Sam Page
← All thinking

A week of contrasts: drinks, AI tools and Toy Story

The Friday Takeaway2 min readSam Page

It's been a week of contrasts! From drinks with friends, advising on which AI tools to use, and using Toy Story to explore purpose. The Friday Takeaway is served 🥡

On the menu today:

  1. Fantastic evening with friends

After my random post mentioning I'd be in BrewDog yesterday evening, I've loved receiving messages from so many people about it. And what a wonderful, relaxed evening it was. Magical to catch-up with a mix of people - some I haven't seen for ages, and some who I see everyday.

Thanks Lisa, Tony, Louise, Missy, Rach, Andy, Ed, Jack and to everyone who sent a lovely message / tried to make it at short notice.

  1. Finding perspective by thinking differently.

To do that this week I had a session with my coach Bruce to explore purpose. It was a wonderful rollercoaster of a conversation, from a beaming smiles exploring what a spaceship and elephant could mean, to tears getting emotions in the room, through to a Toy Story analogy.

I'm very excited about the perspective it gave me and what's to come in 2026.

If you don't have a coach, I highly recommend getting one... or alternatively ask a friend to help you explore something that you need a fresh perspective on.

  1. Which LLM should I be using?

This topic comes up a lot. And the answer is they are good at different things. Here's my current daily stack:

  • Perplexity for research.
  • Gemini 3 for the day-to-day heavy lifting (ChatGPT secondary alternative).
  • Claude for helping with the nuance of writing.
  • n8n for stitching workflows together, including automating using each LLM around a single task.

The secret is using the right one at the right time.

  1. Rest is preparation.

I'm hearing the phrase "It's going to be a busy Q1" a lot. Both at 7DOTS and across our clients. It means using the upcoming break to rest and recharge (amongst all the fun) is super important.

I'm looking forward to 2026 kicking off with lots of exciting projects! And I'm determined to make sure I rest so I come back ready to go.

I’m Sam, I love combining the power of people, business and technology to solve problems and deliver strategic objectives.

I share insights on tech, leadership, neurodiversity, and having a positive impact in the world.

At 7DOTS, we help considered-purchase brands navigate digital complexity, establish clarity, and grow with confidence.

Follow me to see more posts like this.

First published on LinkedIn.

More Friday Takeaways

One email, every Friday.

What happened this week, what I'm thinking about, and one takeaway for yours.

GEThttps://sam-page.com/thinking/a-week-of-contrasts-drinks-ai-tools-and-toy-story.mdtext/markdown; charset=utf-8

---
title: "A week of contrasts: drinks, AI tools and Toy Story"
url: https://sam-page.com/thinking/a-week-of-contrasts-drinks-ai-tools-and-toy-story
date: 2025-12-19
author: Sam Page
type: The Friday Takeaway edition
categories: [The Friday Takeaway]
reading_time: 2 min
summary: "It's been a week of contrasts! From drinks with friends, advising on which AI tools to use, and using Toy Story to explore purpose. The Friday Takeaway is served"
first_published: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A7407722424445861890
---

# A week of contrasts: drinks, AI tools and Toy Story

It's been a week of contrasts! From drinks with friends, advising on which AI tools to use, and using Toy Story to explore purpose. The Friday Takeaway is served 🥡

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/a-week-of-contrasts-drinks-ai-tools-and-toy-story-li1.webp)

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/a-week-of-contrasts-drinks-ai-tools-and-toy-story-li2.webp)

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/a-week-of-contrasts-drinks-ai-tools-and-toy-story-li3.webp)

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/a-week-of-contrasts-drinks-ai-tools-and-toy-story-li4.webp)





On the menu today:  
______

1. Fantastic evening with friends

After my random post mentioning I'd be in BrewDog yesterday evening, I've loved receiving messages from so many people about it. And what a wonderful, relaxed evening it was. Magical to catch-up with a mix of people - some I haven't seen for ages, and some who I see everyday.

Thanks Lisa, Tony, Louise, Missy, Rach, Andy, Ed, Jack and to everyone who sent a lovely message / tried to make it at short notice.  
______

2. Finding perspective by thinking differently.

To do that this week I had a session with my coach Bruce to explore purpose. It was a wonderful rollercoaster of a conversation, from a beaming smiles exploring what a spaceship and elephant could mean, to tears getting emotions in the room, through to a Toy Story analogy.

I'm very excited about the perspective it gave me and what's to come in 2026.

If you don't have a coach, I highly recommend getting one... or alternatively ask a friend to help you explore something that you need a fresh perspective on.  
______

3. Which LLM should I be using?

This topic comes up a lot. And the answer is they are good at different things. Here's my current daily stack:

- Perplexity for research.  
- Gemini 3 for the day-to-day heavy lifting (ChatGPT secondary alternative).  
- Claude for helping with the nuance of writing.  
- n8n for stitching workflows together, including automating using each LLM around a single task.

The secret is using the right one at the right time.  
______

4. Rest is preparation.

I'm hearing the phrase "It's going to be a busy Q1" a lot. Both at 7DOTS and across our clients. It means using the upcoming break to rest and recharge (amongst all the fun) is super important.

I'm looking forward to 2026 kicking off with lots of exciting projects! And I'm determined to make sure I rest so I come back ready to go.  
______

I’m Sam, I love combining the power of people, business and technology to solve problems and deliver strategic objectives.

I share insights on tech, leadership, neurodiversity, and having a positive impact in the world.

At 7DOTS, we help considered-purchase brands navigate digital complexity, establish clarity, and grow with confidence.

Follow me to see more posts like this.