We made it to 100!
Just keep going. Interests, reflections and community + 🎬 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
This is the 100th issue of Bryce's Blog on Substack. I didn’t even realize it until I started writing and noticed this on the dashboard:
If you’ve been with me since the beginning like Sue Likkel and Donald Schuler, thank you so much for your continued interest, engagement, and support.
If you’ve found Bryce's Blog more recently, I am so glad you’re here.
Perhaps you joined us from one of the growing number of Substack publications (17 at last count) that recommend Bryce's Blog like Your Venture Coach , The Mid-Career Pivoter, Random Capture, The Serene City, or Coffee Times. (And can I just say how humbled I am that other writers have enjoyed what we’re trying to do here enough to recommend it to their readers—thank you!)
However you discovered Bryce's Blog, I am grateful for you — and excited about what we may create together.
And, if you’re not yet a subscriber or supporter, you can become one here:
Interests
This spring, I asked you to share your interests in a reader survey to help inform future issues. Here is a part of the summary I shared in April:
These are the themes that those of you who responded to the survey said you are most interested in:
Top:
Better: design and usability
Discoveries: learnings and insights
Media: impactful books, films and music
Personal Development: leadership, productivity
Also:
Built Environment: architecture, urban planning, and the built environment
Community: how to build community as an adult
Creativity: writing and photography
Experiences: travel, nature, and everyday life
Do these themes this still resonate with you? What are you most interested in as we head into fall?
If you’ve joined in the last six months and didn’t have an opportunity to contribute to the original reader survey, you can do so now:
Reflecting
Cadence and content
When I started writing this publication on Substack in January 2023, I wrote most weekdays. It was new. It was exciting. I was trying to find my way.
Wanting to ensure this was sustainable in the context of everything else in my life, I switched to a weekly cadence in the second month. Here’s what I wrote then:
I’ve tried to maintain a weekly cadence ever since, though it’s been harder than I anticipated at times. As I was preparing to travel last fall, I tried to write enough issues in advance but only got half way there, screwed up the scheduling and the wheels came off when I got Covid. I wrote about that here:
Learning from that experience, coming into this year, I decided to try a new approach: I would give myself four weeks off (vacation), on average one per quarter. I shared this at the end of an issue in March:
PS: As I continue to calibrate, I will be taking a week off each quarter to ensure Bryce's Blog remains sustainable for you and for me. Thus, there will not be a new issue next week. My next new issue will be March 23. Thanks for understanding. :)
When I came back, I dedicated an entire issue to the importance of taking time off, noting we are at our best when we are renewed and refreshed, have time to reconnect with loved ones, and are inspired by new experiences:
How have I done since? You tell me. I haven’t taken a week off since (you have received an issue every week) but I have leaned into the archive and sharing other voices that I’ve enjoyed. Here is a summary of Bryce's Blog posts so far this year by type:1
This was eye opening for me to see. As August got busy (I was essentially off the grid in grad school for two full weeks), I knew I had leaned into cross-posting other posts, but I hadn’t realized until now that I neglected to take a week off in June.
Clearly, 21 months in, I’m still calibrating my approach and I welcome your feedback.
Have you enjoyed the other voices I’ve shared with you recently?
I sometimes repost something I’ve written previously because the theme is seasonally relevant or I think newer readers would appreciate seeing it. Let me know if this annoys you.
When I was a kid, the TV season ran from September to May and the summer would be re-runs. A full season of a TV show is only 22 episodes. Against that backdrop, I think we’re doing okay.
Community
We have readers in more than two dozen countries and the majority of the United States. I am grateful for you and would love to hear how things are in your corner of the world.
While new readers continue to join us (welcome!), subscriber growth has slowed recently.
If you appreciate Bryce's Blog and know someone else who might enjoy it, please help spread the word. Bonus points if you have family or friends in a country or state that is still gray on the maps above. :)
And if you’re a dad, Brad Kelley is back. I read his new post last night:
🎬 Media Embed: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Did you ever see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty? It came out in 2013 and I first saw in 2014 or 2015 and its amazing scenery inspired a trip to Iceland in 2016. I watched it again for the first time in many years last weekend and am sharing it as this week’s media embed.
If you like:
photography (the legendary LIFE magazine)
travel
personal journeys
rom-coms
action/adventure
And don’t like:
corporate take overs and bad managers
This is your movie.
I hope you enjoy! Discuss with other readers in the comments.
Thank you for reading this week’s issue and for being a part of this fledgling community. Wherever you are, may you seize your weekend.
Me? I’m going to be doing grad school homework — and hopefully picking some tomatoes 🍅 for BLT season.
Be well,
-Bryce
I was curious and created this for my own eyes and am sharing here in case it helps others as they think about how to maintain a sustainable pace.
Congrats Bryce !
Congratulations and thanks for all the good reads