Hey folks!

Happy Friday before Christmas! Godspeed to all of us trying to fit a week's worth of work in Monday and Tuesday next week - we're doing the Lord's work. A couple things on my mind...

1. Human Mode Email (I made a thing!): I get maybe 20 AI-generated cold emails a day that say things like “I saw you went to Hillsdale College...” or “I love seeing your journey from Cladwell to Jumpdocs and Allsmith.org...” followed by a pitch. As AI gets smarter, I’m finding it harder to distinguish genuine notes from strangers or acquaintances who are actually reaching out personally. I worry this will shrink our worlds over time, because whenever a stranger reaches out, we assume it’s junk. That’s why I built Humanmode.email this week! It's a free Gmail extension that requires emails to be typed by hand. No copying, pasting, or automation. Any email you receive in Human Mode [H] is automatically placed at the top of your inbox and marked as important.You can sign up for free here. Any feedback or questions? You won’t hurt my feelings. Would you use this? Any objections?

2. Paper Journal: I've been getting back into journaling with pen and paper lately. The main reason is that when I journal on my computer or Remarkable, I've started wanting to dump whatever I write into an AI and get perspective or feedback, or I'm a click away from work. It's been really refreshing (other than hurting my hand) to have the inefficiency and space of paper and pen. Also I 10/10 recommend this journal (no affiliate), it's just beautiful and I've already filled one and on my 2nd.

3. Christmas "Giving Circle": Growing up, on Christmas morning after stockings, we’d sit in a circle and take turns opening presents. I think this is what most families do, except for those wild families that open everything in a free for all (I see you, and I’m trying my best not to judge :). Anyway, a couple years ago, Chandler and I tried reversing the flow. Instead of taking turns receiving presents, we take turns giving them. It’s a tiny change, but it completely changed the vibe of Christmas morning. Everyone starts noticing who hasn’t opened something in a while, the attention goes on the giver, and person with the most gifts to give lasts the longest. It’s such a small tweak, but I’ve really loved it. Give it a shot. AMA

That's it for this week!

Best,

Blake