Morning! Real John here. I read a few of the conversation newsletters and it really gets verbose and doesn’t really convey the information. For those that know me, I like simplicity and succinct. So going back to my format that I like reading. This week I’m talking about that we can do anything with AI. Its amazing, but just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Let’s get into it… (oh, playing with Gemini Twins card trick this week, and a new ACAAN (any card at any position) which still blows my mind) Also, got 3 more characters to Gold on SF6. (twitch stream here) :-) Ok, now let’s get into it.
I keep a file called NOW.md. It lists what matters to me right now: health, building, client work, Barn Sessions, and writing.
It also has a section called “Not Now.”
At first glance, a list like that looks like a way to remember ideas. The more important job is keeping me from saying yes to all of them.
AI makes yes dangerously easy.
I can ask an agent to research an idea, sketch the product, build a first version, and review the code. That is wonderful. I love making things, and I like having a way to test an idea without turning it into a six-month project.
But the cost of starting has dropped much faster than the cost of owning what I start.
A prototype is a tiny promise
OpenAI recently reported that its researchers are using coding agents to run more work in parallel and conduct more experiments. The report also makes a less flashy point: people still decide which ideas to pursue, pause, or scale.
For a research lab, that choice might be which experiment earns more resources. For me, it can be whether a promising idea gets a place on my calendar at all.
Because once I make the prototype, I have a decision to make. Do I test it with someone? Fix the rough edges? Keep it running? Tell people it exists? Every step is reasonable. Together, they are a commitment.
And I already have commitments I care about. I want to train consistently. I want to serve clients well. I want to write, build, and make Barn Sessions worth people’s time.
An agent can help with parts of that work. It cannot give me another Tuesday.
This is the trap for builders like me. A bad idea is easy to reject. A good idea with a working demo is much harder. The demo feels like proof that I should keep going, when all it really proves is that I could get this far.
AI can make a bad yes look like a good plan.
What earns a yes?
Before I turn a new idea into a project, I want to know who benefits if it works and what I would stop doing to make room for it.
That second question is the one that stings.
If the answer is “nothing,” I’m probably pretending my calendar is elastic. If I cannot name the person who benefits, I may just be entertaining myself. There is a place for that, too. I just should not call it a priority.
“Not Now” is not a graveyard. It means the idea can wait without asking for a little attention every day. When something on that list becomes more important than the work in front of me, I can make the trade openly.
I want AI to help me explore more. I do not want every exploration to become another obligation. That is a different kind of bottleneck, and no faster model will fix it for me.
The next time an agent makes an idea feel effortless, I need to ask one question before I say yes: what am I willing to move out of the way?
Go build something amazing. Choose what earns the yes.
If you’re trying to make AI useful in the work your team actually owns, work with me at Startups and Code.