Did you know I procrastinated on the curb idea for about a year?

I did not either.

As you heard in the previous edition, I finally decided to kill my health, my free time, and my available weekend energy by doing the whole thing solo.

Even my wife, who normally supports these projects by sitting outside with a glass of wine, watching me sweat, and calling it “teamwork”, suddenly quit drinking wine.

So I was alone.

Just me, cement, sand, a shovel, and several YouTube videos.

The reason I delayed it for so long was simple. I was afraid it would look bad.

Not “oh well” bad.

Daily bad.

The kind of bad you see every time you pull into the driveway.

So I considered all options.

That was the trap.

I was treating the decision as permanent.

Set in stone. Literally, ironically.

Like once I poured the curb, no one would ever buy the house if I decided to upgrade to a mansion with a pool, sauna, and a small private pier for our family jet skis.

Then it hit me.

This is just concrete blocks, not the Constitution.

It is reversible.

If I hate it more than I hate the work required to break it apart, I can destroy it in no time and go back to the old ugly version.

My real risk was a few hundred bucks, a couple of weekends, and learning a new skill.

Masonry!

Bonus: I would be away from screens, so my eyes would thank me later.

Which sounded healthy until I remembered that screens never asked me to carry 94-pound bags.

Still, that shift got me started.

It is too early to talk about the final outcome, it was a rainy week, therefore delays.

And my color experiments did not go as planned.

I mean, as I hoped.

Different story.

Now I need to wait until the curb cures enough to apply a colored sealant and pretend this was the plan from the beginning.

But my attitude changed.

I am no longer in a position to stress over the final outcome.

I have been doing the thing, imagining that I am enjoying the process.

Perhaps this is useful self-talk.

Better than the other voices in my head, anyway.

Because I kept reminding myself that the decision was reversible, I had many hours to think during the project.

And I came to a conclusion that we probably spend a lot of money because of this exact idea.

Most purchases in the USA come with some kind of return window. Often 30 days. Apple and Best Buy give you 14 days. (Guess how I happened to learn that.)

So when we are not sure about something, the brain says: “Relax. You can return it.”

And suddenly the purchase feels safe.

Reversible.

But this plays a nasty little game with the wallet.

But in most of the cases the reversible decisions are useful.

They got me outside.

They also explain half the stupid things in my garage.

So maybe the question is not, “Can I undo this?”

Maybe the question is: “Will I actually undo this if the reason I said yes is gone?”

And then stay committed to that “if”.

Till next time.

Johnny.Decimal system for file organizing - 7 min read.

I don’t need a perfect file system. I need one where I can find my passport scan without searching “passport”, “docs”, “important”. This is basically a numbered filing system for our digital mess.

Dusking is a trend aimed at helping people switch off at the end of the day. How does it work? - 5 min read.

The best thing about dusking is the equipment list: a chair (optional!) and a view. This piece explains the simple habit of watching daylight fade on purpose - as a small ritual that helps mark the shift from work mode.

The blue light from your phone isn't ruining your sleep - 8 min read.

Blue light gets too much blame. This article points to something simpler: get real light during the day, dim things at night... The most interesting part of this piece is how small your phone looks next to the actual sun.

A quick, easy read about how much suffering comes from believing every random thing your brain produces.

A clean, minimalist workspace. Just a laptop, a monitor, and a keyboard.

Physical Newspaper Habit: Pichai has talked about reading The Wall Street Journal in print while also reading The New York Times online. Small but interesting: the CEO of Google still keeps one part of his morning off the endless digital conveyor belt.

NSDR Instead Of Meditation: Pichai said meditation is hard for him, so he uses 10, 20, or 30-minute non-sleep deep rest videos on YouTube to unwind. That is a good productivity lesson: don’t worship the perfect habit, find the version you will actually do.

Decision Decay Rule: Pichai has said hard decisions often feel bigger in the moment than they look later. A product choice that feels huge today may look like one normal tradeoff a few months later.

Listen First, Then Decide: For big decisions, Pichai says he tries to hear people out, let the discussion change his view if needed, then make the call clearly. Important part is that listening does not become a substitute for deciding.

Calm Is A Tool: Pichai’s public style is quiet, but not passive. In tense rooms, his method seems to be: lower the emotional temperature, let disagreement happen, then get people aligned after the decision.

Simplicity Sprint: In 2022, Pichai launched Google’s “Simplicity Sprint” and asked employees where the company needed more clarity, fewer speed bumps, and less waste. The point was to find the friction that slows good work inside a very large company.

Speed-Bump Question: One of the Sprint questions was: “Where should we remove speed bumps to get better results faster?” It is a clean operating question because it looks for the small blockers people complain about every week but rarely fix.

Scarcity Breeds Clarity: In 2022, when Google slowed hiring, Pichai told employees that “scarcity breeds clarity.” The decision lesson is simple: fewer resources force a company to admit which projects actually matter.

60-80% Moonshot Rule: Pichai has said ambitious projects can still be big wins if they reach only 60-80% of the original goal. That is a useful way to judge bold work: partial success on a large idea can beat perfect execution of a small one.

A tiny trick for remembering more. This short clip shows why your brain handles information better when it comes in smaller chunks. Useful for passwords, numbers, grocery lists, and the usual mental clutter.

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