Thinking, research, and building understanding in public.https://meda.io/https://meda.io/articles/the-way-we-use-computers-will-change-forever/https://meda.io/articles/the-way-we-use-computers-will-change-forever/Chatbots answer prompts and leave the work to us. AI agents can own a problem and keep working until it is solved. Why I think that changes how we work.Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/why-you-take-notes-but-never-get-smarter/https://meda.io/articles/why-you-take-notes-but-never-get-smarter/Saving information isn't the same as learning it. Why a note-taking system built for storage keeps you collecting instead of thinking, and what to do with the notes you already have.Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/trading-on-ideas-and-discovering-that-im-a-quality-architect/https://meda.io/articles/trading-on-ideas-and-discovering-that-im-a-quality-architect/Most people trade on resources: money, status, power and network. Reading The Innovator's DNA helped me see that I trade on ideas, and why that has made what I do so hard to describe.Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/watch-out-theyre-gaslighting-you-for-attention/https://meda.io/articles/watch-out-theyre-gaslighting-you-for-attention/Why political conversations get tense, how an attention economy pushed the media towards outrage, and a handful of techniques to watch for.Fri, 16 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/if-im-going-to-spend-the-time-doing-it-anyway-i-might-as-well-do-it-with-impact/https://meda.io/articles/if-im-going-to-spend-the-time-doing-it-anyway-i-might-as-well-do-it-with-impact/A short reflection on three ways to spend our time, why life is boring when we only do what's logical, and why it's worth being a force multiplier for the people around us.Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/mentoring-isnt-about-the-advice-its-about-creating-motion/https://meda.io/articles/mentoring-isnt-about-the-advice-its-about-creating-motion/Why the small tasks I set as a mentor so often go undone, why the point of them is the trying rather than the finishing, and how one reply to a tweet turned into a channel, a seminar and a book.Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/are-new-thoughts-literature-notes-or-permanent-notes-when-studying-with-the-zettelkasten-system-2/https://meda.io/articles/are-new-thoughts-literature-notes-or-permanent-notes-when-studying-with-the-zettelkasten-system-2/When an idea of your own turns up while you're writing literature notes, is it a literature note, a fleeting note or a permanent note? A short recap of the three note types and a simple rule for deciding.Sun, 05 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/finding-the-right-granularity-in-your-zettelkasten-notes/https://meda.io/articles/finding-the-right-granularity-in-your-zettelkasten-notes/How detailed should a permanent note be, and should you keep your fleeting notes? Why I break ideas into small, focused notes and keep the rough captures as an audit trail.Sat, 28 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/what-they-dont-teach-you-about-programming/https://meda.io/articles/what-they-dont-teach-you-about-programming/The hidden skills that aren't mentioned when learning how to program: abstraction, seeing the system in your mind's eye, data structures, recalling how to build from scratch, and the obsession to tinker.Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/everything-all-at-one/https://meda.io/articles/everything-all-at-one/Why junior developers, and beginners in any craft, get overwhelmed by trying to learn everything at once, and why it helps to master the pieces before the masterpiece.Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/what-you-spend-your-time-on/https://meda.io/articles/what-you-spend-your-time-on/Reading The Millionaire Fastlane made me take stock of my time: wealth is less about money than about not having to trade your time for it.Tue, 02 May 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/ask-big-questions/https://meda.io/articles/ask-big-questions/Big, open questions that start with “How do I…” give your thinking something to orient towards, and unlike a specific goal they don't run out the moment you reach them.Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/systems-over-goals/https://meda.io/articles/systems-over-goals/Goals fade when motivation does, and stop when they are reached. Why I focus on the daily system, and on who I want to be, rather than on the goal itself.Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/unlimited-learning/https://meda.io/articles/unlimited-learning/Why learning feels so hard when it has no personal purpose, what my A-level maths taught me about that, and why I now start every subject with a why.Wed, 12 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/hard-work-is-the-illusion/https://meda.io/articles/hard-work-is-the-illusion/Between hustle culture and anti-hustle, I still believe in hard work: a challenge just out of reach, intense focus, consistency over years, and limits that leave room for family.Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/discovering-the-missing-piece-to-your-why/https://meda.io/articles/discovering-the-missing-piece-to-your-why/A why doesn't tell you how to get where you want to go, but it makes you notice the pieces that fit. Here is how behavioural science turned out to be one of mine.Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/self-awareness-before-knowledge/https://meda.io/articles/self-awareness-before-knowledge/Information is everywhere, yet knowing more rarely makes us change. Why self awareness, and giving ourselves permission to look honestly at our situation, may come before knowledge does any good.Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/being-a-life-long-learner/https://meda.io/articles/being-a-life-long-learner/Why we stop learning once formal education ends, the difference between learning a skill and studying a subject, and a six-week programme for setting your own curriculum.Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/entropy-is-everywhere/https://meda.io/articles/entropy-is-everywhere/Sandcastles erode and the wind never builds one back. A short reflection on how relationships drift apart without energy to maintain them, and on spotting the ones worth keeping.Wed, 15 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/the-sasquatch-and-the-architect/https://meda.io/articles/the-sasquatch-and-the-architect/A personal reflection on the instinctive, emotional part of the mind I call my sasquatch, and how talking to it can change how I feel and act.Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/no-more-side-quests/https://meda.io/articles/no-more-side-quests/A seminar, a book and a product I care about most. What Nathan Barry's choice to go all in on ConvertKit made me ask about my own side quests, and whether I'm spreading my attention too thin.Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/the-gravity-of-influence/https://meda.io/articles/the-gravity-of-influence/On the responsibility that comes with having an audience, the quieter influence we all hold, and why it helps to know how easily our own minds are swayed.Wed, 25 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/a-better-question-to-unlock-a-more-ambitious-strategy/https://meda.io/articles/a-better-question-to-unlock-a-more-ambitious-strategy/A list of target numbers is closer to a wish than a strategy. Reframe each goal as a “How can we…?” question, and ask it again at every objection, until you have concrete actions.Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/whats-the-score-youre-keeping/https://meda.io/articles/whats-the-score-youre-keeping/If every result that falls short of your benchmark feels like lost points, you'll quit sooner. Measure your actions and what you learn instead, and use one question to decide when to pivot.Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/is-your-fixed-mindset-preventing-you-from-learning/https://meda.io/articles/is-your-fixed-mindset-preventing-you-from-learning/One study found that people who believe they can learn from mistakes show a stronger brain signal after an error, and do better on the next attempt. What that does and doesn't tell us about mindset and learning.Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/embrace-micro-failures/https://meda.io/articles/embrace-micro-failures/We learn skills through trial and error, yet we avoid the small failures that learning needs. A short reflection on procrastination, drawing and being prepared to fail.Wed, 14 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/the-truth-makes-us-act-illogical/https://meda.io/articles/the-truth-makes-us-act-illogical/Why people double down when the evidence says they're wrong, why we do it too, and what to do instead of arguing harder.Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/why-is-everyone-else-doing-better-than-me/https://meda.io/articles/why-is-everyone-else-doing-better-than-me/When everyone else seems to have their life together, remember that they too are presenting a version of themselves, and that many are covering up a struggle.Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/do-you-get-distracted-by-new-ideas/https://meda.io/articles/do-you-get-distracted-by-new-ideas/For years I flipped between programming, filmmaking, CG artwork, music and startups. What changed was not discipline but finding a calling.Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/do-your-ideas-get-rejected-by-others/https://meda.io/articles/do-your-ideas-get-rejected-by-others/Why arguing harder for your idea rarely works, how asking the right questions lets others reason their way to a better answer, and when it's easier simply to be honest about what you want.Wed, 16 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/can-you-contradict-yourself/https://meda.io/articles/can-you-contradict-yourself/We all carry automatic beliefs we deploy without thinking. Notice them, then ask one question of each: when is this not true?Wed, 09 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/what-role-are-you-playing/https://meda.io/articles/what-role-are-you-playing/Do you want to be someone, or do you want to do something? Why the status and attention we receive belong to the roles we play, not to us, and how to design for a role instead of an ego.Wed, 02 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/you-always-gain-something-by-beginning-something/https://meda.io/articles/you-always-gain-something-by-beginning-something/Waiting for the perfect moment to start never ends. Four things I started without expectations, and what each one gave me that I could not have planned.Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/are-you-clear-on-your-direction/https://meda.io/articles/are-you-clear-on-your-direction/A vague why, like wanting to help people, tells you nothing about what to do today. Asking which skills your goal needs turns it into something you can practise now.Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/what-even-is-happiness/https://meda.io/articles/what-even-is-happiness/I suspect happiness isn't a state of things going well, but of things not going badly: feeling safe, surrounded by good relationships and in control of your life.Wed, 12 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/become-antifragile/https://meda.io/articles/become-antifragile/Toughness and resilience still describe a breaking point. A short reflection on getting stronger from adversity by treating every challenge, criticism and failure as something to learn from.Wed, 21 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/your-self-esteem/https://meda.io/articles/your-self-esteem/Most of us judge ourselves against values we never chose. A short reflection on where those values come from, and the one value I think matters most: never judging yourself.Wed, 14 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/do-you-have-a-growth-mindset/https://meda.io/articles/do-you-have-a-growth-mindset/What separates a fixed mindset from a growth mindset, the beliefs that unblock growth, how to spot a false growth mindset, and how a manager can build a growth mindset programme for a team.Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/do-you-have-grit-or-will-you-quit/https://meda.io/articles/do-you-have-grit-or-will-you-quit/Too many people give up on a good idea just when it gets hard. On grit as perseverance plus passion, the dip where most of us quit, and why passion is about endurance rather than enthusiasm.Wed, 24 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/why-this-idea/https://meda.io/articles/why-this-idea/Before you build the project or business, ask what your why is. A why that serves only you is a weak one, and a real one is usually revealed over time rather than invented.Fri, 05 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/evolve-your-thinking/https://meda.io/articles/evolve-your-thinking/If everything feels as if it has been said before, borrow two tricks from biology: combine ideas from different parents, and mutate them on purpose. Worked examples included.Sun, 16 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/how-to-make-atomic-literature-notes/https://meda.io/articles/how-to-make-atomic-literature-notes/A walk-through of turning a book's highlights into single-idea literature notes, then into permanent notes, with worked examples and a trail back to the source.Sun, 26 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/what-my-ego-really-wants/https://meda.io/articles/what-my-ego-really-wants/My ego doesn't seem to want fame or money. It wants to know that my skills are wanted by others, and that explains both my best work and why I stayed a 'number 2' for so long.Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/why-do-i-get-motivated-but-never-do-anything/https://meda.io/articles/why-do-i-get-motivated-but-never-do-anything/A spark of motivation, a plan and an announcement can feel like progress, so we stop there. On motioning, intent that feels like action, and the small habits that turn it into doing.Sat, 28 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/you-vs-your-future-self/https://meda.io/articles/you-vs-your-future-self/When we promise to change tomorrow, we hand the work to a different person: our future self. Why habit change has to start as though it has already happened.Sat, 28 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/good-startup-idea-vs-bad-startup-idea-finding-your-product-market-fit/https://meda.io/articles/good-startup-idea-vs-bad-startup-idea-finding-your-product-market-fit/Founders fall in love with their ideas. A set of honest tests for whether yours is a painkiller or a vitamin, whether early adopters actually use it, and whether the market will pay.Tue, 08 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/is-conjunction-fallacy-killing-your-personas/https://meda.io/articles/is-conjunction-fallacy-killing-your-personas/A Twitter poll, the Linda problem and a checkout voucher box: how adding detail to a persona can make it feel more likely while making it less probable.Wed, 06 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://meda.io/articles/fix-your-reports/https://meda.io/articles/fix-your-reports/Most team reports restate the numbers and leave everyone with a warm or cold feeling. A good report finds the cause behind the numbers and says what to do next.Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT