Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 4hThe tighter you try to control things, the less control you actually have. And as a consequence, everyone will be less happy and less productive. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 15hIt's confirmed, the credits are a consolation price for reducing your usage limits by 50%. SI seems more expensive than AI 😂 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 19hCodex remote connections are far superior than anything else I tried. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 30/09/2026Ta-da! Is this because now my €200/month plan provides the same value as the €20/month was providing until yesterday? I need to make good use of them. 001
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 30/09/2026I’m super hyped about it! It’s all local first, no cloud, no data collection, fully private and with strong parental tools. Enjoy! 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 30/09/2026The first app I build with my 8 years old son today hit the App Store. It’s an app to learn new languages, build for kids by a kid. It’s fun, and they can learn vocabulary and conversations they can use with other kids. apps.apple.com/us/app/ling... 200
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 29/09/2026That note can become: • An internal update • A promotion artifact • A blog post • A talk • A decision record • A reusable team pattern Visibility compounds when you turn work into learning. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 29/09/2026After every meaningful project, write a short note: • What problem did we solve? • Why did it matter? • What options did we consider? • What tradeoffs did we make? • What changed because of the work? • What should we remember next time? 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 28/09/2026• which constraints mattered? • which trade-off you accepted? • what evidence changed your mind? • where the same answer would be wrong? The learner’s questions are part of the test. Write down the one you could not answer cleanly. That gap is your next learning task. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 28/09/2026If you can solve a problem but cannot teach the decision, the team still depends on you. Use mentoring to make your judgment inspectable. Can you explain: 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 27/09/2026If every hard decision still ends with you, you haven’t built autonomy. You’ve built a queue. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 26/09/2026Make you you have clear goals, seek constant feedback from others, and keep learning. Then use all that in your 1:1s with your manager, and communicate clearly where you are progressing, where you need support, and where you could improve. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 26/09/2026Only you are responsible for you own career growth. Don’t wait for annual reviews or manager feedback to tel you where to improve. 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 25/09/2026Life is life, work is works and AI is a tool newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/when-ever...newsletter.thelongcommit.comWhen Everything Points in the Same DirectionOn ambition, work, side projects, and making space for the life happening around you. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 25/09/2026Today I opened vim and I struggle to access some shortcuts. I thought it was already muzzle memory. This is the true sign that agentic coding is deteriorating my coding skills. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 25/09/2026A move into engineering management can change what you need from technical reading. If your work has shifted from writing Rust to architecture decisions, a book on system design may serve you better than more Rust internals. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 23/09/2026AI made it easier for me to keep working into evenings and weekends. I was shipping more, but also putting in more hours. Was I more productive because of AI or because the extra hours? newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/everythin...newsletter.thelongcommit.comEverything I Learned About Productivity Disagrees With How AI Wants Me to WorkI built my productivity system over fifteen years. AI stressed it in six months. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 22/09/2026What I’ve seen there personally, shuts up all that I read on my X timeline. I’m sure I’ll connect more with the local communities going forward! 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 22/09/2026But what stroked me the most is seeing European companies, from small startups to huge enterprises and traditional slower companies embracing AI, building with AI, pushing AI forward and truly innovating. 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 22/09/2026Last week I traveled to Amsterdam for #AGNTCon + #MCPCon to represent @auth0 and it was truly amazing experience, having great talks with engineers and builders. 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 22/09/2026It happens to me every single time! I set up an amazing recurring prompt, I’m amazed by how well it works. Two days later I couldn’t care any less about it, and I hate the fact that I don’t like the output and I need to correct it all the time. My love for AI is short lived! 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 21/09/2026When you ask your manager for more responsibility, name the engineering work you want to own. Agree on timing and a follow-up so you can check whether your role has actually changed. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 20/09/2026• Explain the problem • Explain why it mattered • Share what you changed • Name the tradeoffs • Show the result • Credit the people involved • Write down what others can learn Bad visibility says: “Look at me.” Good visibility says: “Here’s what changed, why it mattered, and what we learned.” 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 20/09/2026Visibility is not bragging. It’s helping people understand the value of your work. A simple playbook: 👇🧵 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 19/09/2026If an agent helps change its own access controls, who independently checks that small edits haven't weakened monitoring or tests? newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/slowing-a...newsletter.thelongcommit.comSlowing AI Down Won’t Be EnoughA security perspective on pacing the frontier, the systems we trust to contain AI, and the human oversight we risk losing. 110
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 18/09/2026An AI scan flags an essay from a writer you've enjoyed for years. Even an accurate score leaves the trust question open: is their judgment still worth following? My July essay: newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/the-ai-sc...newsletter.thelongcommit.comThe AI Score Answers the Wrong QuestionAI can help with prose. The author still has to supply the judgment and own the result. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 17/09/2026The greatest productivity hack is not AI, it’s your engineering culture. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 16/09/2026Code gets you started. Judgment, communication, and trust carry you further. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 16/09/2026If you're considering another internal role, start coaching a colleague through the module only you know how to maintain. Making that responsibility transferable can keep it from tying you to your current role. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 15/09/2026An engineer's “Cursor thinks you’re wrong” may be worth hearing. Ask what they recommend and what evidence supports it; using the model can remain part of the discussion. newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/the-pr-sh...newsletter.thelongcommit.comThe PR Shipped. Did the Engineer Grow?AI can improve engineering output while weakening the signals managers use to evaluate growth. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 14/09/2026By May, I was letting agents’ code through on non-critical projects. What bothered me was how much that category had grown: work I once considered critical had started feeling routine. newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/i-didnt-k...newsletter.thelongcommit.comI Didn't Know How Much I'd Handed Over to AIThe drift from skeptical user to autopilot, and the discipline I built to fight it. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 14/09/2026The real thread to your software engineering job is not AI. It’s the engineer who knows how to use AI properly, specify requirements clearly, evaluate architectural trade-offs, and can optimize for token consumption. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 13/09/2026If you want to be an engineer you’ll have to spend a lot of time learning real engineering first. Once you are a capable engineer, start with the AI tools. The other way around doesn’t work. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 13/09/2026The strongest engineers are not always the fastest coders. They are the ones who make the fewest expensive decisions. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 12/09/2026AI researchers: AI will kill us all in 10 years AI CEOs: we need 300B so we kill us all before someone else’s AI kills us all. Me: how many R’s in strawberry? 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 12/09/2026Not “I completed my tickets.” More like: “I found the bottleneck, reduced ambiguity, and helped the team move.” 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 12/09/2026Try this: • Pick one problem your team keeps avoiding • Understand why it has not been solved yet • Talk to the people affected by it • Propose a simple path forward • Create momentum • Bring others with you • Make the result visible That’s senior engineering. 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 12/09/2026The fastest way to grow is not to write more code. It’s to take responsibility for bigger outcomes. 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 11/09/2026You’ll learn more in one hour of doing something than in a lifetime of prompting about it. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 11/09/2026The best engineering leaders don’t optimise for faster decisions. They optimise for decision quality. Speed only matters when the decision creates meaningful progress. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 10/09/2026Do people saying learn AI today or you'll fall behind realize that whatever you think you learn about AI last year applies today? 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 10/09/2026For an engineering manager, daily AI use leaves a career question unanswered: does this person feel they have a future on the team? 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 10/09/2026In a US panel, frequent AI users more often thought technology could eliminate their job within five years. Sept 9 CSH research summary, across occupations. csh.ac.at/events/inte...csh.ac.atInterpreting AI At Work: Direct Use, Workplace Support, And Technological Displacement Concerns * Complexity Science HubWhat happens when employees are asked to embrace a technology that may also threaten their jobs? In this talk, Christos Makridis examines how workers 100
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 10/09/2026A difficult conversation can run past its calendar slot. As a new engineering manager, leave some time unassigned by accepting less planned work, so a longer conversation doesn't take your evening. newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/the-new-e...newsletter.thelongcommit.comThe New Engineering Lead’s Guide to Time ManagementA practical guide to protecting your calendar, delegating earlier, making better decisions, and creating space for your team to do good work. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 09/09/2026Management filled my reading with leadership, DevRel and writing. After my holiday, I wanted to read something unrelated to work, too. newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/when-ever...newsletter.thelongcommit.comWhen Everything Points in the Same DirectionOn ambition, work, side projects, and making space for the life happening around you. 010
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 09/09/2026Considering your first engineering management role? Look at the work you'd be learning: helping people deliver, communicating intent, handling competing priorities. If those responsibilities appeal to you, don’t let doubt take over. newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/the-case-...newsletter.thelongcommit.comThe Case for Becoming a ManagerI read an article recently arguing that senior engineers shouldn't become managers. Observations are mostly right. The conclusion is still wrong. I made the switch last year and here's what I learned. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 09/09/2026I finally tackled a monitoring dashboard I'd been postponing after AI gave me a starting point. It took about as long to finish, but I no longer dreaded the work. newsletter.thelongcommit.com/p/everythin...newsletter.thelongcommit.comEverything I Learned About Productivity Disagrees With How AI Wants Me to WorkI built my productivity system over fifteen years. AI stressed it in six months. 010
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 08/09/2026When you ask a senior engineer to coach a colleague through a difficult decision, make room for it in their workload. That coaching needs time beyond the review comment that started the conversation. 000
Juan Cruz Martinez @jcmartinez.dev · 08/09/2026You don’t need to chase every new tool to stay relevant. But you do need to keep learning before the market forces you to. 001