m writing observations. Not all observations are positive and explaining is kinda the name of the game here.

I don’t want to censor all my negative observations.

I’m trying to more empathetic and less judgemental.

I’m working on negative observations without contempt. This goes hand in hand with empathy.

Here is my current work:

I tried the David protein bars. They suck. —> —> —> I tried the David Protein bars. 3 different flavors. Interesting combination of bad taste and bad texture.

I ordered some American Apparrel blank t-shirts. They sucked. —> —> —> I ordered some American Apparrel blank t-shirts. Since they are nearly see-through ‘heavyweight’ shirts that shrunk up 2 inches on the first wash without running them through the dryer, I will use them for undershirts.

Making progress on this is important to me. How can I begin to write about all the things going wrong if I can barely tell you I didn’t like the David protein bars?

2. I shall work for 25 minutes and then write for 5 minutes. This is the deal. The deal cannot be renegotiated until 100 hours have been completed.
   
   Hopefully as the hours tick up the aversion ticks down.

3. The 5 minutes go by much faster than the 25 minutes.

4. I ordered a pair of shorts from Patagonia and received their Work in Progress report on their environmental efforts. It would be nice if more companies tried this hard to be good stewards.

   

5. I finally figured out how to resize pictures on Substack. Neat.

6. I’ll need to run off about 20lbs before those shorts fit.

7. I’m no longer interested in trying hard to cut calories to lose weight. I’ll run/bike/swim instead. This doesn’t mean I’ll cut loose on the calories. But just maintain the current diet or try small improvements like less calories after dinner. And less soda at midday.

8. I’ve set up a tomato tracker for the 100 hours of 25 minutes work / 5 minutes write and the tomato emoji 🍅 is way more fun than using numbers.

9. The lady in front of me at the drive-through paid for my soda this morning. It was one of those with two lanes that merge into one drive. I finished my order about 5 seconds before she did, but let her go ahead of me. I appreciate her kindness.

10. The lady who was originally in front of me in the drive-through. When she was ordering, the way the sunlight and shadows lit up her face in her driver’s side mirror was the stuff photographer’s dream of. The lighting reminded me of the quote, there are cathedrals everywhere with those with eyes to see.

11. A coffee table book of faces in driver’s side mirrors in drive-throughs isn’t the worst book idea. Expanded captions to say who, what they ordering, and some backstory a la Humans of New York.

12. I stumbled across this YouTube video by Peter McKinnon. I had never heard of him before but the message was serendipitous for me. The part with Casey Neistat about removing something things from decisions, they just get done. No deciding. Hopefully I correctly linked it to the 2 minute mark.

13. Sotheby’s sent me a postcard to download/request a paper copy of the art market beyond $1million. Thank you for seeing the potential in me Sotheby’s. They dont see me for who I am today, they see me for who I can be in the future.

    

I learned this the hard way with an email newsletter. By the time the 60th email was sent out, there were 35 unfinished drafts sitting there like a giant weight landing on me everytime I logged in. Do I start something new? Do I finish one of these drafts? Which one? It took any wind I had right out of the sails.

I won’t let that happen this time. If I get as far as typing it out, I’m either publishing it or deleting it. No more extra baggage lying around.

And publishing drafts seems like a good idea for two reasons.

One, they say it’s good to show your work. They being teachers, marketing advisors, and the author/artist Austin Kleon.

Two, it reduces open loops. I’m on an undeclared quest to significantly reduce the number of open loops in my life. And unpublished drafts are open loops that can be closed pretty easily. By either deleting or publishing them.

Two birds, one stone. Let’s give it a go.

If you think $300 for a medium size cutting board is is preposterous. I agree.

If you think $300 for a medium sized beautiful cutting board is reasonable, please contact me immediately.

So it sells for $300 with free shipping. Then I promptly give $250 to charity. The cutting board cost me $50 to make craft. After covering the shipping I’m negative. $15 per. It has to be this way, I’m only allocated so many wins and I’m not going to waste one on this.

But I’m not going to advertise it as a $300 cutting board with $250 of it going to charity. That must remain secret as I don’t want people to buy it for charity.

I want them to buy it because they want to buy it. And then I ask them why did you buy this cutting board. Not in a condescending way but in a very respectful way. And then they tell me everything. Then I tell them I’m not in the cutting board business for the money and they can have their money back or I can give it to charity. We become friends and then I have many friends in the $300 cutting board world.

Eventually they introduce me to the makers and buyers of $550 cutting boards and I wonder to myself how many levels are there to this. Do I belong in the $550 cutting board group?

I worry, what if I don’t like the people that spend $300 on cutting boards. What if they’re insufferable? What if I’m insufferable? I can’t dwell on this now, I have cutting boards to make craft.

Oh and none of this takes away from my time with my currently existing friends. Who I barely ever have any time to see. Somehow it just works out beautifully. Like these cutting boards.

January 13, 2026

On becoming a writer...maybe it’s easier to become a photographer.

I can write five essays a day without trying. If I try, I can write zero.

Another 45% of the internet isn’t dead, but soulless. This is the internet for when you need to order pants, check if the library is open on Sundays, and book your vacation. In these cases, the internet is a functional tool.

That’s 95% of the internet being either dead or soulless.

But the last 5%. That’s a special place where the magic of the internet still lives. Here there are websites made by people who care. This is where you can discover things organically, browse and surf and peruse, and connect with people interested in the same things as you.

I’m so thankful this part of the internet still exists.