Matt’s Mix Tape, Vol. 150

Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson, and this is Matt’s Mix Tape. My life is a new mix these days. And so is this newsletter.

This week’s Mix:

• The Mix Tape Sesquicentennial

• Build a brag doc

• LinkedIn posts and learnings

• This week’s (not) Florida photo

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The Mix Tape Sesquicentennial

Sesquicentennial (adjective): an obnoxious way of saying this is the 150th edition of the newsletter.

Which is kind of wild. I wish I had some super-smart thing to say here, but really it’s just this:

Keep publishing.

As your life and your interests change, keep publishing. Focus on writing right now.

I’m writing about what I’m doing and thinking and reading this week. That’s all it takes to keep going.

Publish!

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Build a brag doc

Write of Passage alum Janahan Sivaraman with a simple and organized way to track your work accomplishments for review time—the brag doc:

I learned about them from Julia Evans on Twitter. The premise is simple. You’re already doing awesome work, therefore, you should get recognized for it.

Since I started, I’ve been promoted every year - except for 1.

Janahan is an engineer, but this works for any role.

The premise: track your accomplishments each day. Quarterly, condense your list to the best ones. At the end of the year, you’ll have a great rundown to share with your overloaded manager:

It’s unreasonable to expect them to remember every detail of your wins. Unless I kept a Brag Doc, I would forget many of the dope wins I had.

Love it. Started this week in Apple Notes.

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LinkedIn learnings and posts

Learnings:

A Twitter mob recently ran a friend off the platform. This person works super-hard, supports family and charity, and gives so much of himself to others, including online.

I’ve been a little burned out on Twitter lately. But having seen its nastiness strike a great person, I’m even more soured.

On LinkedIn, there’s less anonymity and therefore less venom.

Not zero, but less.

When it’s your face and name and your boss might be watching, keyboard warriors are less inclined to pick up self-righteous torches and pitchforks.

That’s a big +1 for LinkedIn.

Posts:

• If you write online and your employer tries to stop you, you have the wrong employer.

• Want to improve yourself by reading books? Skip the self-help section.

• What marks the difference between obsession and interest?

• Worry less about finding your writing niche. 

• The internet’s speed creates artificial pressure to share immediately. Resist.

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This week’s (not) Florida photo

The newly-refurbished library in Topinabee, Michigan, is housed in a restored passenger train depot. The building is perched on the North-Central State Trail, where the rail line once ran, adjacent to a local park on the shores of Mullett Lake.

If you’re a library nerd (🙋‍♂️), it’s great.

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Hello to 12 new subscribers!

Whatever you’re working on or working through: keep showing up.

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