A Daily Journal of Focus & Self-Improvement

The One Year Focus

"A personal record of focus, habits, and trying to get better. Not advice: just what actually happened."

Contents (6 Entries)

Vol. 1

scraping untappd because they ignored my email

I spent the entire day working on a new project that might actually make some money in the future, but I had to start by hitting a wall. The core of the idea is analyzing Untappd data to show breweries how people perceive their beer, how their products compare to each other, and who their recurring customers are. The problem is that Untappd does not allow open access to their API. I followed their instructions and sent a polite message to the email address they listed, but they completely ignored me. Since they decided to be silent, I decided to find another way. They have public RSS feeds that contain exactly what I need, so I spent hours writing code to collect and parse that feed data. It is a slow process, and it is definitely going to take more than a single day to finish, but I am determined to make it work.

Entry 5•Jul 27•2 min read

packaging beer and scraping reviews

I spent my morning helping a friend with his nomad brewing project, which was a nice break from my computer screen but threatened to ruin my routine. It was my first time filling and capping bottles, and capping kegs. People think brewing beer is a highly creative craft, but the actual work is mostly boring. Brewing itself is just cleaning and waiting, and even packaging is a repetitive sequence of wearing gloves, spraying chemicals, and closing caps. After we finished, we had a couple of beers to celebrate. I ended up tipsy, and I wanted to keep drinking. If I had stayed, the night would have turned into a complete write-off.

Entry 4•Jul 26•2 min read

too many random scraps of ideas

I spent today finishing the last pieces of my Etsy competitor tracking tool, but the platform makes it difficult to collect data. My original setup using residential proxies kept getting blocked, so I had to switch to Scraping Bee to bypass their filters. It solved the issue immediately, but fighting with scrapers is a tedious process. After fixing the tracking tool, I went to my actual Etsy store and added five new listings. Some of them were designs for kids' birthdays, and others were personalized options where people can get their photo edited to look like a K-pop star. Despite the effort, I still have not made a single sale.

Entry 3•Jul 25•2 min read

My biggest win today had nothing to do with code

Work started way too late today. It was Saturday, so I let myself have a lazy morning with a slow dog walk and no real rush. When I finally sat down, I wanted to build an Etsy sales tracker to see what my competitors are selling. Yesterday I set up a custom portrait generator - now I needed to know what styles are actually trending.

Entry 2•Jul 24•3 min read

I built an AI portrait factory and listed it on Etsy

I am going viral on TikTok. Fourteen likes on my Day 01 post. Basically a celebrity at this point. I should probably hire a manager. Anyway, I did not spend much time on that today because I had a better idea, one that might actually make money instead of feeding an algorithm that does not know I exist.

Entry 1•Jul 23•3 min read

One year of building instead of scrolling

I start this project with a lie. The idea is one project per day, but this website took a couple of days to build. Not because it was impossible to do in one day, but because I kept saying "I can't launch it right now" and "let me improve it tomorrow." Even though I know a website is never final. It is always changing. That is the trap I keep falling into. Perfectionism dressed up as quality. Build something, tweak it forever, then launch it to silence because nobody was waiting for it in the first place.