Hey there —

A lot goes down in an internet minute. ⏱

Every 60 seconds, people watch 167m TikToks, send 231m emails, post 575k tweets, and binge 3.67m YouTube videos.

There’s a constant stream of “stuff” flowing into the internet. If you’re an online creator, you might feel pressured to keep up with the current by incessantly adding your own buckets of content.

But if you’re in a rush, you cut corners: you don’t make time to plan your material, visualize your target audience, or identify your purpose. This frenzy to hit a content quota can come at a mental health cost, too. It dries out your creative well, leading to frustration, exhaustion, and even burnout.

So, how do you stand out without hustling to meet demand? 🧐

Creator and copywriter Cole Schafer employs the Navy SEALs philosophy “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast” to navigate this dilemma.

The Navy SEALs apply this when preparing for action: they take the time to plan their mission meticulously so they can then act fast with purpose.

In the context of content creation (try saying that five times fast), this means preparing your material before you add it to the stream so it has a better chance to stand out.

Here’s how Schafer explains it in his newsletter Sticky Notes:

You could exhaust yourself by emptying buckets into the stream, hoping one droplet will stand out. Or you can take your time to carve a wooden boat. ⛵️

It may not be perfect. It may not float as well as you’d hoped. But it will be more noticeable to the crowds who are used to an indistinguishable stream of content.

Obviously, we’re not actually asking you to gather up some wood or grab a saw (unless you’re feelin’ crafty). For you as a creator, intentional planning can resemble…

☀️Setting aside two hours to draft your content calendar for next month.

✍️Journaling about the “why” behind your creations and your larger vision.

🧠Spending three weeks writing a detailed article about a complex topic.

It’s all about making deliberate decisions so you can create the best content possible. It’ll feel authentic, sustainable, and give you much more credibility than a hurriedly created piece of content.

A lot happens in an internet minute. But the good news is you don’t have to operate on the same timeline. By slowing down, you’ll not only be able to stand out, but you’ll generate some of your best creative work. ✨ 

The glamorous lives of TechTok

by Fadeke Adegbuyi

If you’re one of TikTok’s billion monthly users, you’ve probably seen videos of “TechTok,” a genre of content where people document their experience working in the tech industry. 💻

These videos emphasize glossy lifestyles — without giving us the full picture. While it’s enticing to dangle the freebies and benefits, the underbelly of the job (long working hours and a cutthroat application process) rarely finds its way into the content.

In this article, Fadeke Adegbuyi explores what happens when social media romanticizes an entire industry.

Read the article →

The power of introverts

by Susan Cain

“Shy.” “Weird.” “Antisocial.”

It’s no secret our world is biased toward extroverts. It favors the charismatic and bold, but in reality, one out of every two or three people you know is an introvert.

As Susan Cain argues in this speech, being introverted is a strength, not a “character flaw.” Introverts are deeply creative, thoughtful, and even make better leaders than many extroverts.

Watch the video →

Confidant Guided Journals

by Baronfig

Meet your new accountability buddy. 👋

Baronfig has a buffet of guided journals to help you stay on top of just about anything. Whether you’re working on solidifying your writing, cooking, coding, or meditation habits, you’re guaranteed to find the *perfect* journal.

Check it out →

Meet Christina Mychas! She’s a self-proclaimed shopaholic turned intentional-spender who’s passionate about helping others find contentment with what they have and who they are. Christina shares budgeting advice, fashion anti-hauls, decluttering tips, and other minimalist-ish thoughts on her YouTube channel dedicated to “finding more with less, not nothing.” (A mantra we can definitely get behind.) 👍

Introduce yourself! Who are you?

My name is Christina Mychas and I create content for YouTube, Instagram and now TikTok centered around overcoming over-consumption, minimalism, capsule wardrobes, and how to spend money more mindfully. I kinda went from full blown shopaholic to more or less a minimalist (nowadays I call it "Minimalist-ish"), so on my channels I share my journey on how living with more intention recently got me out of $120,000 student loan debt and helped me overcome the shopping addiction that was keeping me in debt.

Why do you create? Who is your content for?

My content is for anyone who struggles with over-consumption, impulse spending and for someone trying to reconcile how to spend money on the things he/she/they love while still honouring one's financial goals and boundaries. It's for anyone who feels pressure to "look the part," and instead would want to shift the focus on finding your own authentic self. I create because I learned that many people resonate with the struggles and discoveries I share on my own journey, and we've built a community of people on that platform who are working to figure those things out. It's fulfilling as hell, lol.

The biggest lesson you’ve learned since you began creating content?

I actually discovered my own authentic self while creating my content. When I started my YouTube channel, I was actually a "haul" channel, sharing clothing and make-up hauls and "look what I bought" videos. The problem was that behind the scenes I was completely broke and struggling financially to keep up with this facade I curated for myself. When I decided I had enough of projecting a completely fake ideal of success to strangers online, I shifted my focus to committing to getting out of debt and essentially finding out who I really was behind all the labels, new clothes and Instagrammable moments. It's been a really cool journey because as I created my content, I really got to know myself because I was sharing that journey in real-time.

One thing you wish you knew before you started?

Where you start may not necessarily be where you end up. Start creating, be consistent, but be open to letting the flow of what your audience resonates with help shape your direction. You may discover something really cool along the way that you may never have planned for.

In one to two sentences, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring creators or self-development nerds?

Just get started. Even if you don't know what you're doing yet, the result of simply getting started will help shape your path. And you may discover some cool sh*t about yourself along the way.

Would you rather be able to understand all the human languages of the world or be able to understand all the animal languages of the world?

Definitely animals. There's always Google translate for humans. I want to know what dogs are thinking when they're happy, hungry, playing with other dogs, or even when they're not feeling well. And I always used to wonder what my dog's voice would really sound like. It would be cool to really get to talk to them. :)

Written by Alice Lemée

Edited by Matt D'Avella & Kerstin Sheppard