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Open Action Items (3)
- Follow up on GI doctor appointment for Ellie — expect response in a few days to a week — 2026-03-24
- Do workout tonight — 2026-03-24
- Focus on drinking more water tomorrow — 2026-03-24
Building the Dashboard, Ellie's Health, Early Mornings
2026-03-24
Mike is building a personal dashboard that integrates his schedule, health metrics, journaling, and relationship tools for Marissa — he's cautiously optimistic about sticking with it but knows his tendency to tinker and move on. He's been getting up early at 4:45 AM for Peloton rides and sauna, which is becoming a meaningful anchor for quiet mental time before the day starts. Ellie has been having recurring stomach issues — dairy was cut back and seemed to help but she had another flare-up, and Mike submitted a GI referral today for imaging and a specialist appointment.
What's On My Mind
- Ellie's ongoing stomach issues and waiting for GI specialist appointment
- Whether the personal dashboard will stick or become another abandoned project
- The rapid pace of AI and what it means for the workforce and his own future
- Early morning routine as a new anchor — Peloton at 4:50 AM plus sauna
Decisions Made
- Submitted request for GI specialist appointment and imaging for Ellie today
- Committed to doing a workout tonight even though it wasn't on the schedule
- Sticking with 4:50 AM wake-up and Peloton routine on 4/10 work schedule
Action Items
- Follow up on GI doctor appointment for Ellie — expect response in a few days to a week
- Do workout tonight
- Focus on drinking more water tomorrow
Key Quotes
- "It would have to be low friction — it would just have to work properly and not cause me more stress and actually be a value add to my system in life rather than something else to manage and maintain."
- "There's no distractions, there's nobody else up, so I can sort of ease into the day and have that mental time for myself."
- "The technology of artificial intelligence is rapidly getting to the point where humans are going to be less and less needed in the workforce — and that is clear today by just what I was able to accomplish that normally would have taken me weeks."
- "I'm just looking forward to the day where I can retire and sit on a beach."
Open Questions
- Will the dashboard stick beyond the first couple of weeks?
- What is causing Ellie's stomach issues if not just dairy?
- How does Mike feel about AI's impact on his own career and long-term professional identity?
- Is the early morning quiet time actually improving mental clarity, and how would he measure that?
Testing the New Journal Entry System
2026-03-24
Mike stopped in today to test the journal companion system and make sure it's working as expected. He confirmed the system has access to his biography and background context. The main goal was to verify the save functionality works correctly.
What's On My Mind
- Testing and verifying the journal entry system
- Making sure the save session feature works correctly
- Confirming the system has access to his biographical context
Decisions Made
- Decided to do a quick test run rather than a full journal session
- Confirmed the system is working as expected
Key Quotes
- "Just kind of testing this out and making sure it's working as expected and also wanted to make sure I can save the session"
Test Entry
2026-03-24
This was a test run of the journal assistant workflow. The goal was to confirm that the end-to-end system — from conversation to Gmail draft to dashboard — works as expected before using it for real journaling. Overall state of mind is curious and optimistic about the system.
What's On My Mind
- Trying out a new journaling system with an AI assistant to help capture thoughts more consistently — the goal is to make it easier to reflect without the friction of writing everything manually
- Curious whether the dashboard parsing will work correctly with the HTML format and class-based section identifiers
Decisions Made
- Decided to use Gmail drafts as the storage mechanism for journal entries so they're accessible and searchable
- Committed to using a structured HTML format with specific class names so the dashboard can parse entries automatically
Key Quotes
- ""Let's try a test journal, create a fake journal entry and upload to drafts""
Open Questions
- Will the HTML formatting survive Gmail's draft rendering intact?
- What will the dashboard look like once a few entries are in?