7 Random But Interesting Ideas (on Rest, AI, and Books) I Found in Recent Weeks

09 Jul 2026 #misc

As a creative practice, I write 10-idea lists every day. Here are 7 interesting ideas I found recently. I’m writing them as I go, so I’m missing sources.

#1. Have a list of alternative activities to scrolling. Instead of grabbing your phone, have a default activity for when you’re bored. That might be opening your journal or reading a book. Or have a creative date with yourself.

#2. Rest isn’t the same as stillness. Rest is inactivity that recharges you for later work. Industries profit from rest.

But stillness is inactivity just for the sake of doing nothing. Yes, you’re allowed to do nothing.

#3. Stress is external. Anxiety is internal. From a book I skimmed in a grocery store. I can’t remember its title…

Once the stress source is gone, so is stress. Think of hitting an important deadline at work. But anxiety is a fight in your own mind. You have power over it.

#4. Human attention requires human effort. Paul Graham from Y Combinator doesn’t read AI-generated emails. There’s nothing remarkable in prompting an LLM for a business pitch.

Don’t send screenshots of ChatGPT replies. Don’t copy-paste ChatGPT replies and pass them as yours. Anyone can do that. Show human effort.

#5. How to make a billion dollars. Again from Paul Graham. It isn’t as hard as it might sound.

#6. Build a fortress of related books. This is from Anthony Metivier’s YouTube… Read books that build on each other. Read one main source, a complementary source, and a contrasting source.

If you’re learning about guitar, read a songbook, a book on music theory, a biography of a musician…

#7. Use 10 words to describe your product. This is from a product marketplace I can’t remember… Its only requirement is to use 10 words to describe your product. Excellent idea for a book one-liner.

For more interesting ideas, check out 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too. It’s on my books page.