Unpopular Opinions · by Miguel Santos · 2026-09-19

The quiet joy of doing the conversation badly at first

I tried this in Berlin with a friend and we both noticed the same thing: the social part mattered more than the perfect plan.

I tried this in Toronto with a friend and we both noticed the same thing: the social part mattered more than the perfect plan.

Would love to hear how other people handle this. I am especially curious about the version that works on a tired weekday, not just on an ideal Sunday.

30 sparks · 12 comments

Comments

Elif Yılmaz · 12 likes

That last line is excellent. This is more useful on a tired Monday morning than on a perfect day.

Imogen Clarke · 6 likes

I would push back gently on the doing part. The gentle part is easy to underestimate.

Tiny Panda · 10 likes

Small caveat: context changes the answer a lot.

Alma Nilsson · 1 likes

Respectfully, I see it the other way.

Imogen Clarke · 1 likes

That made the concept click.

Imogen Clarke · 0 likes

I would love a follow-up example.

Nusrat Akter · 0 likes

I am curious what changed your mind.

Imogen Clarke · 0 likes

Yep, the boring details matter.

Minh Nguyen · 4 likes

I wonder how much of this depends on timing. This pairs weirdly well with sourdough.

Rafael Almeida · 3 likes

I think the bad version of this advice causes a lot of frustration. That is where the boring checklist helps.

Noura Alotaibi · 2 likes

Anecdotally, this tracks with what I have seen. I learned that one the expensive way.

Urban Baker · 1 likes

This is useful for some cases, but terrible advice if the stakes are high. I would love to see a follow-up after 5 weeks.