Life update: Where I've been and building TimelessFour
Heyaa, here's Yash!
I write and build on the internet. On my website, I share concepts related to art, Commerce, Philosophy and Life.
It must be a while since you last heard from me. I wouldn't be surprised if your first reaction to this Letter was "What the heck is that?"
Here’s a quick summary of what has happened in the past few months.
TL;DR
- I quit writing on my Website + Newsletter because I wanted to write Twitter Threads. But I realized the Threads-Game is not for me, so I'm happily back :)
- After some reflecting I realized that "writing to attract people" is a trap. The focus shouldn't be on trying to attract readers, but rather educating. So I shifted my approach. Now, I'll focus on writing texts that teaches me and the reader.
- I built a tool with my friend tibor, that lets you discover Twitter's most valuable Threads without scrolling. It's called TimelessFour. I've built it in the past 3 weeks and the knowledge I gained through that deserves its own Newsletter.
The uncut story
I know it’s been a while since I’ve sent you an email.
When I found out how well Twitter distributes content, I started writing Threads. Almost immediately. But after opting for the game, I realized things are different than I expected. I fell into the trap of PERFECTING every single line to gain attention. It sucked all the fun away. I was no longer writing to learn, but to gain an audience.
It became progressively harder until I stopped.
I realized it wasn't for me. There were so many people on my Twitter Feed doing amazing work, and I felt like I was missing out. I felt left behind and thought nobody would read my writing. But all that is wrong. Writing is interesting when it's unique, not by trying to compete for attention.
I still love Twitter. And I love tweeting fortune cookies. But I'm not going to "try" to attract people anymore.
Would I say it was a failure? No. I tried and it didn't work out. When you try and you don't like it, it's not a failure. It's a huge win! You learn what you shouldn't focus on and leaves room for what you should. Now I'd like to focus on long-form writing.
✍🏻
If we pause for a second, we see that writing has an unbelievable upside. It help you think better because you are forced to write your thoughts down and arrange it. And when you can't, you'll become aware of gaps in your knowledge.
That's just two benefits, yet those will already change your life if you learn it. Guaranteed. Jeff Bezos also swears on this, "The Rule of Writing".
This approach of writing for myself, also gives me a lot of freedom because now, learning is the only priority. no matter is it long or short. Is it original or curated. what it is about. As long as it teaches me and the reader, nothing matters. Writing for yourself grants the necessary freedom to thrive, because the only goal is to learn.
🧱👨🏻💻
But, I've done a lott of things in the last 3 months. I'm most excited about my first Tool.
I routinely get inspired by founders and individual ideas. I use a lot of Software Tools, and I mean A LOT. It fascinates me how highly they help me and how efficient they are. It was also the time when I was just getting started with bubble, a no-code app building tool.
I already told you about my love for Twitter. So I built an app that lets you discover Twitters greatest Threads in an instant. No empty-scrolling, just the best Threads in one place. Tibor helped me huge. I got inspired by one of my friends, Louis Pereira. The source of my inspiration came from readsomethinggreat.com (it's awesome, you should check it out)
So, I present to you, my first-born!! Uhm. I mean my my first-coded! TimelessFour.
In my process of building this tool, I spent days on google search Researching, learning about bubble, experimenting and hoping it would work. It was the time in my life where "work" didn't feel like work.
As of yesterday, I added a Twitter log-in function. Users can now save their favourite Threads instead of tediously screenshotting them.
👦🏻
One last thing, I’ve also rebranded my site. As you know, I’m a fan of slick design. My design taste changes everyday and I want my website to keep up. Yah, it’s a big trap, but can’t help. I just love it too much. I’ve made it more minimalistic. More personal and vibey.
So, that's been it! I really liked writing this. Also got to learn a few things about myself. From today, every week,
- I'll write down my thoughts and takeaways from things i learnt that week, in a way that my past self would've wanted to receive them.
- I'll also send you a copy of my long-form notes, so you don't miss out on anything.
They'll also be available on my Website. That makes my effort of designing it a bit more worthy :D
I’m glad you’re here. You look beautiful 💫, has anyone told you that today?
