
I never got on well with art when I was a kid. I didn't have a steady hand, which meant that I could never draw or paint well. My handwriting has always been abysmal, and I didn't have it in me to do better.

I was not an artistic person. Or so I thought.

After studying CS in college, I started working as a front-end engineer at Microsoft. Back then, front-end engineering was a blossoming discipline. Very few engineers worked in the land of CSS and Javascript, and almost nobody cared about design.

I got into design as a curiosity. I sure wanted to build better looking apps, but because I'm not an artistic person, I never thought to try...

...until...

one day, at the recommendation of a mentor, I picked up a book on design. I tore through it, gobsmacked by the revelations I was experiencing with each new page.

Friends, I am here to tell you: design is for EVERYONE.

## Heck, grits is just corn

In software, 99% of the things that you might think of as "creative" are careful and deliberate application of basic rules. Sure, there's usually a bit of taste and color sprinkled in, but the basics are all science.

In cognitive science, we study behavior and functions of the mind. It has helped us make sense out of how humans think, and distill that into rules and patterns.

In UX, we use these to take advantage of how people interpret and experience software.

Once you understand some of these rules, you'll find it gets easier to write letters, design graphics, build products, etc.

Whatever it is you're doing, design can help.

## 5 Rules of design to give you superpowers

...no matter what it is you're doing. Seriously. From writing to graphic design to designing products for the web, I promise you'll find something helpful in here.

### 1. **Hierarchy**

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/design-rules-everyone-should-know/hierarchy"
  alt="A screenshot of part of an article layout, showing a large, bold title followed by the familiar shapes of a date and author, and text below"
  height={300}
  width={300}
/>

In western countries, we tend to read from top to bottom, left to right. It is something we've all been subconsciously trained to do since an early age.

When you're designing something, you can use this pattern to help guide your reader's eye. Assume they will go from looking at the biggest, boldest thing on the page, to the next biggest, and so on. You should therefore make sure that the most important things you want someone to see are the biggest and boldest, and step down from there.

This is called hierarchy. It's a way to help your guide your reader's eyes predictably.

### 2. **Similarity**

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/design-rules-everyone-should-know/similarity"
  alt="A grid of buttons that all look the same, except for one that is a different color"
  height={300}
  width={300}
/>

One nice thing about the way humans perceive things is that we use **similarity** to recognize things, and group them together. This comes from basic survival instincts - if you ate a fruit from a bush without getting sick, others that look similar are probably safe, too.

Apples to apples, literally.

Your reader will use similarity to group things together -- and just as well, things that are _dissimilar_ will stand out like a sore thumb. Break similarity when you want to bring attention to something, like the most important action on a page. This is why you'll often see a "sign up" button in a different color than everything else on a given page.

### 3. **Half the words, and then half again**

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/design-rules-everyone-should-know/half-the-words"
  alt="A paragraph of lorem ipsum text, with many words struck out by black lines"
  height={300}
  width={300}
/>

Every one of us has a tendency to write too much. We want to be thorough, and we want to make sure we cover all the bases. The trouble is, our natural disposition to write long-winded descriptions is at odds with our readers' desire to get to the point. Cut down the words on the page to the bare minimum, by following Steve Krug's adage:

> “Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what's left.”

Here's how I might rewrite for the paragraph above:

When it comes to writing, less is more. Don't waste users' time by making them read. Get to the point, and be memorable.

### 4. **Colors are math**

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/design-rules-everyone-should-know/colors"
  alt="A grayscale colorwheel, with an equilateral triangle overlayed on top of it, showing the relationship between 3 colors"
  height={300}
  width={300}
/>

For me, this was a big one - colors, and the way they interact with one-another, are predictable. In other words, we can tell whether a set of colors are likely to be in harmony with one another based on where they fall on the color wheel.

There are _many_ tools out there to help with this, too (see below for some examples). If you're working with a brand that has a specific color palette, you can use these tools to select colors that both complement _and_ contrast the brand's colors.

You don't need to have a _feel_ for colors - you can go a long way with the help of a calculator.

### 5. **The Rule of Thirds**

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/design-rules-everyone-should-know/rule-of-thirds"
  alt="A photo of a field of sunflowers in front of a clear sky, with a grid overlay demonstrating the rule of thirds"
  height={300}
  width={300}
/>

The Rule of Thirds comes from photography, where it's used to help guide the eye of the viewer. It's a simple rule: divide your image into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, and place the most important elements of your image on the intersections of those lines.

It's a shortcut to make your image look and _feel_ great every time. You can do this with photos, graphics, and entire page layouts.

## Colors, colors, everywhere

Color is a powerful tool, and a tricky concept to master. There are many tools out there to help you pick colors that work well together, and I've listed a few of my favorites below.

🎨 There are many **color scheme tools** available online to help you pick the right colors for your project. I really like [Coolors](https://coolors.co/) for picking colors, and [Color Hunt](https://colorhunt.co/) for finding inspiration. If you happen to be using Material UI, Google has some incredible docs on [generating Material-friendly color palettes](https://material.io/design/color/the-color-system.html#tools-for-picking-colors).

🧙 I'm a huge fan of **[@color.nerd](https://www.tiktok.com/@color.nerd) on TikTok** - he's a wizard when it comes to color theory, and does a great job of illustrating how colors interact with one another in the real world.

🧰 Did you know that about **1 in 12 men are colorblind**? That's a staggering percentage - and it's why it's so important to make sure your colors are accessible to everyone. [Stark](https://www.getstark.co/) is an accessibility tool that plugs into Figma, Sketch, and your favorite browser. It will help you make sure your designs are accessible to everyone.

📙 If you're ready to dive into more, the **[Color Design Workbook](https://hardcover.app/books/color-design-workbook)**, by Terry Lee Stone, Sean Adams, and Noreen Morioka should be required reading. You'll get some great fundamentals of graphic design and color theory, and learn how to use colors in your designs.

📚 Ready to take a course on design? The squad over at [The Gymnasium](https://thegymnasium.com/ux-design) have a whole suite of **free, online courses on design**. Check out their [UX Design Collection](https://thegymnasium.com/ux-design) to get started.

## Just enough to be dangerous

I hope you found something useful in here - and you can start applying these rules to your own work. If you did, please consider sharing this with your network, or sending it to a friend who might benefit from it.

If you're looking for more, I've got a few resources to keep you busy - check out [my articles on design](https://mikebifulco.com/tags/design), and let me know what you think.

I'd love to hear your feedback, too. Did you learn something new? Are you thirsty for more? Let me know what you think, and I'll keep writing.


5 Design rules everyone should know

5 Rules of design to give you superpowers

3. **Half the words, and then half again**


This week, I'm thinking about the lifecycle of moonshot companies. In particular, ones we may have forgotten about as they lost popularity.

A moonshot company is one that aims to solve a big problem, but is unlikely to be profitable in the short term. They're often started by a small team, and are often funded by venture capital. The idea is that they'll grow quickly, and eventually become a big company that solves a big problem.

The term comes from the old adage, _Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars._

_Most_ moonshot companies don't make it to the moon or the stars. Instead, they become a stepping stone for new use cases, competition, and other product ideas. Every once in a while, though, an interesting thing happens -- an app that was once outrageously popular seems to fade into obscurity. I'm not sure why this happens, but it's worth thinking about.

## A blast from the past

You may remember [**FourSquare**](https://foursquare.com/), the popular app which let you check-in to a location and review it. If you checked-in frequently enough, you could become "mayor" of the spot.

It was a super cool idea that ended up being a direct competitor to Yelp, Google Maps, Trip Advisor and other services like them... and I thought it was _gone gone_ until last week, when a colleague mentioned that he was still using it. Get this: FourSquare has a loyal following! Superusers leave reviews on the app which tend to be more thorough and trustworthy than Yelp.

So, surprisingly enough, I reinstalled the app! It ended up being a great way to find good coffee shops while visiting my team in New York last week.

## Remember these apps?

- **Vine** was a social network that let users share 6 second video clips that would repeat when viewed. It was acquired by twitter in 2012 for $30M, and was eventually shut down because Twitter had other plans for video on their platform... and now the world uses TikTok, whose parent company, ByteDance, is worth an estimated $300B.

- **HQ Trivia** was a live trivia game show app that was wildly popular in 2018. It was acquired by the gaming company, Intermedia Labs, for $100M, and then shut down in 2020. Strangely, it appears to have been rebooted, asit is once again available in the app store.

- **Path** was a photo sharing social network app, which was popular in the early 2010s. It was founded by Shawn Fanning (of Napster fame) and was acquired by a South Korean company called Kakao in 2015. It was shut down in 2018, and the app is no longer available in the app store.

- **Yo** is definitely my favorite among this group. It was an app that let you send a message to your contacts -- and the only message was "Yo", accompanied by a sound effect. It was cofounded by [Or Arbel](https://twitter.com/orarbel), and the company raised $1.5M in funding. It was all over tech news for quite a while, but somehow never found a path to profitability. Even still, I sent my fair share of `Yo` messages to friends. I'm still not sure why, but this app has a special place in my heart.

## Recommendations: No-code for everyone

🤓 Last week, an article that I worked on for a while finally went live. [Devs: It's okay to use no-code tools](https://dev.to/stripe/devs-its-okay-to-use-no-code-tools-1gld) is a treatise I wrote to devs, imploring them to _try_ no-code tools. It's so much easier to automate work today than it was even just a few years ago. Even if you don't consider yourself technical, you can make something impressive with no-code tools.

🧪 Along those lines, [Mike Cardona](https://twitter.com/CSMikeCardona) has been publishing [Busy to Leveraged](https://letters.busytoleveraged.com/), which is all about how to build an automated a business with no-code tools.

🤖 My friend Aron Korenblit has been writing about automation for _years_ on his site [Automate All the Things](https://www.aatt.io/). Did you know you can use an Airtable as the content source for an entire website? Some real magic there.

📸 [Shottr](https://shottr.cc/) for MacOS is one of the best tools I've found for quickly annotating and sharing screenshots. It's optimized for new M1 Macs, too, so it's is super quick, and best of all - it's free!

## Please, make sure you're registered to vote!

(This is for my American friends - sorry international readers, but you'll have to bear with me for this one).

For crying out loud, please make sure you're registered to vote. Next month the US holds Midterm elections, and keeping the Congress in Democratic control is critical to the future of our country. You can check your voting registration status and register to vote over at [vote.org](https://www.vote.org/register-to-vote/).


Remember these apps?

Please, make sure you're registered to vote!


Hi there,
I hope you're well.

A few weeks ago, Apple launched their 2022 lineup of iPhones.

It was a typical event for Apple, with tremendous production values and exciting product announcements from executives. I'm always struck by how much intention and design goes into the production of Apple's live events - every single moment is scripted carefully; every camera angle is calculated and precise.

One thing that always stands out to me is the way that _Apple_ refers to their phones. During launch events, you'll never hear someone from apple talk about "the iPhone", or "an iPhone".

Seriously - go back and listen.

They will say things like "iPhone enables gorgeous photo capture across the entire range of light", or "iPhone 14 is designed to last".

That's a tiny change, but it's so significant. By never saying "the iPhone", Apple creates an air of elevated expectation for their product. The way that language is used is critical in marketing and sales, and Apple is a master at using language to create an emotional connection to their products.

If you're not paying attention, you might not even notice it. But it's something that I think about every time I see Apple use language to manipulate buyers.

What's even more interesting to me is the other side of this -- consumer behavior. Listen to people talking about their devices, and they speak differently still. Most people won't say "yesterday I got an iPhone 14" - instead, you're likely to hear "yesterday, I got **the** iPhone 14".

My friends, they made more than one. I promise.

And yet, it feels more special, exclusive, privileged to call your phone **the** iPhone 14.

Fascinating!

This week's dispatch of Tiny Improvements focuses on language and cognition.

## The way we talk about our things

You don't have to take my word (lol) on language and cognition. These are some of of my favorite resources on the topic, from around the web:

🎙 [**The Allusionist**](https://www.theallusionist.org/): A podcast about language, hosted by Helen Zaltzman. Helen is a fantastic host, and the show is always interesting and entertaining.

📖 [**Cultish: The Language of fanaticism**](https://hardcover.app/books/cultish) is a book by [Amanda Montell](https://twitter.com/AmandaMontell) on the language used to create and control people within cults of all sorts - from religion to fitness, politics and MLMs. It's a fascinating read, and I highly recommend it.

🦤 [**Toucan**](https://jointoucan.com/) is a browser extension that helps you immerse yourself in language learning, by replacing words on web pages you're visiting with vocabulary in another language. I've been using it to bolster my learning of Japanese. Their free tier is generous and super helpful. Give it a shot!

## From me this week

- I published an article on [using the ConvertKit API with Remix](https://mikebifulco.com/posts/publish-your-newsletter-with-convertkit-api-remix) to publish past newsletter issues to the web. It started as a quick experiment, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'll be publishing a follow-up article on how to use the same technique to publish your newsletter with Next.js, too.

- A great demonstration of why I love sharing on twitter - what started as a [tweet on my thoughts about figma getting acquired](https://twitter.com/irreverentmike/status/1570393684130103298) turned into a discussion on how to improve UX for signups on my site. You may be here because of it!
- It's officially busy season for work - and I'll be attending a few events in the coming weeks. Most will have livestreams or recordings, so I'll be sure to share them here.

That's all for now - thanks for reading. If you found this useful, I'd love it if you shared Tiny Improvements with a friend. It's the best way to help me grow the newsletter.

Until next time,

-M


The way we talk about our things


Hey - stop keeping your work a secret.

People building new products have a tendency to keep their projects secret until launch. Usually this is chalked up to a fear of a person or company stealing your idea. I'm willing to bet that we all know someone who has hidden their work from the world until it is "ready" or "done".

Here's the thing: When you keep your product journey a secret, you are robbing yourself of the chance to connect with people who might be interested in you and your product. There are countless success stories from people building in public online -- I'll even share a few below -- and very, very few success stories about things that are built in stealth, and only revealed to the world on launch day.

You don't have to trust me on this, but you should - I've made this mistake before.

You have more to gain by sharing your work with the world than you do by keeping it a secret. It's simple: make the process of building your product part of marketing it. Let people see the bumps and bruises, the moments of joy, and the uncertainties you encounter. Use this to build yourself a community of people who are interested in your product and your journey. Their interest will go past just your product - they'll be interested in you, and your story, and you'll see attachment that is difficult to replicate with a traditional marketing campaign _after_ launch.

The #indiehackers community has been doing this for years, and it's a big reason why many have been so successful.

![A chart comparing the kinetic energy of a Tesla Model 3, a Honda Civic Si, and a Hummer EV in a crash](https://res.cloudinary.com/mikebifulco-com/image/upload/v1663072457/newsletters/building-in-public/cover.png)

## Bigger trucks endanger us all

Have you noticed trucks are getting bigger? Next time you see a new truck in a parking lot, stand next to it - the hood on a new Chevy Silverado comes up to my forehead!

Trucks are extremely popular in the United States - there's no getting around that. I saw some friends sharing an article about the New Hummer EV, which weighs in at an absolutely staggering 9,046lbs. I made the chart above to highlight an important point: in an accident, the hummer EV carries _much_ more energy with it, especially at speeds above 40mph. It has the potential to be far deadlier than the other two cars in the chart. For the sake of comparison, I also included two lines for the F150 (the most popular truck in the world) - depending on its configuration, it can weigh between 4,021lbs and 7,050lbs.

Heavier trucks are worse for the road, more dangerous in collisions, and worse for the environment. I'd wager that more than 90% of these trucks are bought for the sake of vanity... and that's a problem.

## What I've been working on

Practice what you preach, right? It's been a busy few weeks over here.

I recently published an article showing how to recreate [The Orton Effect](https://mikebifulco.com/posts/orton-effect-css-react) with CSS and React. A few weeks back, I shared a post about my thoughts on working remotely, and finding happiness. It has started some great discussions, which was exactly the goal. Check out my article on [the third place](https://mikebifulco.com/posts/remote-work-and-the-third-place) and let me know what you think.

I've also been publishing **new episodes of my podcast, Tiny Improvements**, which you can [subscribe to here](https://plnk.to/tiny-improvements?to=page).

## Great products being built in public

**Todo lists for people with ADHD**
[Llama Life](https://llamalife.co/) is a thoughtfully designed web app for keeping track of the things you need to get done. It's a project that I've been watching for a while, particularly because the app's creator, [Marie Ng](https://twitter.com/threehourcoffee) does an amazing job of sharing her story over on twitter. It's a simple product that is changing peoples' lives, and has a serious following.

**Write like a doc, present like a deck**
[Gamma.app](https://gamma.app) puts a new spin on the presentation tool. It allows you to create beautiful presentations with a workflow much closer to authoring a document than something like a traditional PowerPoint. If you like writing, and hate laying out slides, this one's for you. Built by @by [@thatsjonsense](https://twitter.com/thatsjonsense) and [@thisisgrantlee](https://twitter.com/thisisgrantlee)

**Convert your most engaged readers into newsletter subscribers**
[Polite Pop](https://politepop.com) is a website plugin that _politely_ prompts your readers to sign up for your newsletter. I use it on my site (you may be reading this because of it!), and it's been a great way to grow my newsletter. It's built by [@panphora](https://twitter.com/panphora), and you can see updates for the product on twitter at [@polite_pop](https://twitter.com/polite_pop)


What I've learned from working in public


Hey there,

I hope you had a great week. I [spoke at a conference](https://twitter.com/fintechdevcon/status/1562477596343816193) called Fintech Devcon last week in Denver, Colorado, about how we use Friction Logs to make our products better at Stripe.

It was the first time I had traveled for work in a while, and I found it extremely refreshing. The recording for my talk should be available soon - I'll be sure to share it once it is live.

I was also able to explore Denver a bit while I was there. The River North Arts District (or Rino) was great fun - I can see why people are moving there in droves.

## Learn with me

📝 Finding balance as a remote worker - I wrote an article on the Third Space and why it is important for remote workers finding balance. It was a super fun project to work on and I'm excited to share it with you. It's called "[The third place - the secret to a happy life for remote workers](https://mikebifulco.com/posts/remote-work-and-the-third-place)".

📹 Supercharge your video call setup - This [twitter thread by @theKevinShen](https://twitter.com/theKevinShen/status/1565791729906745348) shares some helpful tips for improving your video setup for calls. This one is really useful if you're doing a lot of calls with other people for work. Your presentation on video can have a real psychological effect on the people you're meeting with!

🧘‍♂️ Write more, write better - I've been working on developing a daily writing habit. This has helped me become more aware of how I use language which is making me more effective at writing great content for my job, and for Tiny Improvements!

Thanks for reading Tiny Improvements. If you found this helpful, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. It helps me out a great deal!

Until next time - be excellent to each other!

-Mike


Balance for remote workers


Hi there,

I hope you're well.

This week we remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., just days before the inauguration of America's 46th President, Joe Biden. As the inauguration draws nearer, I hope you're able to take some time to sit with the importance of this week in the context of history, of the past four years, the past year, and within the context of your own life.

I'll leave you with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that a friend shared:

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

This is the time to step up and do your part. I'm proud of you for the hard work you put in, and I understand if you feel tattered and exhausted from the past year. Do what you can to stand up for the things you believe in, and use your voice and your actions to amplify the people that are making this world a better place.

✊ We're all in this together.

## This stuff has been living in my brain rent free...

- ⏲️ **Temporal illusions** are like optical illusions... but for time. (Note: Very 2019 metaphor incoming) Ever wonder why a delay at the airport on your way to vacation (I know, I know) feels so damn long? [Check out this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHL9GP_B30E) from YouTube channel Vsauce for a stretchy explanation of our trippy perception of time.
- 💃 About a week ago, the **Great Gatsby lost copyright protection in the US** (the life of the author plus 70 years). That means it is now in the public domain, and we may start seeing some interesting works based on Gatsby.. What an appropriate time for it, too! Check out this really cool [Graphic Novel version of The Great Gatsby](https://www.woodmanmaynard.com/the-great-gatsby-graphic-novel), by K. Woodman-Maynard.
- 🤙 If you're an American, [5Calls.org](https://5calls.org/) is a super easy way for you make 5 quick calls to people who represent you in congress. Tell them you're a constituent, what city you live in, and a brief message about what you support. For example: "Hey, this is Mike, a citizen from Charlotte, and I'm calling to voice support for removing president Trump from office." That's all it takes!
- 🎵 Ever wonder what goes into **designing a font for musicians** to use? Did you know that sheet music used to be freaking hand engraved?! Honestly, neither did I! That didn't stop me from going deep on this fantastic [video from Tantacrul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGo4PJd1lng) about his work on the matter. Get in there and learn a bit - it's fascinating, even if you're not a musician.
- 🏞️ In green-ness news, the city of Paris has approved plans to **turn the iconic Champs-Élysées into a giant city park**. I have fond memories of meandering the Champs with two dear friends during a work trip in 2016. Freeing that area of car traffic will be absolutely transcendent. Check out this [article from The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/10/paris-approves-plan-to-turn-champs-elysees-into-extraordinary-garden-anne-hidalgo) discussing the project.

If you enjoy my musings, I'd love it if you'd share _Tiny Improvements_ with a friend. Feel free to forward this to them, or shuttle them directly over to [newsletter signup on my website](https://mikebifulco.com/newsletter). Thanks in advance - it means the world.

Do yourself a favor and take an extra moment to be kind to yourself this week. While you're at it, be excellent to each other.

<hr />

Talk soon!

Mike


Has it been four years already?

This stuff has been living in my brain rent free...


Hi there,

I hope you're well.

This week, we saw some particularly disturbing history take place in front of our eyes at the US Capitol building. We're living through a time where facts seem optional, and people are being blinded by what they're told and what they want to see, as opposed to what's actually going on around them.

We're living through a very difficult time, and I think many of us are regularly finding our wits' end. Time and again, I find myself trying to center on kindness and optimism to get through my day. Remember that we all play a part in the bigger picture. It's up to each of us to do our small part to make things better.

Living selfishly pays off in the short term, but will inevitably cause harm to the world around you and the people you care about somewhere down the line.

Today, tomorrow, as you're going about your day, I urge you to be kinder. Be more intentional and more thoughtful with the people around you. The people you're sharing a space with can benefit from a tiny bit of kindness. People you've never met can benefit from a tiny bit of kindness, and certainly you can benefit from a tiny bit of kindness.

The path forward is unclear, but I think that we can get through this together. I'm reluctant to say that we're on the homestretch because I've seen time and again that that isn't the case. But I have my eyes on the hopeful horizon, and I hope you do too.

## What I'm reading this week

I'm making my way through a book called [The Bitcoin Standard](https://amzn.to/3btwyyR). It's more-or-less about the history of money, and the role that Bitcoin has played so far in advancing financial markets around the world, as well as some speculation on what's to come.

I enjoyed the first few chapters, which leaned heavily on history - but have found it harder and harder to get through as the book caught up with modern day. The author has some pretty strong takes on pop-culture that distract from the content of the book... even if they're a bit funny. Imagine being so annoyed by Miley Cyrus that you interrupt an otherwise-informative book to complain about her pop music as it relates to Mozart... what a strange take to put in a book about money.

I'll admit that it's overall the book is bit dense, and leans heavily on a solid basic understanding of some economic and financial terms - but I learned quite a bit by stopping to do so some research in the early chapters of the book. Still I'm 50-50 on recommending this one. If you're really interested in Bitcoin, give it a go - and [tweet at me](https://twitter.com/irreverentmike) if you make it farther than I have 🤣

## Some things you might enjoy

- 🎨 My friends and former colleagues over at Gymnasium are hosting a free webinar on **Accessibility and Inclusive Design** on Jan 21. Make sure to register before the event fills up.
- ☕️ Did you know **coffee tastes better in a quiet environment**?. According to a [study by scientific journal Food Quality and Preference](https://www.eatthis.com/news-how-noise-can-ruin-coffee-flavor/), sipping your cappuccino in your kitchen or a quiet cafe is a measurably better experience than if you're in a noisy room. Fascinating!
- 🌳 If you're in the UK, my friends over at Protect Earth are looking for volunteers to **help plant 500 trees** on the weekend of Jan 23-24. [Register here](https://www.protect.earth/events/planting-at-pantpurlais) if you're available.
- 👩‍⚖️ Current events in the US have been concerning, confusing, and scary for the past few weeks. [Opening Arguments](https://openargs.com/) is self-described as **A legal podcast that helps you make sense of the news.** I've been listening for about 4 years now, and it's helped me make sense of it all, and to understand a bit about what's coming. Give it a listen.

Keep up the kindness, and continue to be excellent to each other. Thanks for reading Tiny Improvements. Talk soon!

Mike


Sip your coffee quietly, act kindly


Hey there,

I hope you're well.

I love the turnover of the year: a time where people tend to become the most hopeful and optimistic. January can feel both cleansing and refreshing, like we've all just stepped over an invisible barrier that was holding something back. I love the way people share their goals openly and reflect on their past year's progress. Even if you're the type to turn your nose up at New Year's Resolutions™️, by doing so you've acknowledged that some people find them motivating. That right there is what has me transfixed right now.

From motivation grows enthusiasm. In enthusiasm, there is value.

## On Working in Public

In a [recent newsletter](https://mikebifulco.com/newsletter/on-seasonal-change-open-source-carbon-offsets), I mentioned that I had just finished reading a great book on building Open Source Software, called Working in Public. I had a few hiccups get in the way of getting my notes out into the world, but by now they're public! Feel free to [give them a read](https://mikebifulco.com/posts/working-in-public). I'd love to know what you think.

## On Enthusiasm

Lately, I've been describing myself as an _Enthusiast's Enthusiast_ - I truly love the feeling of developing and growing a new passion. I find that I go through regular cycles of passion for this-and-that, growing my expertise quickly and listening to others to glean as much as I can from them. I could make a list a mile long of the things I've done this for, but I thought I'd share a few recent passions that might interest you:

- 🧧 I've been reading about **Bitcoin** lately, as I'm sure you may have been as well. A friend pointed me to a few great primers on the subject, which I tore through as my on-ramp to learning more. I'd recommend getting started with an article called [The Bullish Case for Bitcoin](https://vijayboyapati.medium.com/the-bullish-case-for-bitcoin-6ecc8bdecc1), by Vijay Boyapti.
- ☕ I really, truly love great **Espresso**. To me, there's nothing better than taking in a cup of perfectly brewed beans. Learning about how and why coffee can taste so wildly different has opened my appreciate for the experience that much more. I'd recommend checking out [James Hoffman](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMb0O2CdPBNi-QqPk5T3gsQ) on Youtube - he's a former World Barista Champion, and a genuinely wonderful human being. His videos are world-class, relaxing, and supremely informative.
- 📝 I've never really had a habit for **writing** -- but I'm trying to build one. I'd love it to be easier for me to knock out a few paragraphs. I've been told it's simple: just write more, and it gets easier. In an attempt to do so, I've started a small daily writing habit based on [Morning Pages](https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/) -- every day I write stream-of-consciousness thoughts in my notes, to help me to clear my mind, organize my day, and express myself more clearly. I was on the fence at first, but after a couple weeks, I think I'll stick with it for a bit!

## What are you working on?

I'd love to hear about your passions, or what you're looking to learn about in the new year. I'm here to learn and to listen just as much as I am to share. What's your latest muse? Let's [talk about it](mailto:hello@mikebifulco.com)! hello@mikebifulco.com. If you found this interesting or useful, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend.

In the meanwhile, be excellent to each other. Thanks for reading Tiny Improvements - talk soon!

Mike


The Enthusiast's Hidden Superpower


Hey there,

I hope you're well.

Autumn has flown by at a crawl this year. I'm doing my best to focus on the little glimmers of light shining through for me right now, and I hope you can do the same.

Speaking of which, here it is - a big change for me! I recently started a new job at Google as a Developer Advocate for Google Assistant. You know the one - “hey google, what's the weather?” - I'm thrilled to be given the opportunity to work on such a wildly cool product. The interview process was intimidating, long, and challenging, but I did it! To say I'm standing on the shoulders of giants is an understatement. (I'll also be adding a disclaimer to my newsletters from here in: the things I discuss here are my own thoughts and opinions, and not those of my employer.)

## The brain is a strange place

Cognitive Psychology is the study of attention, perception, creativity, and other mental functions. Great software design takes advantage of cognitive biases to anticipate your behavior. For example, the [framing effect](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_effect_(psychology)>) is when people are able to draw two distinct conclusions from the same set of data, depending on how it's presented. Forex: I have 200 unread emails in my inbox. Should I panic? Nah, they're marked "To Do" -- I'll get to it later.

## Working in Public (OSS!)

If you're interested in Open Source Software, you should check out the book Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software, by Nadia Eghbal (link). I just finished reading through it with a book club I was invited to, and I enjoyed the read. I plan on [publishing my book notes to my website soon](https://mikebifulco.com/posts/working-in-public), as well.

## Kicking around in the old domepiece

These are a few of the things I've found on the web lately. I thought you might benefit from them as well:

- 🇪🇸 I've been brushing up on my Spanish. It's a relaxing couple-minute ritual in my day. I enjoy it so much that I've been sprinkling in some Japanese here and there, too! I've been using Duolingo's free plan - my referral link is [here](https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKSRQUQARVC6SFNU) if you want to give it a shot.
- 👨‍🏫 How much do online courses make? Have you ever taken a course online, or thought about making one yourself as a side hustle? [This is a tool](https://revenue.sixfigureinstructor.com/) that lets you peruse the aggregate statistics of various course topics across Udemy. Did you know that on average, courses on Next.js make $40/day? Pretty wild!
- 🌳 Planting trees can make a difference. In the past, I've mentioned my love for [Ecologi](https://ecologi.com/irreverentmike?r=5d386c6667bad5001010ffae) (that's a referral link), which was previously called offset.earth. I'm excited to share that my good friend Phil Sturgeon has embarked on a carbon offsetting project of his own - he's on a mission to plant a forest of trees on farmland near his home in the UK this winter. Check out his work at [protect.earth](https://www.protect.earth/) , and donate if you're able!

Thanks for reading Tiny Improvements. If you've got any feedback, my inbox is always open: [hello@mikebifulco.com](mailto:hello@mikebifulco.com). If you've found this useful, I would love it if you shared it with a friend!

Be excellent to each other - talk soon.

- Mike

_Disclaimer: Tiny Improvements are my own thoughts an opinions, and not necessarily those of my employer._


On seasonal change, open source, and carbon offsets


I hope you're well.

I've been continuing my habit of getting out with the sunrise each day for a walk. I've been covering 4-5mi each morning. By my count, today I'll hit a 62 day streak, so if you're playing along at home, that's about 250mi I've traipsed through my neighborhood since this whole shutdown started. It's given me lots of time to work through my thoughts and feelings on everything going on in the world.​

## Brain training

_Write more!_

I'm trying to write more in general, and I'm starting by taking better notes. Part of that process is writing down things that I think about or come across each day, if they pique my attention in any way.

If you've crossed the same parts of the internet as I have, you may have heard about [Roam Research](https://roamresearch.com/) - a fairly brutalist note-taking tool which helps you see how your thoughts are linked together. I've been using it for a few months now, and while I'm not quite addicted to the thing, I absolutely see the value in continued use. They've had a tremendous amount of adoption lately. Last weekend, they saw 10k users register, which all but shut down their service. That's a hell of a success story!

## If you make things for the web...

- 📈 I put out a new article last week on why I adopted Fathom Analytics for my personal site (and a few other projects). If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, [give it a look here](https://www.mikebifulco.com/posts/why-fathom-analytics).
- 🔨 Have you tried out [Gatsby's incremental builds yet](https://www.gatsbyjs.com/blog/2020-04-22-announcing-incremental-builds/)? I've given it a go on both Netlify and Gatsby Cloud, and I've gotta say, I'm impressed.
- 🎨 Designing software with accessibility in mind is more important every day - and I've really enjoyed watching the growth of a product called [Stark](https://www.getstark.co/), which helps teams meet accessibility standards.

## Never stop learning

- 🥬 Unlike most commodities in the US during the pandemic, asparagus has become harder to source, and so its [price has gone up drastically](https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/05/07/Asparagus-price-bucks-norm-spikes-during-coronavirus-pandemic/5101588800054/).
- 📚 On any given day, the average person reads 113 thousand words(!). Cognition is the process of acquiring knowledge, and it's been capturing my attention lately. Check out this [great twitter thread from Kyle Harrison](https://twitter.com/kwharrison13/status/1257817073868107776) about how much we read, and some compelling thoughts on
- 🇬🇧 Did you know London is divided into 32 boroughs? I sure didn't. [Jay Foreman's video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T_0FYHn0I0) explaining what makes them all unique and strange is about as witty and British as one could hope for.

<hr />

Thanks for reading Tiny Improvements. If you've got any feedback, my inbox is always open: [hello@mikebifulco.com​](mailto:hello@mikebifulco.com)

Be excellent to each other -

Mike


💌 Tiny Improvements

Read past dispatches