Hey, Nic here. 

Apologies again for last weeks issue being a day late, it also looks like I screwed up one of the product descriptions for last weeks issue. I will admit, last week was rushed and I was feeling really burnt out, but I'm at my family's beach house for the next two weeks, so it will be nice to recharge after a stressful few weeks. 

I thought I'd touch on the topic of creative burnout as it's inevitable that we will all experience it at some point, but how can you tell that it might be approaching. **Zoom in** 

Over the past month and a bit, these are things that I have been feeling when it came to writing the newsletter. Here is what I did to bounce back and what gave me the the burst of motivation I needed.

By far the best was taking a look at my past work and seeing how far I've actually come. I went back to my dashboard and took a look at the very first newsletter that I sent out. Comparing #001 to todays issue made me feel such a nice sense of accomplishment and how this newsletter has evolved over the last year and a bit. Doing this actually made me wake up and smell the daisies which put in such a good frame of mind in writing todays issue. 

If you're feeling creatively burnt out, take a look at your past work. It's worth it. 

- Nic

PS - I have a Telegram group for The Slice. Come say hi.

Notice: 

Classified and Sponsorship slots are now available for the month of October and the first week of November.

If you'd like to get in front of 1800 engaged readers, Book your slot here

You've probably noticed there's suddenly a TON of stuff to invest in. NFTs, Sports cards, Sneakers. So how do you keep up? Check out Alternative Assets. They demystify all these new markets.

Usersnap is a customer feedback software to increase feedback from your users, as well as centralize issues and requests.

This tool makes it easy to create quote and invoice PDF's from your Airtable dashboard. Perfect for freelancers and small agencies.

Hyperweb enhances the web as you browse in Safari, automatically blocking ads, dismissing popups and suggesting smart alternatives to the page you're on.

This weeks newsletter of the week is Creator Club, a once a month newsletter by Sam Dickie - featuring the latest digital products, fascinating articles and resources from some of the best new and established online creatives. 

Check out some of Sam's past issues if you'd like to get a taste of The Creators Club is about.

What is the third place?
I came across the idea of "a third place" in Patricia Mou's newsletter and I fell in love with the idea. Basically is a public space that is not your home or work that can offer respite from your daily routine. Examples of third spaces can be a bookstore, pub, cafe, or park. Third places offer a neutral public space for a community to connect and establish bonds. Read More

The Extreme Skills of The 10x Creator. 
Anyone who wants to become a great creator is up against The 10x Creator, a creator ten times, 50 times, or 100 times more productive than the average creator.

The concept of a 10x Engineer has been around for 50 years, and today a similar dynamic range of productivity applies to creators. Like 10x Engineers, 10x Creators are valuable and rare. They’re not just one standard deviation away from the mean, they’re extreme outliers — one in 2,000,000 — five standard deviations away from the mean. Read more

You either die an MVP or live long enough to build content moderation.
If you run a UGC platform (User Generated Content) you either die with an MVP ("minimum viable product") or live long enough to the point that you have to build content moderation. It’s a story as old as the internet and a topic that is seldom discussed. It often happens behind closed doors. It’s the dirty little product secret that no one talks about.

When people ask "How’s your startup doing? You’re still working on that video app, right?". You rarely reply with: "Oh yeah, it’s great. We had to spend the majority of last week trying to come up with clever ways to block users from abusing our platform by uploading NSFW content.". Read more

Hell is other people: a monk’s guide to office life.
Over the past year many of us have sat at home, confined to the same four walls for much of the day, contemplating the same view, munching the same lunch and wearing the same clothes (at least below waist level). While the key workers of the world actually kept everything running by going out to work, many of us have likened our privileged isolation to that of a monk confined in a monastery, world at bay

**I removed the paywall. You're welcome**. Read more

100 articles in 100 days and crossing $100K ARR: Anne-Laure Le Cunff's story.
One of the best in the business when it comes to churning out valuable content, trying new things, and staying human while she does it. Here is a great little bio the woman behind the very successful Nesslabs. Read more

The Mom Test - How to talk to customers. A Summary.
The Mom Test, How to Talk to Customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everybody is lying to you. The idea behind the title is that you shouldn't ask your mum if your idea is a good idea because she will lie to you. Like you will learn in this book most people will lie to you, not even with evil intent. Check it out

Animated backgrounds for your website. 
Here is a little resource if you'd like to give your website a fresh new look. Check it out 

The 10 commandments of salary negotiation. 
If you're in the job market and are currently interviewing, this is a timeless resource. I actually found this at good time because I was recently short listed for a new job that I applied for. Shoutout to Jan who curates BrainPint for the link. Check it out

How I make CSS art. 
Here is a little how-to if you're trying to practice your CSS. It shows you how to make a cute little ghost using only CSS. Check it out

Google Forms, Typeform, SurveyMonkey are great. Except they are not private. Check out BlockSurvey - an end-to-end encrypted survey tool. It's like SIGNAL for forms & surveys. 

Serial Marketers - Join the 2,500-member professional community that connects marketers at brands, agencies, and startups. Hire and find jobs, join events, get recommendations, and learn from peers.

Time Predictor Tool - Automatically calculate how long ANY task will take. Just download here and go. (Excel and Google Sheets formats available).