PAI Observatory

Mon · 1 Jan◆7 days in a row· 09:14

You’re 10 days into the job search outreach push. Right now you’re on send 30 outreach messages — a facilitation mode — structure and social accountability activates my brain move, pressing on accountability follow-through — say i'll do things and don't always. It pushes land first tech job — signed offer at $150k+ with flexibility forward, serves center accessibility and inclusion in the art of building software, and pulls at debt — ~$50k+ at 28% apr, financially strangling. freedom climbing. money steady. relationships drifting.

3 moving well. 2 need attention. One is stuck. 11 threads in flight · cap is 2.

Current vs Idealby Dec 2027

Voice as the primary interface for computers. Accessible software for everyone. First tech job unlocks financial independence and everything downstream.

Health

↗ +1 this month

Money

· holding steady

Freedom

↗ +3 this month

Creative

↗ +2 this month

Relationships

↘ -1 this month

Rhythms

↗ +1 this month

Mood·steady

Energy·6 / 10

Focus·sharp

Problems

The systemic issues above Mission. These are why the Mission exists.

Debt — ~$50k+ at 28% APR, financially strangling

Needs aggressive action the moment income starts. First-paycheck priority — this blocks everything downstream.

addresses 2 missions

No income yet — first tech job is the unlock for everything else

Job search is active. Debt elimination, independence, housing, family — all gated on a signed offer.

addresses 1 mission

Housing — roommate Tom violated community agreements, can't be legally removed yet

Seven people in the house. He is no longer welcome but legal removal is not available yet. Draining and unresolved.

addresses 2 missions

Divorce — needs to be finalized

Unresolved. Occupies mental bandwidth even when not actively top of mind.

addresses 1 mission

Mission & Goals

The chosen purpose and the outcomes in its service.

Mission · 10y

Center accessibility and inclusion in the art of building software

answers 3 problems · 10 goals serve this

Land first tech job — signed offer at $150k+ with flexibility

6h58→7h30+2.1

healthrhythms

Job applications sent

Row 365 days for 365 days — currently ahead

18.4km→25km+1.4

health

Rowing streak

Ship Feedtack — empower nontechnical devs to build great tools

0 / 1k→Jun+12

creativemoney

Feedtack weekly downloads

Eliminate debt — ~$50k+ at 28% APR

$18.2k→$40k+2.8

moneyfreedom

High-interest debt balance

Publish blog posts on trilliumsmith.com

19 / 50→Dec+4

creative

Blog posts published

Build Voice User Mouse Keyboard (VUMK)

2h41→4h00+0.3

creativerhythms

VUMK dev sessions

Do more tech talks — get CFPs accepted, travel for events

3 / 12→Dec0

relationshipscreative

Tech talk CFPs submitted

Find a love partnership — someone who shares my values

1.4/wk→2/wk-0.1

relationships

Dating connections

Ship barterboo.com — working bartering platform

54%→80%+6

creativerhythms

barterboo completion

Achieve financial independence — stable income, support loved ones

7.8mo→12mo+0.4

moneyfreedom

Monthly savings rate

Metrics

First-class measurements. Each links up to a Goal, down to the Work producing it.

Job applications sent

6h58↗ 0.12

feeds G0

Rowing streak

18.4km↗ 1.4

feeds G1

Feedtack weekly downloads

124↗ 22

feeds G2

High-interest debt balance

$18.2k↗ 2.8

feeds G3

Blog posts published

19/50↗ 4

feeds G4

VUMK dev sessions

2h41↗ 0.08

feeds G6

Tech talk CFPs submitted

3/12· 0

feeds G7

Dating connections

1.4/wk↘ 0.1

feeds G8

barterboo completion

54%↗ 6

feeds G2, G9

Monthly savings rate

7.8mo↗ 0.4

feeds G10

Challenges & Strategies

Personal blockers on the left; the plays answering them on the right. Hover to trace.

Challengeswhat’s in the way

Getting out of my own way — self-sabotage, overthinking, stalling

The gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. Why is it so damn hard?

blocks3 goals

Forgetfulness — can't keep things in my head

Everything needs to be externalized. Solved for keys (AirTags). Tasks and commitments still slip.

blocks3 goals

Eating healthy — french toast and pastries are the weakness

No candy, but sweet baked things hit the spot. Sweets are the actual challenge.

blocks2 goals

Posture — back hurts when sitting wrong, and I sit wrong often

Long sessions make it worse. Awareness doesn't automatically fix the habit.

blocks3 goals

Credit cards maxed out — friction on every purchase

Have to manually pay down the card from the bank account just to buy a beer at a tech event. Hate the feeling.

blocks1 goals

Accountability follow-through — say I'll do things and don't always

Need external structure to stay honest. Solo willpower is unreliable — design around it, not against it.

blocks2 goals

Strategieshow we’re answering

Ship ugly, publish ugly

doing this

polish comes later, shipping comes first

answers2·pushes2

Ship AI-generated content for the blog

clean it up later

answers1·pushes2

Externalize everything

get all tasks out of my head into a system

answers1·pushes2

Regular check-ins throughout the day

accountability nudges are vital

answers2·pushes1

Facilitation mode

structure and social accountability activates my brain

answers1·pushes2

Have a pal in my corner

consistent present support, not just a tool

answers1·pushes1

Projects and Work

What’s moving right now. Each work item traces back to the strategy it serves.

3 moving 2 need a look 1 stuck

Project

Strategy

Feeds

Work in flight

Feedtack — npm package v1.0.1, 13 versions shipped

moving

creativemoney

Ship next version (v1.0.2+)

2d↳T

Improve README and documentation

4d↳T

Set up usage analytics / download stats

7d↳T

Job Search Pipeline — land first tech job at $150k+

moving

creativerhythms

Send 30 outreach messages

today↳T

Schedule 10 coffee chats by 2026-05-08

May 8↳T

trilliumsmith.com — personal site and blog

needs a look

creative

Write and publish first blog post

Sat↳T

PAI — Personal AI Infrastructure, Life OS

needs a look

moneyfreedom

Set up mini3 as secondary worker agent

5d↳T

Configure on-prem LLM via Ollama

9d↳T

Voice User Mouse Keyboard (VUMK) — v0 exists, needs to become real

moving

health

Define v1 scope and ship it

ongoing↳T

barterboo.com — bartering platform, private repo

stuck

S11

relationshipscreative

Define core bartering flow and data model

14d↳T

Ship MVP with basic listing and match

21d↳T

Team

Humans and agents doing the Work.

Trillium human

Principal · massage therapist → software developer

Sets mission, makes the calls.

ownsFeedtack — npm package v1.0.1, 13 versions shippedJob Search Pipeline — land first tech job at $150k+trilliumsmith.com — personal site and blogVoice User Mouse Keyboard (VUMK) — v0 exists, needs to become realbarterboo.com — bartering platform, private repo

PAI agent

Primary DA · strategy, implementation, memory

Design, research, coding, scaffolding.

ownsFeedtack — npm package v1.0.1, 13 versions shippedPAI — Personal AI Infrastructure, Life OS

mini3 agent

Secondary agent · mini3

Second Mac Mini — fleet member, underutilized.

ownsVoice User Mouse Keyboard (VUMK) — v0 exists, needs to become realbarterboo.com — bartering platform, private repo

mini2 agent

Primary host · mini2

Main Mac Mini — runs Pulse, PAI, daily operations.

owns

MacBook Pro agent

Laptop · offline via Tailscale

Laptop — offline or unreachable; job search resume tooling lives here.

owns

Budget

What’s being spent, and on what. Money, time, attention.

money

Monthly burn$6.4k/$8.0k

Operating costs — massage therapy income covers basics while job search runs.funds 2 items

Runway reserve$51k/$96k

No runway yet — first job offer changes this entire row.funds 1 item

Giving$420/$1.0k

Giving is aspirational — unlocked once debt is eliminated.funds 1 item

time

Deep-work hours/wk18h/28h

Focus time split between job search prep, Feedtack, and PAI maintenance.funds 3 items

Meeting load/wk4h/6h

Coffee chats and tech talk prep — relationship and career investment.funds 1 item

attention

Active threads11/2

Too many open fronts — job search, Feedtack, VUMK, barterboo, blog, PAI.funds 5 items

Inbox pressure63/20

Inbox pressure is real — tasks leak in from too many channels.funds 1 item

Phone screen-time1h52/1h00

Phone screen time eating into focus blocks.

Recommendations

The next two or three moves, with the trace that makes the case.

Get the first outreach batch out — 30 messages was the commitment.

because Job search (G0) is the unlock for debt (G3), independence, and everything downstream. No other action has higher leverage right now.

tracesB5S0C0G2G6G9M1

effort 1h planning · ongoing discipline

impact high

Put every open task into one external system today.

because Forgetfulness (C1) and accountability drift (C5) are blocking follow-through. The brain is not the place to hold commitments.

tracesMT5S8G6G9M1

effort 5 min calendar

impact high

Ship the next Feedtack version before opening new project scope.

because Feedtack (G2) has real users and real momentum. Shipping ugly (S0) beats polishing forever.

tracesP2S5MT4MT8G4G9M2

effort 3h writing

impact med

The corners of life

Each area reports back to one of the six.

Business feeds Money, currently sitting at 62 out of 95 — climbing about 2.8% a month. At this pace it lands on ideal in about 12 months.

No income yet — job offer is the single lever that changes this picture.

where it is

62/95

the gap

per month

+2.8

ideal by

12mo

last twelve months

Preference contextThe signals that aren’t primitives but color every decision.