Developer Tea What's Brewing, Edition 1 - What Jonathan is Learning, Using, and Thinking
Mar 18, 2026
Physical checklists for repeatable work and clearer communication with humans and AI. Small organization upgrades like labels and 3D-printed tools that compound into big time savings. Changing environments to fix habit friction instead of relying on willpower. Books and reading that shape how to prioritize time and learning. Practical AI workflows: spec-driven agents, local automations, and agent-assisted 3D printing.
01:05:49
Read 4,000 Weeks To Reframe Productivity
- Read 4,000 Weeks to reframe productivity toward what truly matters instead of chasing hacks.
- Jonathan calls it his top recommendation for accepting human limits and focusing priorities.
Learn Driving Stick Shift To Stay In Beginner Mode
- Jonathan is relearning to drive a 1983 Bronco with a stick shift to stay in the beginner's seat.
- He treats the practice as a habit: small goals, intentional repetition, and counting stalls as progress metrics.
Adaptability Is Now A Core Engineering Skill
- Rapid AI-driven change makes adaptability and learning core career skills because tooling evolution feeds faster change.
- Jonathan compares this era to past seismic shifts like cloud adoption but notes accelerated feedback loops now.
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Intro
00:00 • 27min
AI Is Already Integral to Software Work
26:41 • 4min
Using Claude Code for One-Shot Developer Tasks
30:40 • 3min
Spec-Driven Development Improves Agent Outputs
33:31 • 3min
Back-office Automation and Transcriptions
36:41 • 47sec
Experimenting with OpenClaw Agents
37:27 • 2min
Home Assistant Automations via LLMs
39:27 • 1min
Cloud Co-Work for File System and Screenshots
40:53 • 42sec
Obsidian as Personal Knowledge for Agents
41:35 • 2min
AI-Assisted 3D Modeling and Printing
43:19 • 3min
AI Expands Individual Agency
45:55 • 1min
Five Practical AI Use Case Categories
47:19 • 4min
Agents Executing Complex Technical Tasks
51:18 • 26sec
Iterating on Intent and Tactical Consulting
51:44 • 34sec
Future: Exploratory Synthesis and Strategy
52:18 • 2min
Clear Workflows Make AI Fast and Reliable
54:16 • 47sec
Be Action-Oriented: Try Things with AI
55:04 • 1min
Plan Thoroughly Before Sending Agents
56:09 • 1min
Invest in Mindful Change and Values
57:37 • 2min
Re-adopt a Learning Posture
59:51 • 3min
Personal Experiments: Checklists, Organization, Habits
01:03:19 • 2min
Outro
01:05:19 • 24sec
#547
• Mentioned in 57 episodes
Good Strategy/Bad Strategy
The Difference and Why It Matters
Richard Rumelt
In *Good Strategy/Bad Strategy*, Richard Rumelt clarifies the distinction between effective and ineffective strategies.
He argues that a good strategy is a specific and coherent response to overcoming obstacles, harnessing power where it will have the greatest effect.
Rumelt debunks elements of 'bad strategy' such as equating goals, motivational slogans, and financial targets with actual strategy.
He introduces the 'kernel' of strategy, which includes a diagnosis of the challenge, a guiding policy, and coherent action.
The book uses diverse examples from business, nonprofit, and military contexts to illustrate these concepts and emphasizes the importance of analytical rigor and focused effort in strategy development.
#23001
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Art of Action
How Leaders Close the Gaps Between Plans, Actions and Results
Stephen Bungay
#913
• Mentioned in 40 episodes
Noise
A Flaw in Human Judgment
Olivier Sibony
Daniel Kahneman
Cass R. Sunstein
The book highlights the detrimental effects of noise in various fields such as medicine, law, economic forecasting, forensic science, bail, child protection, strategy, performance reviews, and personnel selection.
Noise is defined as random or chaotic deviations from targeted behavior, which can lead to inconsistent judgments even among the same individuals under different conditions.
The authors provide research-based insights and practical solutions to reduce both noise and bias, aiming to improve decision-making in multiple areas of life and work.
#780
• Mentioned in 44 episodes
How to Know a Person
The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
David Brooks
David Brooks's "How to Know a Person" delves into the complexities of human relationships, exploring how we perceive and understand others.
The book emphasizes the importance of empathy, active listening, and self-awareness in building meaningful connections.
Brooks challenges readers to move beyond superficial judgments and embrace a deeper understanding of themselves and those around them.
He argues that true connection requires vulnerability and a willingness to be seen authentically.
Ultimately, the book offers a practical guide to fostering richer, more fulfilling relationships.
#5340
• Mentioned in 9 episodes
The Crux
Richard Rumelt
#2
• Mentioned in 1,343 episodes
Atomic Habits
James Clear
Atomic Habits by James Clear provides a practical and scientifically-backed guide to forming good habits and breaking bad ones.
The book introduces the Four Laws of Behavior Change: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying.
It also emphasizes the importance of small, incremental changes (atomic habits) that compound over time to produce significant results.
Clear discusses techniques such as habit stacking, optimizing the environment to support desired habits, and focusing on continuous improvement rather than goal fixation.
The book is filled with actionable strategies, real-life examples, and stories from various fields, making it a valuable resource for anyone seeking to improve their habits and achieve personal growth.
#277
• Mentioned in 92 episodes
The Checklist Manifesto
How To Get Things Right
Atul Gawande
In 'The Checklist Manifesto', Atul Gawande explores the power of checklists in overcoming the complexities of modern professional work.
He argues that despite advanced training and technology, professionals often fail due to the sheer volume and complexity of knowledge.
Gawande illustrates how checklists, first introduced by the U.S.
Air Force, have been successfully adopted in various fields, including medicine, to reduce errors and improve outcomes.
He provides compelling examples, such as the reduction of fatalities in surgical procedures and the elimination of hospital infections, to demonstrate the effectiveness of checklists.
The book emphasizes the importance of balancing autonomy and control, empowering frontline workers, and continuously improving checklists based on feedback and experience.
#99
• Mentioned in 173 episodes
4,000 Weeks
Time Management for Mortals
Oliver Burkeman
- The Power of Physical Checklists: Inspired by aviation, Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto, and Daniel Kahneman's Noise, I've been experimenting with printed, physical checklists for repetitive tasks — from producing this show to running one-on-ones. The rigor of writing precise procedures carries over into clearer communication with both humans and AI agents.
- Small Interventions, Big Returns: A Brother P-Touch label maker. Reorganizing scattered hobby gear. 3D printing organizational tools with a new Bambu Labs P1S. None of these are revolutionary on their own, but the compounding effect of better organization — essentially building a fast index for your physical life — pays back over and over.
- Context Shapes Focus: Switching from a home gym to working out at Planet Fitness with my brother-in-law was one of the best focus interventions I've made. The change in environment eliminated the procrastination and context-blending that came from being steps away from my computer. If you're struggling with a habit, sometimes the environment is the variable to change, not your willpower.
- The Reading List: Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt (and its follow-up The Crux), The Art of Action by Stephen Bungay (a great framework for thinking about agentic workflows), How to Know a Person by David Brooks, and my top recommendation: 4,000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman — a book that will help you stop looking for the productivity hack that fixes everything and start thinking about what actually matters.
- Learning as a Habit: Right now I'm learning to drive a stick shift on a 1983 Bronco. The point isn't the skill itself — it's staying in the beginner's seat. Intentional practice, setting small goals, refining through repetition. Keeping this habit alive is more important than ever when the industry demands rapid adaptation.
- How I'm Actually Using AI: Claude Code for one-shotting tools with clear boundaries, local environment improvements, and terminal troubleshooting. OpenClaw for experimental agents like a personalized trip planner and Home Assistant automations via YAML. Claude Co-Work for file system management and screenshot organization. Obsidian as the connective tissue — a markdown knowledge base that gives AI agents personal context to work with. And at work, spec-driven development is showing real promise for shaping agent output quality.
- A Framework for Thinking About AI's Role: I break AI use cases into categories: automating existing workflows (where most gains are today), operational restructuring (what happens when you free humans from a task), execution of complex technical work (agents on the front lines), iterative consulting on intent and goals, and the emerging frontier of exploratory connections and strategic synthesis.
- What You Should Actually Do: Be action-oriented — the cat is out of the bag. Invest heavily in planning and specification before sending agents off to work. But more importantly, invest in mindful change: understand your own values, figure out who you want to be when you look back on this moment in 10 years, and let that guide your decisions about adoption, learning, and career direction.
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