The Palindrome, by Tivadar Danka

The best Substack newsletter for Math and Machine Learning topics.

Tivadar makes complex concepts stick easily with his beautiful hand-crafted visualizations and through the art of storytelling. That’s right: this newsletter gives you stories, not boring textbook chapters, so you can cut through the noise in the age of AI.

If you want to see it for yourself, read this banger and thank me later:

The Palindrome

Matrices and graphs

The single most undervalued fact of linear algebra: matrices are graphs, and graphs are matrices…

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3 years ago · 317 likes · 24 comments · Tivadar Danka

Smarter Techies, by Mandy Liu

Without question the most honest newsletter on Substack about what truly means to be a solopreneur in tech.

Mandy has the unique capacity of combining her technical expertise as a data scientist and the skills she has acquired while building her business to show you what’s possible when you go beyond the corporate world. If you’ve ever felt the urge to break free and start your own thing, you better do it following her informed advice.

And if you still don’t know if this newsletter might be a good fit for you, r…

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Each week, I send two essays that help you stay creative, healthy, and sane as a tech professional.

If you want support in your tech and entrepreneurial journey, join our network of 90+ techies and entrepreneurs.

You’ll instantly access our group chat, weekly live Q&As, and monthly workshops.

Join the Smarter Circle

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Promotions aren’t security anymore.

The ladder is broken. The rungs are loose.

And every time you think about building something of your own…

That voice creeps in:

“The niche is too crowded.”

“I’m not ready.”

“I don’t have anything original to say.”

This isn’t the life you imagined when you first learned to code.

You used to stay up late building things just for the fun of it.

Now?

You spend your days in back-to-back meetings, grooming Jira tickets, watching another “Monday all-hands” crawl by.

The creativity’s gone.

The freedom feels like a lie.

And every time you scroll past someone launching a new product, building in public, or sharing their story online…

You roll your eyes. But part of you wishes it was you.

Because deep down, you know:

You didn’t come here to blend in.

You came here to build something that’s yours.

But it’s ok.

You’re not stuck because you suck.

You’re stuck because no one showed you the wa…

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You’ve led teams. You’ve shipped products. You’ve solved complex people and technical problems.

But when it comes to writing online, you freeze.

Not because you don’t have valuable ideas, but because you don’t know where to start.

• What topics should you write about?

• Are you “expert” enough?

• How do you make your ideas resonate with others?

But here’s the hard truth:

The best opportunities—career-wise, financially, creatively—go to the engineers who know how to package their experience into ideas and share them publicly.

Not just code on GitHub.

Not just titles on LinkedIn.

But clear, specific, helpful ideas—published online consistently.

• That’s how you build real career leverage.

• That’s how you position yourself as a thought leader.

• That’s how you attract opportunities instead of chasing them.

By the end of this guide, you’ll know:

• What topics you're credible enough to write about

• How to choose ones that actually resonate with others

• A repeatable system to generate endless ideas using the 2-Year Test + 4A Framework

This is the exact method I’ve used—and taught—to turn personal experience into consistent content that grows an audience and opens doors without even knocking on them.

Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Use the 2-Year Test to find your topic ideas

Finding the general topics you want to write about starts with asking yourself 1 simple question:

What are all the problems I’ve solved and topics I’ve learned about over the last 2 years?”

Why 2 years?

Good question:

Because you don’t need to be an expert.

One of the biggest mistakes beginner writers make is thinking they have to be an “expert“ to write about something.

But this is wrong.

The truth is, people don’t want to learn from experts.

They prefer to learn from those just a few steps ahead of them on the same path.

And once you realize this, it’s a huge creative unlock.

So answer the question and brain dump every problem you’ve solved and topic you’ve learned in the last 2 years.

Get them all out there with no judgment.

Narrowing Down Your Topics

Now you have a long list of topics.

Turns out you have plenty to write about!

From here, you are going to narrow it down to 3 buckets.

To do this, listen for internal resonance.

Which topics jumped off the page right when you wrote them down?

Lean into those and latch on.

When I did this, I emerged with 3 buckets:

1) Staying creative in tech.

2) Landing better job opportunities.

3) Achieving work-life balance as a tech professional.

You should have your 3 buckets as well.

Now, onto step 2: Adding specificity.

Step 2: Add specificity to match your credibility

Remember how I said you don’t have to be an expert?

That was only half-true.

You do need to be an expert in a topic to write about it, but you simply need to tweak the topic by adding specificity to match your level of credibility.

Here’s what I mean:

Recall the 2-Year Test.

These are all the problems you’ve solved in the last 2 years.

Now, you’re going to take your topics and add a level of specificity that makes the audience you’re writing to the same person you were 2 years ago, before you solved the problem.

Pause for a second and stare at that—it’s important.

You are adding a level of specificity to your topic that makes your target audience the person you were 2 years ago.

An example will help drive this home.

Here’s how my 3 topics evolved.

My Topics With More Specificity:

1) Thrive while you build:

For junior devs who want to stay fit, creative, and sane in a demanding tech world.

2) Break in from the outside:

For ambitious engineers from non-tech hubs trying to break into global opportunities.

3) Don’t lose who you love:

For young, hungry devs trying not to ruin their relationships while chasing their careers.

The Power of Specificity

Can you see how I cut out a huge number of people with my additions of specificity?

That’s the point.

This helps me generate ideas specifically to solve the problems of my target audience.

Here’s how to get specific.

You can add specificity in many ways:

• Age.

• Gender.

• Profession.

• Background.

• Level of experience.

I encourage you to dial these up and down until you feel uncomfortably specific, then add one more level.

That’s when you know you’ve gotten specific enough.

Step 3: Use the 4A Framework to generate ideas

You can express each of your topics in 4 ways:

• Actionable (here’s how).

• Aspirational (yes, you can).

• Anthropological (here’s why).

• Analytical (here are the numbers).

And here are some examples for each:

1) Actionable

These are actionable, implementable pieces of content.

The reader should gain some new insight or instruction that they didn’t have beforehand.

• Tips.

• Hacks.

• Resources.

• Ultimate guides.

Take your core idea and help the reader put it into practice.

2) Analytical

These are breakdowns involving numbers, frameworks, and processes.

Take your core idea and support it with numbers and analysis.

• Industry trends.

• Surprising numbers.

• Why your idea works.

Help the reader unlock a new way of thinking.

3) Aspirational

These are stories of how you or others put your core idea into practice.

• Lessons.

• Mistakes.

• Reflections.

• Underrated traits.

• How to get started.

Help the reader understand the benefits they unlock when they see the world through this new lens.

4) Anthropological

These are the things that speak to universal human nature.

• Fears.

• Failures.

• Struggles.

• Why others are wrong.

• How you’ve been misled.

Create a sense of urgency for the reader to fully embrace your core idea or be forever left behind.

Step 4: Choose 3 ideas to write about over the next 3 days

You’re sitting there with a ton of ideas on the page, and now you have the problem of potentially too many ideas to write about, which is better than having nothing to write about.

But many writers will fall into the analysis paralysis trap here.

Here’s how to overcome it:

Pick 3 ideas. That’s it.

Your next 3 days of content.

The 3 ideas that most resonated with you from that list.

And that’s all you’re allowed to take away from these ideas (for now).

Because here’s what’s going to happen:

When you start writing about your first idea (that idea that jumped right off the page), it’s going to feel effortless.

And in the process of writing, more ideas are going to jump into your head.

Audience Feedback Loop

When you hit publish on this idea, the market feedback is going to generate even more ideas (if you’re paying attention to the questions, critiques, engagement, resonance, etc).

This is the main point of the Endless Idea Generator Framework: to get you started writing about ideas that resonate with you.

And once you’re getting them out there consistently, it will be dead obvious what you should write about next.

So take your 3 ideas and get going!

The rest will take care of itself.

If You Still Don’t Know Where to Start, Use The Advanced Idea Generator Prompt

Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude to instantly apply the Endless Idea Generator Framework to your own writing:

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Some are doing digital work.

Others are just scrolling Instagram and TikTok like brainless apes.

None of them knows how to be present in real life anymore.

Whether you are moving symbols on a screen or watching your favorite influencer do the stupidest thing online, you have grown detached from what real feedback looks like.

And I don’t mean feedback from your boss or your teacher.

I mean life feedback.

The one powerful enough to give you a sense of purpose and steer you in the direction you want to pursue.

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to recover your life.

1) If your entire identity is tied to your digital world, losing internet for a day will send you into an existential crisis.

Read that again because it’s powerful.

I’ve seen this happen on a significantly minor scale.

You have probably experienced it yourself.

Whenever you lose signal …

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Modern life isn’t hard because of what we lack.

It’s hard because of how much we have—how much noise, how much novelty, how many tabs, tasks, and timelines pulling at us all day. We don’t know how to be still anymore. And that’s not your fault.

You were trained to avoid silence.

Think about it:

• When you’re bored, you scroll.

• When you're anxious, you tab-hop.

• When you're overwhelmed, you distract yourself instead of resting.

You don't even notice it—because you think it's normal now.

But here’s the truth:

Boredom is a feature, not a bug.

It’s your mind whispering, “Go deeper.”

But instead, most of us treat boredom like a fire alarm.

We run away from it. We seek stimulation. We drown it out.

But if you can resist that urge—just for a few minutes—you’ll realize something profound:

On the other side of boredom is clarity.

That’s where real ideas live.

That’s where intuition shows up.

That’s where your creative engine starts running again.

Not in the scroll.

Not in the email tab.

Not in the Slack message that…

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You don’t need to be an expert to start writing online.

In fact, one of the biggest lies smart people tell themselves is:

I don’t have anything interesting to say.

I used to believe that too.

I’d spend hours reading online content, thinking:

• “That’s a great idea—I wish I thought of that.”

• “I could never write like that.”

• “Everything worth saying has already been said.”

Then I discovered the 4A Framework and the 2-Year Test—two simple mental models that flipped the script.

Let’s start with this:

What Is The 4A Framework?

Every compelling idea online fits into one of these 4 buckets:

1. Actionable – “Do this now.”

2. Analytical – “Here’s why this works.”

3. Aspirational – “Here’s what’s possible.”

4. Anthropological – “Here’s what people are doing.”

So let’s say you’re a backend engineer:

• You could write an Actionable piece on “How I shaved 30% off our API latency.”

• Or an Analytical one on “Why microservices made our startup slower.”

• Or an Aspirational one like “How I built my dream job around Python.”

• Or an Anthropological one on “What I learned reading 50 job postings for senior engineers.”

One experience. Four angles. Infinite potential.

Still Think You Have Nothing To Say?

Run the 2-Year Test:

What do you know now that you wish you understood two years ago?

Chances are, the answer isn’t flashy.

It’s probably something like:

• “How I finally understood Kubernetes.”

• “How to write a useful commit message.”

• “Why I stopped overengineering every project.”

But guess what?

That’s exactly what someone out there needs to hear.

The stuff that feels obvious to you now?

It used to be magic. And it still is—to the you from two years ago.

That’s your reader.

But You Don’t Have To Do It Alone

Here’s how ChatGPT or Claude can help you unlock infinite writing ideas.

Next time you think you have nothing to say, use this prompt:

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Most people quit because they don't realize that 2-3 months of feeling like you have no idea what you're doing is a feature, not a bug.

— (maybe)

I read this quote the other day, and it hit hard.

It hit hard because it reflects exactly what I’ve been going through ever since I graduated from University with my shiny Master’s Degree in Computer Science.

For reference, I’ve been:

• A Backend Developer

• A Frontend Developer

• A Geospatial Data Scientist

• A Data Structures and Algorithms Teacher

• A DevOps and Continuous Integration Consultant

And now, on top of all that, I’m also a “Substack Writer.”

The motivations that led to wearing these many hats were mostly monetary.

More jobs led to making more money and saving some of that to eventually make some kind of breakthrough in life. The university job made it easier for me to access the internet in Cuba so that I could look for more remote developer jobs. The DevOps career wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed, but it gave me the opportunity to increase my salary by four times.

The funny thing is that in the pursuit of money, I ended up finding much more:

• I found purpose in doing hard work.

• I became my healthiest self at the age of 27.

• I launched into a whole new life in a foreign country.

And two and a half years after writing my first word on the internet, I’ve started to create a business around my ideas.

It hasn’t been easy. I have struggled with consistency. I’ve had ups and downs.

I’ve questioned myself if this is the path I want to pursue.

And while I’ve been busy asking myself stupid questions and second-guessing my decisions, I’ve accomplished something that most people never will:

I’ve kept going, no matter what.

I have found ways to bring myself back on track when my motivation was low. I have become a more disciplined person. I have finally understood what separates successful people from the crowd:

It’s tapping into the unknown and giving themselves permission to fail, assess, and adjust.

The Reason I Write This Newsletter Is To Help You If You Are In The Position I Was Three Years Ago

Here are my three main content buckets:

1) Thrive While You Build

For junior devs who want to stay fit, creative, and sane in a demanding tech world.

• You’re scared of burning out before you even “make it.”

• You’re staring at screens all day, and your body feels it.

• You want to do more than code—maybe play music, write, read—but can’t find the energy.

Because I have built physical health, protected my mind, and still ship great work.

2) Break In From the Outside

For ambitious engineers from non-tech hubs trying to break into global opportunities.

• You don’t have a Silicon Valley network.

• You’re from a place with no big-name tech companies.

• English may not be your first language, and immigration sounds impossible.

Because I have proved it’s doable: landed a top-tier job, moved countries, made friends, and built a new life from scratch.

3) Don’t Lose Who You Love

For young, hungry devs trying not to ruin their relationships while chasing their careers..

• You’re obsessed with “making it.”

• Your partner or family feels distant.

• You’re not sure how to stay close to people without sacrificing your ambition.

Because I have learned how to reconnect, rebalance, and build a career and a life that feels full.

But It Took Me Years To Figure Out What I Actually Wanted To Write About

If you’ve been here since the beginning of this publication, you might remember the days when I used to write about Data Structures and Algorithms as a way to get people interested in Computer Science.

It was natural to start there because I used to be a top competitive programmer. I enjoyed solving interesting algorithmic challenges. I had the feeling that most people, even those without any technical background, should know a little bit of Computer Science in a world where technology is omnipresent.

I even wrote a book about Graph Theory, because it was the topic I was most passionate about.

And yes, this publication was not named Smarter Engineers but Algorithmically Speaking instead.

Maybe Dan Koe Was Right After All

Two or three months (in my case, years) of not knowing what you’re doing isn’t failure.

It’s initiation.

It’s supposed to feel like a mess. Like you’re lost. Like you’re making it up as you go.

Because you are.

But if you keep showing up—even imperfectly—it starts to click.

You find your rhythm. You find your voice. You find your people.

And eventually, you realize: That confusion you were afraid of?

It was the doorway all along.

If you’re standing in that fog right now—unsure what to write, what to build, or how to break in—you’re exactly who I write this for.

Stick around. Hit reply. Tell me what you're working on.

Leave a comment

Talk soon,

—Alberto

PS… If you enjoyed this essay, hit that 🧡 like button, restack 🔁 this post so more people find it on Substack, or upgrade your subscription to support my work and access the premium content library.

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Let me paint you a picture.

It’s 2022. I’m 26. Living in Sweden.

Working remotely as a junior dev.

90% of my day is: chair → screen → Slack → chair.

I’m out of shape. My back hurts. My wrists hate me.

And I’m thinking, “How the hell do people do this for 10 years without falling apart?”

So I did something about it.

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A strange thing happens when you stop lying to yourself:

Life gets easier.

Not because things get easier, but because you do.

Here are 9 truths that most people avoid—but the moment you face them, your work gets smarter, your health gets sharper, and your relationships get deeper.

Let’s get uncomfortable (in the best way possible).

1. You are not special.

I used to think I was the exception.

That I didn’t need to follow the same rules. That I was “too talented” for structure. That people would just “get it.”

But when I looked around, the people succeeding weren't waiting to be discovered.

They were doing three things:

• Following boring systems that worked.

• Asking better questions, not proving how smart they were.

• Showing up daily, not occasionally “crushing it.”

Once I let go of being special, I started making progress.

2. Nobody owes you anything.

Entitlement is quiet. It hides behind frustration.

“Why didn’t I get promoted?” “Why don’t they recognize my work?” “Why didn’t they text me back?”

Here’s what helped me reset:

• Show your work. Visibility beats talent.

• Ask clearly. Don’t wait to be noticed.

• Give first. That’s how you build trust and leverage.

The minute you drop the scorecard, you gain power.

3. Failure is not just possible—it’s the default.

Every successful person I know has failed more than most people try.

• Most engineers don’t get hired for their first side project—it’s usually their fifth.

• Most creators don’t go viral on post #1—it happens on #57.

• Most good relationships don’t start perfectly—they’re built through conflict and repair.

Failure isn’t the opposite of success. It’s the cost of entry.

The trick? Fail on purpose, small and often.

You've just read the first 3 of 9 uncomfortable truths that make life better.

If you're a paid subscriber, keep reading to unlock the rest:

• How to stop letting your emotions sabotage your goals

• How to make better use of your time without burnout

• How to stop caring what others think—and build deeper connections

• And how to defeat the only real enemy you’ll ever face: yourself

Paid members, scroll down.

Free readers, upgrade now to get the full playbook—and 100+ other career tools in the Strategy Library.

Click here to keep reading.

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4. Your feelings don’t always matter.

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Hey there—Alberto here.

I’ve worked at 7 software companies in 5 years.

The biggest problems weren’t technical.

They were human.

Here are 3 culture shifts I wish every engineering leader understood—so you can build a team that’s creative, collaborative, and actually enjoys coming to work.

1. People are more important than ideas or processes, so assembling the perfect team is critical

Many people think that success in business hinges on coming up with as many groundbreaking ideas as possible.

While this certainly doesn't hurt, there's one far more important element to success—hiring the right people.

Indeed, it's more important to have a great team than a great idea. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how good your idea is, how clear your goals are, or how airtight your plan is—without the right team to get the job done, you won't succeed. For example, almost everything you buy, from your iPhone to a five-star meal, is not the result of a single idea but the sum of many people's cooperative efforts.

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Would you ever ring up your boss with your ideas about how you think the business could be improved? Probably not.

Most likely, you, like most people, would feel too scared or unimportant to talk to the head honcho. Yet, this paralyzing fear can have consequences for the business. If the right people aren't aware of the problems that need fixing, they remain unfixed.

So, how can you get around this?

You can start by creating feedback systems that allow information to be shared freely and openly between hierarchies. Animation company Pixar, for example, held a Notes Day in 2013 when the company halted all operations and the entire staff spent the day working with each other in teams and giving their feedback about the company. Notes Day was invaluable for the company as staff members felt free to engage in an open dialogue about the issues they faced, meaning that problems were shared and solved.

But you don't just want any feedback.

In order to get the best feedback from staff, leaders should ensure that their employees take ownership of their work. For example, Japanese companies in the 1940s were able to improve their productivity with a simple idea. Rather than giving only senior managers the power to stop the factory assembly line, all workers could halt production by simply pulling a cord if they saw there was a problem.

Workers thus felt pride when they fixed problems on their own rather than waiting on management's solution.

This also boosted efficiency as it led to fast problem solving.

Finally, workers should feel that their opinions and suggestions are actually valued. Unfortunately, they're often afraid to voice their opinions because they believe management will simply ignore them, or worse, treat them with disdain.

That's why Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, visits all his employees individually in order to hear and gain insight about their opinions and problems, thus ensuring that they feel confident to speak to him with their opinions.

How to Build a Feedback System That Actually Works

The best feedback systems aren’t passive.

They invite, reward, and normalize open sharing across all levels.

Here’s a simple way to start: use AI as a brainstorming partner to help you design a better system for your team — one that breaks traditional hierarchies and unlocks real conversations.

Here’s a prompt you can use in ChatGPT or Claude to make them act as your Creative Feedback Rituals Advisor:

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Most engineers I know don’t have issues with the technical aspects of their profession.

They can understand and solve problems effectively. They can sit for hours and debug horrendous vibe-coded software from their clients. And they can adapt to the new trends of technology faster than most people can.

But when it comes to their personal development, I see these issues over and over:

• They suffer from poor mental health.

• They don’t know how to communicate ideas.

• They don’t know how to behave in social settings.

• They can’t separate professional endeavors from personal life.

• They have poor control over how much money they make and spend.

I blame the traditional education system.

It has taken me years after graduating from University to fully understand how to excel in the professional world. Even though I am proficient on the technical side of things, it wasn’t until I started focusing on a different skillset, a more human one, that my career ramped up. And with it, my overall health and the qual…

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Want to grow 5x faster on Substack but can't come up with ideas for notes?

Need to adjust to your audience’s schedule, which is 12 hours ahead of yours?

You're going to need a tool to help you grow on Substack and make your life 10x easier while growing your audience 5x faster.

It's called WriteStack.

And the best thing? Everything is extremely personalized.

Start Growing Your Substack

Tech professionals don’t struggle with creating products or services.

Their main bottleneck is that they don’t know how to:

• Market their products or services effectively

• So they can find potential customers

• And get paid for their work

Today, I’ll show you a framework that will allow you to grow your business via online writing.

I’ve been implementing a variant of this framework for the past 6 months, and it has allowed me to:

• Grow my newsletter subscribers to 5300+

• Convert 80+ to paid subscribers

• Make an extra $4890

All this without leaving my 9-to-5, or neglecting my health and relationships.

At the end of this post, you will find a ChatGPT prompt to help you implement variants of this framework tailored to your business and specific needs.

Let’s get started!

The Simplest Online Writing Framework To Grow Your Business

1) Write on Social Media Once per Day (Attention)

You have to write on social media to promote your product or service.

But you don’t want to lead with sales first. Instead, you want to lead with education. You want people online to understand how the service or product you provide is beneficial to them

You want to add a clear Call-To-Action (CTA) at the end of your social media posts, inviting the reader to check what you have to offer.

2) Create a 5-day Educational Email Course (Retention)

The goal of the CTA in each of your social media posts should be to capture emails from potential customers.

The way you achieve this is instead of sending them to the landing page of your product or service, you send them to a standalone page where they can sign up for a 5-day Educational Email Course (EEC).

This is one of the most effective lead magnets.

You educate the reader over the expanse of 5 days and have a clear CTA to your product or service in the last email.

But most importantly, you already captured the email of a person who agreed to hear from you in the future in exchange for this FREE asset.

3) Publish an Evergreen Newsletter (Nurturing)

So, what do you do with the emails you capture?

You keep reminding everyone who agreed to give you their email that you exist and that you have a product/service to offer.

The most effective way to implement this is via a weekly newsletter of evergreen educational content. For example:

• On Mondays, you send a value-packed email with a CTA to your product/service at the end.

• On Thursdays, you send a targeted email to the “clickers“ (those who clicked the link to your product/service but didn’t buy) with some FAQs and Testimonials about your product/service.

And just like that, this simple 3-part framework will increase your sales.

Let’s see why.

Why This Framework Works Better Than Most Marketing Strategies

1) It Works Because You Are Writing to Build Authority

Most people write to promote.

They will lead with sales first and come across as salesy. But you’re writing to position yourself as an expert. When you share useful, relevant content—especially in public—you’re not just selling a service.

You’re becoming the go-to person in your niche.

Over time, readers stop seeing you as “someone with a product” and start seeing you as “someone who gets it.”

That’s authority. And authority converts better than ads.

2) It Works Because You Are Educating to Build Trust

People don’t buy because they see your landing page once.

They buy because you’ve helped them solve a problem before they ever paid you.

That’s what your social posts and 5-day email course do.

Each time someone reads your writing, they think:

“If the free stuff is this good, imagine what the paid stuff must be like.”

Trust is the foundation of every sale, and education builds it faster than persuasion.

3) It Works Because You Are Capturing Emails to Build Relationships—And Revenue

Social media gives you reach, and email gives you results.

By turning followers into subscribers, you’re creating a channel you control, where you can

• Continue the conversation,

• deepen the relationship,

• and make your offer at the right time.

You’re not caught up in chasing attention.

You’re building an asset instead.

And over time, that email list becomes the highest-leverage part of your business.

Your Prompt To Implement This Framework For Your Business

Here’s a prompt you can copy-paste to ChatGPT or Claude to help you tailor this framework to your business:

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Some workdays I’m just so stressed, I can feel it in my chest.

• My brain is racing,

• my to-do list feels endless,

• and even tiny decisions start to feel overwhelming.

When that happened, I used to just power through—more tabs, more coffee, more pressure. But honestly, that just left me more wired and way less focused.

And even though I thought I was being productive, I wasn’t getting anything done.

So I started paying attention to what actually helped me feel better and ready to crush it at work (even under pressure):

• Not scrolling.

• Not grinding harder.

Just 3 simple things that help me reset—fast.

They don’t take a ton of time.

I didn’t want to spend 90 minutes on a yoga session, so I started experimenting with tiny habits that gave me 90% of the results in way less time.

And they’ve made a huge difference in how I show up at work and how I feel after I log off

1. A quick walk outside

I’ve learned that sitting longer never helps me think clearly when I'm overwhelmed.

But a short walk? Total game-changer.

Even just 5 minutes outside—no podcast, no phone—gives my brain a break and gets me out of my head. It’s like a system reboot.

Plus, the daylight and movement help regulate my nervous system.

I come back feeling calmer, more focused, and like I’m back in the driver’s seat.

Try it next time you're stuck. Step outside, walk around the block, breathe deep.

That’s it.

2. Box breathing (seriously, it works)

I used to think breathwork sounded a little too woo-woo… until I tried it.

Box breathing is simple:

• Breathe in for 4 seconds.

• Hold for 4.

• Breathe out for 4.

• Hold again for 4.

Repeat that for 1–2 minutes.

Here is a video to get you started:

I do it at my desk, especially when I feel like I’m spiraling or can’t slow my thoughts.

It’s weirdly effective. Like hitting a mental pause button.

It brings me out of fight-or-flight and back into focus.

And the best part? No one even notices I’m doing it.

3. One focused work block

Sometimes the most stressful part of the day is feeling like I’m behind.

So when I’m scattered or stressed, I’ll block off 30–45 minutes for deep work.

• No Slack.

• No meetings.

• No multitasking.

Just one high-leverage task I know will move the needle.

It gives me back a sense of control. Like, “Okay, I did something today.” That one block resets my confidence and momentum more than anything else.

And if I stack that with a quick walk and some box breathing? That’s my reset trifecta.

Why These Work (Science-Backed)

And no, it’s not just me.

It’s proven by science: these simple habits can shift your mood, energy, and focus in just a few minutes.

Walking lowers stress and boosts your cognitive function

Even short walks (especially in nature) reduce cortisol levels, improve mood, and increase working memory.

👉 Stanford study on walking and creativity

👉 Study: Effects of outdoor walking on cortisol and mood

Box breathing activates your calming system

Box breathing is a form of slow-paced breathing that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and helps regulate stress.

👉 Study on breathing techniques and stress reduction

Focused work beats multitasking for energy and clarity

Deep work not only increases productivity but also reduces mental fatigue by keeping the brain in a flow state.

👉 Study on task switching and cognitive fatigue

It’s not just feel-good advice. It’s backed by neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science.

Your Custom Reset Plan Generator

If none of the habits above are a good fit for you, try this ChatGPT prompt to create a personalized reset plan tailored to your needs.

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Happy Saturday 👋

It’s Alberto here. Welcome to the Smarter Engineers newsletter.

It’s Saturday, the perfect time to set aside some time for yourself.

So if you are trying to improve your work, health, or relationships this weekend, here are all the strategies I wrote about this week:

1) The Smarter Engineers Strategy Library

Smarter Engineers is turning two years old on Monday.

That means we have published over a hundred posts on how to work better, become healthier, and cultivate meaningful relationships in tech.

This week, I went through all of them and categorized them to create a library where you can easily find anything you need.

Here’s your 1-stop for all your professional needs 👇

2) Strategies of the Week

This week we covered:

• How to effectively plan your projects (guest post by )

• Pros and cons of AI fitness coaching (guest post by )

• A 3-step productivity framework (guest post by )

• How to set effective goals (a guest post by )

Give them a read in case you missed them.

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I get this question all the time:

“Alberto… WHERE IS THE LIBRARY OF STRATEGIES?!”

For the longest time, I replied with: “Just use Substack’s search function (or Google).“ And while that works… it’s not ideal.

So, yesterday, I went through every single post in my library and tagged each one to make them easier for you to find.

Now, instead of digging, you can just click.

The Smarter Engineers Strategy Library 👇

Bookmark this page to instantly access strategies for navigating your career in tech.

• Strategies to land a job in the tech industry

• Strategies to progress your career without burnout

• Strategies to develop healthy habits around technology

• Strategies to improve your overall fitness as a knowledge worker

• Strategies to diversify your income via online writing and building a personal brand

Click any category below to find strategies tailored to your needs. If there’s something missing, let me know—I am constantly expanding the library.

(Note: Not every link is active—yet. I am filling the gaps o…

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