One Year of Iterate
Looking back at the first year of Iterate with an eye toward exciting new developments in year two!
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been sending out a newsletter to you each week for a whole year. 52 issues of Iterate Weekly are officially in the books!
There were plenty of weeks where it was a struggle. Some weeks I was working up until the last minute to make sure it went out on a Tuesday morning as planned. Some stories were better than others, but I’m proud of myself for committing to the project and never missing a week.
In honor of the milestone, I thought it was worth breaking out of the typical weekly format to give some insights on what I’ve learned and what I plan to do with this platform moving forward.
The Initial Concept
I didn’t have big expectations for this project when it started. That’s probably why I chose a name like “Iterate”. It gives me some leeway to shift topics and adjust the format as needed without being too tied down. I think that’s probably also why I was able to stick with it. I didn’t overthink things. I just published something each and every Tuesday no matter what.
The premise was a little wishy-washy, but the goal was (and still is) to help people make small (iterative) changes to their daily lives. Yes, this was intentionally vague and it will continue to evolve. I’m well aware of the prevailing mindset to “niche down” and “super serve” the smallest possible audience rather than please everyone.
Yes, I could write only about smart home automations, or get even more specific and send you a newsletter every week about how to get the most out of your robot vacuum (I actually have tons of info on this subject!) But what good is the time saved from your robot vacuum if you then use that time poorly? Isn’t it better to lead a well-rounded life where you have a healthy relationship with technology?
That’s what I’ve been trying to do with the weekly format of this publication. Each week, I’ve shared important information on a variety of subjects that loosely tie together in the spirit of iterative self-improvement. Technology is typically the cohesive thread that brings it all together.
I’ve often said that my writing lives at the intersection of technology, mindfulness, and productivity. There is also a bit of snark and nostalgia for bygone days when technology may not have been as powerful as today but it was a hell of a lot less distracting!
Moving Forward
I’m going to keep publishing the weekly newsletter in mostly the same format. Some of the commentary may be toned down a bit in an effort to keep things concise. It’s sometimes a stretch to find a relevant story for each topic so there could be some wiggle room or expansion of the ideas.
The Tuesday post will be that weekly check-in of topical and mostly timely things. We’ve all gotten used to this cadence and it feels like a good jumping off point for other ways to connect.
There will also be some new content posting throughout the week (likely Friday or Saturday but we’ll see how it goes). These will be more long-form articles/essays (sort of like what you’re reading right now) that dive deeper into some of the topics that I touch on in the Tuesday post. It shouldn’t be anything that’s too off-base for anyone who enjoys the content sent on Tuesday.
These pieces will be really similar to the writing I’ve done on my “How to Use Technology” Medium publication or some of my other more general writing on that platform. But it also gives me the freedom to try some new things and go in different directions without worrying about how it fits on Medium or how it differs from our current weekly topics format.
The first couple posts will likely live in the same feed as the weekly updates, but they may get spun off into a new “section” in Substack as well. That way you can opt-in or out of them separately and it’ll keep things looking tidy on our main page.
New Ways to Connect
I’m also looking for more ways to connect with readers beyond the weekly newsletter format.
Some of these things are definitely happening, some are in the works, some may never come to fruition but I’ve still been thinking about them!
Monthly AMA (Ask Me Anything) - Posts where I answer some questions from the community
Audio Clips - New Formats of the newsletter (at the very least it would be a listenable version of the current format, but other more “podcasty” things could also happen)
Video Clips - I’m not interested in a full-blown YouTube channel but there could be some fun ways to embed videos in my writing (think video footnotes or parenthetical asides like this one)
Book Club - I’ve already recommended a ton of books in this newsletter and on my Goodreads. Why not just make it a bit more formal and have some discussions?
Iterate Courses - Many of you know that I have a background in EdTech creating educational content for CreativeLive and I’d love to rekindle some of that magic within this community!
Any of these ideas really resonate with you? Feel free to leave a comment or reply directly to the email. I read them all and would love to get your feedback!
Coaching
Finally, there are several of my past coaching clients who are subscribers to Iterate and I’m looking to work with a few more amazing people over the coming months. I’ll likely have a more comprehensive coaching update for you soon.
But if you know you need a coach to help you build out some good habits or overcome some challenges, go ahead and fill out my new coaching client survey. It’s no commitment at all, just a way to get the conversation going.
Thank you again for being a part of the Iterate community! I’m really proud of what we’ve created in the past year and I’m thrilled about some of the big plans coming for year two.