Hey โ Jamie here.
It's Mother's Day in the UK, so tradition has it that I share a recipe. Mother's Day 2024 was when I shared my mum's homemade curry recipe with readers of Oxford Notes. This year, to carry on her spirit, I wanted to share a recipe that sweetened my childhood: mango lassi.
You can't go out for an Indian and not order one. Sweet, tangy, and cool enough to take the edge off the most ferocious of chilli, the mango lassi is a must have at any table. Find the recipe under Favourite Finds (along with a plant-based version for anyone who can't have dairy).
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- A Fortnight in Review
- Articles & Guides
- Stories & Reflections
- Favourite Finds
As for this weekโs article, I wanted to share the power of โcheatingโ your way to better habits. Too many of us suffocate our progress by believing we need to stick perfectly to new habits. We donโt. As long as we are moving in a direction thatโs better than before, thatโs enough. Which is where the title comes from, โVegan, but Baconโ.
In the next few editions, Iโll be sharing one of the oldest memory techniques I teach my students for recalling long lists and expanding on one of my most popular posts, Escaping your phoneโs gravity with some new ways of configuring your digital tools to better serve you.
OK, now Iโm going to call Grandma and tell her some stories to brighten her day.
She's 100 now, so this is her 81st Mother's Day! I shared a story about her centenary in a secret email back in December. For those who've recently joined, you can find it below. I've also added a bonus for long-time readers: a picture of the birthday card we received from the King and Queen.
Feel free to reply to this message. You can also share your questions, requests, and favourite finds here.
Jamie | @JamoeMills
โ๏ธ From a very early Spring morning in London
Find a better way to solve problems that matter.
A Fortnight in Review
Upgrading Jamoe's Foundations
You're only as good as your foundations, so this fortnight I went underground. I migrated the entire website over to a new builder. It was a heavy-lift, but the sleep-deprivation is already paying for itself. I also managed to mobile-optimise the site, harmonise the design, create a new reader request form, improve the reading experience, added a new newsletter archive, and integrated a new cookieless analytics tools, which gives me a compass for knowing what's resonating, without compromising reader privacy.
All of these changes have been a long time coming. I'm quietly buzzing with how far things have moved since November. The last major upgrade is migrating to a new newsletter tool to make my publishing workflow more seamless. Then I can reach for the sky without risk of everything toppling.
Improv Diaries
Improv comedy is my hobby and I did two shows this week. Both teams were electric, running on a high after we crashed to black. I picked up improv after the pandemic when I was looking for a hyper-social, team sport for nerds.
It's been transformational. You're forced to make up every scene on the spot and say 'yes and' to whatever gets thrown at you, which unknots self-doubt and teaches you how to hold a room.
Unable to help myself, I've drafted about ten pieces on what improv has taught me about life, learning, and charisma. I'll turn them into a mini-series, so let me know if you're keen.
Articles & Guides
Vegan, But Bacon: How To 'Cheat' Your Way Forward
At a glance
- Based on the reader question: How can I overcome imposter syndrome when changing my habits?
- The all-or-nothing mindset is not principled. It is self-sabotage wearing principle's coat
- 50% is better than zero, especially when 100% isn't possible. Being almost-something is not failure; it's progress
- Supporting structures are not signs of weakness. They are how good work gets done. Some are transitional; others become permanent. Both are fine
- Renegotiate your goals to build in flexibility, and stop apologising for it
Introduction
There is a kind of person who, upon learning that you're vegan, will immediately ask about bacon. You might share that, on occasion, you still indulge in a rasher or two. So you're not really vegan then. Their face turns smug. They have won the argument you never knew you were having.
This pattern exists everywhere. You don't drink alcohol. What about the champagne you sipped at the birth of your firstborn? You workout three times a week. You only managed twice this week. You draw using sketch lines and references. What, you don't do it all from your imagination?
The belief driving these jibes is that unless you act perfectly, you're a fraud. The Brits are especially guilty of this. The Americans are worse.
50% is better than 0, especially when 100% isn't possible. Embracing this attitude is one of the most useful tricks for "cheating" your way towards your goals, building new habits, and ditching old ones.
Stories & Reflections
Grandma turns 100(!)
December 2025
This week, my sister and I went to visit our grandma for her 100th birthday, which is a sentence that already feels like a lie.
People canโt be 100. Buildings, trees, cheeses, maybe. But not your grandma. Especially one who still answers the phone briskly, has all her marbles, and strong opinions about the benefits of eating raw ginger.
My sister and I dressed up. She wore a fabulous maxi dress and I opted for a suit. Itโs not every day your grandma turns 100, so pulling out all the sartorial bells and whistles felt right.
โHi Grandma!โ we bumbled through the door of the house sheโs lived in for the better part of eight decades, arms full of presents and balloons broadcasting 100 in gold and silver.
Favourite finds
Share your favourite finds here
Blocking cookie-banners (tech tip)
Journal editions two and three covered how to strip adverts from your desktop and make mobile more peaceful. This is the finishing touch.
With Firefox and uBlock Origin already installed, open uBlock Origin's dashboard, go to 'Filter lists', scroll to the 'Annoyances' section, and tick 'EasyList Cookie' and 'uBlock filters โ Annoyances'. Save. Refresh. The 'Do you accept cookies?' banners that jump-scare every website you visit will largely disappear.
The timing feels apt. YouTube has just announced unskippable ads on YouTube TV. It's not a surprise; it's a pattern. The internet gives you something useful, then slowly makes it worse until paying to stop being harassed starts to feel reasonable. Small acts of resistance still count.
The Wild Robot (film)
A heart-warming Motherโs Day special film recommendation. One of my best friends recommended this as an excellent Sunday afternoon watch. He wasnโt wrong. A robot washes up on a wild island and finds itself raising an orphaned egg. Itโs a beautiful film that examines love, adoption, and was nominated for 3 Oscars. The book by Peter Brown is equally good.
Rodriguez โ Cold Fact (album)
I heard this one at the barbers. The sound is a lot like Bob Dylan, but with more soul. Thematically, check out 'The Establishment Blues'. It's a powerful two minutes.
I learned later the album became the defining soundtrack of apartheid-era South Africa. There's also a fun documentary that explores the man behind the music, 'Searching for Sugar Man'.
'A Day in the Life of an Ensh*ttificator' (comedy)
Ever feel like the apps and gadgets you love are being slowly ruined for profit? There is a term for it: enshittification.
This satirical short from the Norwegian Consumer Council is a darkly funny look at the "proud tradition" of making things worse to squeeze out more money. From subscription-based car heaters to paywalling your own digital memories, itโs four minutes of cathartic reality. It perfectly captures why our "smart" world often feels like it's working against us.
Mango lassi (A Motherโs Day special recipe)
Blend two ripe mangoes (or a tin of Alphonso mango pulp, which is better and easier) with 200ml of full-fat yogurt, a splash of cold milk, a teaspoon of sugar, and a pinch of cardamom powder. Taste. Adjust. Pour over ice.
For a plant-based version, swap the yogurt for coconut yogurt and the milk for oat milk. The coconut adds a faint richness that works well with the mango. Everything else stays the same.
My mum would also top the drink with crushed pistachios and a drizzle of rose syrup.
