Celebrating 100 issues

Issue 100(!!!): We made it to the hundredth!

Jul 10

I started this newsletter on December 1, 2019—discovering Substack from reading Polina Marinova’s “The Profile.” I created an account with no particular goal in mind. Writing was an activity I loved but hardly made time for it, and never consistently started in the first ten months—writing eight issues. That September, I signed up for a writing program from a company called On Deck. The eight week cohort at On Deck Writing (ODW) had peer workshops, guest speakers, and many other wonderful resources. One of the fireside chats was Marinova, who said something that sticks with me to this day.

"Consistency builds trust."

You trust the sun will go up every day. Consistency is the number one thing I continue to work on. I decided to commit to writing Proof of Concept weekly—ever Sunday and treat it like a holy day of obligation. Fast forward to today and it’s been 100 issues. What a wild ride. Let’s take a moment this week, pause on the expected writing and reflect on four takeaways.

1. Form an unbreakable routine

Make time for writing the same way you do brushing your teeth (hopefully), exercising, and meditating. Another gem from Marinova is "finding the edges of time" where you can write. 750words is a website that turned me onto the habit of writing Morning Pages. I would spend my morning coffee writing at least 750 words on early drafts or free writing to get inspiration. Writing in the mornings has the same priority as me brushing my teeth, showering, exercising, and drinking coffee.

2. Find a theme that fits you

In any design or development process, a proof of concept is an experiment that demonstrates the feasibility of an idea. It’s the perfect theme for my interests of growth, experimentation, and prototyping. This allowed me to have a clear foundational themes while not feeling stuck in a box of what to write.

If you’re going to write consistently, you want it to be about topics you’re thrilled about. Writing about topics that feel forced will not keep you engaged.

3. Ship it, then iterate

I highly recommend Steven Pressfield's book, "Nobody wants to read your sh*t." It’s about writing something people will care about, compelling them to actually want to read your work. A big fear for people is publishing something and concerned nobody will read it, when in fact a larger fear is that people will read it, and you’ve put your vulnerability out there. Publishing your thoughts and ideas out to the world takes a lot of guts.

Do not get analysis paralysis about what you write. Get it out there and see how the world responds to it. The beauty of digital publications is you can go back to enhance things. It will never be a routine unless you get in a cadence of publishing.

4. You are unique and original

This one sounds like what a teen in the early 2010s on Tumblr would post, but it’s true. When conversing with people who are contemplating starting a blog or doing more writing, the number one thought that people say is, “I don’t know if I have anything to write that isn’t out there already.” Remember, you have a unique voice and sharing your personal perspective is something nobody else in the world can emulate.

I launched a digital zine

I collect a lot of zines and had a goal of making one myself. I’m excited to share that "The 000 Series" is a now live and available for purchase. This digital download is a curation and remix of the first 99 issues of Proof of Concept.

Get it for $13 USD on my website. People have asked me about how they can pay for the newsletter, and I devised this as an alternative. I have no plans to do a paid newsletter at the moment and thought the zine would be a good way to offer a way to support. If you found the first 99 issues helpful, I’d appreciate you considering picking up a zine¹.

Buy the zine

Looking forward

I'm excited about what's in store for the 100 series of Proof of Concept. Now that I’ve passed the three digit milestone, it’s a great time to continue experimenting in the next hundred issues. 100 marks a milestone to tweak, iterate, and try new things.

Keeping it organic

I'm proud of 100% of this newsletter growth is organize—spending 0 cents on advertising. This is no judgment to anyone putting investing power on paid and rather a personal challenge to grow this organically. I've relied on generous readers like yourself sharing this newsletter.

A new drawing style?

I've enjoyed using the Copic markers to create drawings each week but want to develop my skills in a different way. I haven't set on a direction yet, so expect the first few issues to be all over the place.

I'm using Sketch Club's newsletter to find inspiration to explore new styles.

Experimenting new formats

My newsletter issues are usually micro-essays—sharing personal experiences connected to themes you can apply for yourself. In the next 100, I’m experimenting with different formats:

Interviews with designers, builders, and entrepreneurs (who would you like to see interviewed?)
Q&A and advisory columns via submission
Deep dive on popular culture topics experienced third hand (similar to this one)

Reflection

Maintaining this newsletter has fostered a desire for consistency in more facets of my life. During the pandemic, I fell of the wagon with getting my blood sugar under control. I reminded myself that if I can keep writing a newsletter consistently, I can get it back under control through habit changes and thankfully am back on track. There is a culture around habits (Atomic Habits, productivity apps, etc.) but remember strong habits can form culture.

Whether is the first time or the hundredth time for you reading, thank you for being here every Sunday. Writing has become a joy I’m practicing because of your readership.