Mike San Román

Repeated failure transforms 'I don't know what else to try' into 'nothing else can be done.'

The quick Slack question.

Everyone's using AI wrong.

After watching platform ecosystems for over a decade, one pattern emerges: companies that open their APIs create markets.

Your job is what pays the bills.

Most people plan forward from constraints.

Every custom git alias represents friction you chose to automate instead of tolerate.

Most people try AI tools, get mediocre results, and go back to the old way.

When I needed to reframe our engineering strategy quickly, I discovered that AI could help me structure completable work instead of endless iteration.

The future of engineering belongs to those who grow with AI, not those who hide behind it.

The day I realized our best engineer was producing 10% of their capability changed how we structure work at Buffer.

After weeks of tool paralysis, I learned the best productivity system isn't the one with the most features.

How to fix RVM errors on macOS once and for all

Exploring the journey of selecting an optimal technical stack for Carpeta, learning from past experiences and aiming for a smooth, enjoyable development process.

## These two weeks in a GIF ### Productivity I've done **nothing**. ## Health **Key metrics for Week 34**: - Worked out 6 days (⇣14.28%): - 3x strength training sessions (=)....

After sharing my weekly reviews for the last six weeks, one question that I've been asked a few times is: _"Why do you do this?"

### Productivity Most of the week was spent on leaving things in a good state before heading out on vacation, but thankfully I wrapped up most of those things by Wednesday, so that extra margin for dealing with some last minute stuff was very welcome.

## These two weeks in a GIF ### Productivity Shifting the order of the sections of the weekly review, mainly to explain the GIF.

## Metrics ### Health I'm experimenting with not getting coffee after lunch and seeing if it has any impact on my deep sleep or REM sleep phases.

## Metrics ### Health I'm reducing my strength training sessions because I'm starting to work with a personal trainer, and I don't want to extenuate myself while we are still defining the workout plan in active training sessions.

Every week, I do a weekly review ritual that helps me plan the next week and reflect on the one that has passed by.

- Publish 52 blog posts - Read 25 books - Meditate 1 hr/week - Work out 4x/week - *I'd love to get back into running regularly as I was doing early last year, provided my shin pain is fully gone.* - Limit alcohol consumption to 2 days / week - Spend less…

**Update Jan 2022: I've decided to remove this exploration from the site, but still it's an interesting thought exercise.** I'm stuck on a train for a couple of hours, so I might as well code a bit on one of the things I wanted to explore in this new blog.

## How we got here Last year, by late June, I dropped the ball on my Substack newsletter.

> At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: 'I have to go to work — as a human being.

## More features !

> "My formula for greatness in a human being is “amor fati”: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity.

> _“I don’t live in either my past or my future.

> People often say that motivation doesn't last.

>_"Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem.

> _"I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it"_ > _– Thomas Jefferson._ Imagine going to the gym and only performing biceps curls, over and over again, with the heaviest load you can bear.

> _The most important talent may be the talent for practice itself._ > _– Atul Gawande._ There is something about looking at other disciplines and professions that inspires me.

I just came across this quote from Seth Godin today: > “The job is what you do when you are told what to do.

> If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. – Vincent Van Gogh Today I decided to take the leap on something I've been thinking (and overthinking, to be honest) for a while: I did a li…

> We are what we repeatedly do.

> _"The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately

> _"One can furnish a room very luxuriously by taking out furniture rather than putting it in." – Francis Jourdain_ I'm pretty much obsessed with the idea of _space_.

> Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. – Mike Tyson Due to the COVID-19 situation, we are staying home for at least the next 15 days.

> _"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: **It goes on.**"_ _– Robert Frost_ We are living through interesting days. 2020 started with a bang, and the whole world is facing a virus outbreak, and of course, the economy starts show…

import Script from 'next/script' > _"Never confuse movement with action

import Script from 'next/script' > _"Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by growth, but by washing away all that is not gold

> _"A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object.

> _The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities._ _— Shunryu Suzuki_ We are social beings.

> _"We are dying from overthinking.

> "Your assumptions are your windows on the world.

> _Either you run the day, or the day runs you._ _– Jim Rohn._ Today, I started the day with three goals.

> _Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world._ _— Miyamoto Musashi_ Have you ever set up goals, or intentions, and started strong on your path trying to reach them, only to get lost along the way?

> _"It is never too late to be what you might have been

> _"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man

> _If we don't have visions of kindness and generosity in our minds, it's difficult to share these things with others._ _– Headspace._ This week is a special one.