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k_sereinroomAnother sunny day with temperatures up to 54 degrees. There’s an inversion (air pollution) though, but I stayed in because I was fatigued and had things to do. This will balance out, and I hope there will be some pleasant days in the spring.
I wrote and scheduled my first Substack newsletter after about a six week hiatus. That was a spontaneous decision when I took a break, and looking back I’m thankful I wasn’t writing during all the events that has happened since then. Not that things are going to be going more smoothly. Not at all.
The way I can do this is to compartmentalize. I keep a spiral notebook journal, an art journal, I leave footprints and installations in a virtual world, I write the newsletter and I note random things here. And I mostly keep them all separate. That feels right.
I often run my newsletter drafts by ChatGpt, and then go ahead and do it my way. I don’t have to answer to AI, but I’m curious about how what I do differs from the mainstream norm.
Somehow we got to chatting about my overall purpose, which feels vague to me. I was asked for the titles of my top performing posts, and some plausible feedback was given from just that. Like people who stay are those looking for orientation, not advice. There was more, but I’ll share this bit here:
The reader who might bounce
1. The Skimmers.
People who open Substack for “3 quick insights” or hot takes. Your piece asks them to slow down. Some won’t.
2. The Solution-Hunters.
Readers who want a tidy arc: problem → lesson → actionable steps. You live more in problem → presence → principle. That’s beautiful, but not everyone knows how to sit with it.
3. The Performative Optimists.
The ones who want everything framed as growth, gratitude, or hustle. Your honesty about anger, limits, and open loops may feel “heavy” to them.
None of these are flaws. They’re filters. You’re not writing a net. You’re writing a doorway.
I don’t see it as guidelines about what to do, but as helpful reframes for my self-doubt and habit of negative self-talk.
There was the usual amount of day napping, and I had meals that took little preparation. I painted and did some admin. I’ve read online that young people have admin parties, which I think is a great idea.
One of my sisters passed in 2005, and my mother in 2006. I was the one who took care of most things after, and it was the paperwork and agencies to be dealt with that burned me out. It’s horrifically complicated. A too high cost for having had a life.
That might sound heavy, but this is how I see things and at age 71 I’m not likely to change.
I wrote and scheduled my first Substack newsletter after about a six week hiatus. That was a spontaneous decision when I took a break, and looking back I’m thankful I wasn’t writing during all the events that has happened since then. Not that things are going to be going more smoothly. Not at all.
The way I can do this is to compartmentalize. I keep a spiral notebook journal, an art journal, I leave footprints and installations in a virtual world, I write the newsletter and I note random things here. And I mostly keep them all separate. That feels right.
I often run my newsletter drafts by ChatGpt, and then go ahead and do it my way. I don’t have to answer to AI, but I’m curious about how what I do differs from the mainstream norm.
Somehow we got to chatting about my overall purpose, which feels vague to me. I was asked for the titles of my top performing posts, and some plausible feedback was given from just that. Like people who stay are those looking for orientation, not advice. There was more, but I’ll share this bit here:
The reader who might bounce
1. The Skimmers.
People who open Substack for “3 quick insights” or hot takes. Your piece asks them to slow down. Some won’t.
2. The Solution-Hunters.
Readers who want a tidy arc: problem → lesson → actionable steps. You live more in problem → presence → principle. That’s beautiful, but not everyone knows how to sit with it.
3. The Performative Optimists.
The ones who want everything framed as growth, gratitude, or hustle. Your honesty about anger, limits, and open loops may feel “heavy” to them.
None of these are flaws. They’re filters. You’re not writing a net. You’re writing a doorway.
I don’t see it as guidelines about what to do, but as helpful reframes for my self-doubt and habit of negative self-talk.
There was the usual amount of day napping, and I had meals that took little preparation. I painted and did some admin. I’ve read online that young people have admin parties, which I think is a great idea.
One of my sisters passed in 2005, and my mother in 2006. I was the one who took care of most things after, and it was the paperwork and agencies to be dealt with that burned me out. It’s horrifically complicated. A too high cost for having had a life.
That might sound heavy, but this is how I see things and at age 71 I’m not likely to change.
