
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


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On seasonal change, open source, and carbon offsets

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