# Notes > Short essays on attention, systems, and the kind of work that holds up in the agentic era. Written slowly, on purpose. ### [Boredom Is the Work](https://alimuhammadthinks.com/notes/boredom-is-the-work/) May 18, 2026 · 6 min The screen is full, the answer is plausible, and your hand reaches for the phone. That reflex is not a coincidence. It is the most expensive habit of our time. Markdown: https://alimuhammadthinks.com/notes/boredom-is-the-work.md Tags: #attention, #agentic-ai, #deep-work --- ### [Systems Thinking When the System Thinks Back](https://alimuhammadthinks.com/notes/systems-thinking-when-the-system-thinks-back/) May 8, 2026 · 8 min Most diagrams assume the boxes do not have opinions. Recent research on how agents actually behave inside real systems suggests the boxes have plenty. Markdown: https://alimuhammadthinks.com/notes/systems-thinking-when-the-system-thinks-back.md Tags: #systems-thinking, #agentic-ai --- ### [Deep Work When the Shallows Are Free](https://alimuhammadthinks.com/notes/deep-work-when-the-shallows-are-free/) May 4, 2026 · 7 min When the shallow part of the job costs nothing, the deep part is suddenly the only thing worth being paid for. The research suggests that part is also getting harder to do. Markdown: https://alimuhammadthinks.com/notes/deep-work-when-the-shallows-are-free.md Tags: #deep-work, #attention, #agentic-ai --- This page is the Markdown twin of https://alimuhammadthinks.com/notes/. Each note has its own Markdown mirror at /notes/.md. A concatenated bundle of every note lives at https://alimuhammadthinks.com/llms-full.txt.