Sign in

Note to Self

@notetoself.studio
144 followers 7 following 44 posts

A blog & newsletter about creativity over productivity by @ginatrapani.org 📓 Blog: notetoself.studio 💌 Newsletter: buttondown.com/notetoself

PostsRepliesMedia
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 05/09/2026
I’ve derived so much more joy from a hard-to-justify 3D printer purchase than I expected
notetoself.studio
The joy of making stuff with a 3D printer | Note to Self
I’ve always been curious about 3D printers, so last fall when there was a Black Friday deal on a great model, I picked one up. I wondered if it would be...
012
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 04/09/2026
New iPhone app alert: Diddit is a shared log of stuff you need get done every so often. The things you’d ask a partner, “When was the last time we….?” As in: changed the sheets, cleaned the oven, replaced the filter. Useful.
didditapp.com
Diddit — A simple, shareable logbook for iPhone
A simple, shareable logbook for the things that don't belong on a to-do list. Share a group and everyone stays in sync.
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 03/09/2026
Oh hi. Hello again. If you're still here: thank you. It's good to be back with a fresh edition of the newsletter.
buttondown.com
💫 Annnd we're back
...it's about how many times you get back up.
030
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 26/11/2025
"High achievers are perhaps the most insecure people among us" - real talk from @berkun.bsky.social
buff.ly
Rule #17: Live for stories, not perfection
Perfection is boring and we all know it
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 25/11/2025
Brian Moore's Busy Simulator makes repeating app sounds that make you seem incredibly busy. Which of these sounds make you cringe the hardest?
buff.ly
Busy Simulator
Pretend you're busy by playing a bunch of app notification sounds. Made by Brian Moore.
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 24/11/2025
Tai Ericson is making beautiful portraits of transgender people who have been murdered using donated Harry Potter books buff.ly/iPY7kiP
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 23/11/2025
The November edition of the newsletter is out now: subscribe to get a healthy serving of warm & tasty links delivered to your inbox once a month
buff.ly
🐎 Wild horses
Let's get weird.
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 23/11/2025
How many ways could you make an animated horse run with your computer? Here's a dozen ways, including with fingerprint smudges on a MacBook screen
buff.ly
Entrance
The art of interacting incorrectly
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 22/11/2025
You didn't know you wanted to search and read Jeffrey Epstein’s email as if you were logged into his Google account until Jmail
buff.ly
Jmail, logged in as jeevacation@gmail.com
You are logged into jeevacation@gmail.com, Jeffrey Epstein's email. Sourced from the November 2025 House Oversight Committee data release.
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 09/11/2025
Lily Allen's newest album - a devastating story set to the catchiest beats - just "fell out of her" in a mere 10 days in the studio
buff.ly
Lily Allen's West End Girl | Note to Self
Like everyone else on the internet, I’m completely obsessed with Lily Allen’s newest album, West End Girl. Allen wrote and recorded all 14 devastating and...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 08/11/2025
The idea that building new things is more valuable than maintenance or care is capitalist BS worth deprogramming.
buff.ly
Maintenance versus making | Note to Self
I haven’t made anything new in awhile and it doesn’t feel good. I’ve been looking after a family member who had surgery, so most of my time has been spent...
110
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 31/10/2025
Why do coffeeshops, book covers, and YouTube thumbnails all look the same? "We’re in a crisis of conventionality, an epidemic of the mundane."
buff.ly
The Decline of Deviance
Where has all the weirdness gone?
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 30/10/2025
step 1: learn to quilt step 2: get an invite to a Fierstein bitch & stitch session www.vulture.com/article/harv...
vulture.com
Harvey Fierstein Is Now a Full-Time Quilter
The seven-time Tony winner is writing a book on his later-in-life career change.
070
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 21/10/2025
What does it look like to be neither an AI cheerleader nor doomsayer in practice? Here’s what measured AI looks like for me
buff.ly
Measured AI | Note to Self
The extreme hype surrounding generative AI and technologies like LLMs has been exhausting over the last few years. Coupled with fear-based marketing...
110
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 18/10/2025
Thoughtful guidance for anyone on their way back to their true work
buff.ly
The Year I Left Design
And How I Found My Way Back
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 18/10/2025
Three ways to make stuff: 1. make things you want by yourself or with people you choose 2. make things you must with people chosen for you on a schedule set by someone else 3. perform all the capitalist ceremonies of #2 without actually making anything yourself
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 16/10/2025
When you want to go in a certain direction, ask yourself: Which part of me has the wheel?
buff.ly
Who’s driving your car?
What if your career choices were being made by the wrong part of yourself? In this essay, I share a powerful metaphor from my coach: picturing your inner voices as passengers in a car. By moving my…
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 10/10/2025
Latest issue of the newsletter is out now! buff.ly/XANouS2
buff.ly
🏈 Halftime
Game's not over yet, and anything can happen.
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 09/10/2025
This isn’t practice and there are no do-overs
buff.ly
Halftime | Note to Self
A couple of weeks ago I turned 50 years old, which is a sentence my fingers feel strange typing because in my mind I’m still somewhere in my late 20s. Age...
121
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 02/10/2025
Thanks to @anildash.com I will never stop thinking about the fact that Mariah Carey recorded a song called Demented at the same time as Always Be My Baby
buff.ly
Mariah Carey Has a Secret, Rebellious Unreleased Album, Talks Here For It All (Extended)
Mariah Carey talks about the time she interrupted her son's Twitch livestream, her rebellious secret unreleased album Someone's Ugly Daughter and her latest album Here For It All. The Tonight Show…
0152
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 02/10/2025
"Completing tasks, no matter how inane, made me feel productive...never you mind the fact that most of those tasks have no real importance and frequently represent phony work."
buff.ly
Done Detoxing
There’s this period of transition between full time employment and being settled in your post-work existence known as detox.
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 18/09/2025
Asked @monteiro.bsky.social how he thinks about his creative practice, and he wrote about how life’s big and small, important and trivial, mundane and creative activities are all interconnected. Good answer.
buff.ly
How to fold socks
This is my art studio all packed up. It’s all in storage now. Still looking for a new place. 💰 Join the $2 Lunch Club! 💰 This week’s question comes to us...
031
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 12/09/2025
Fellow KPop Demon Hunter fans: EJAE - singer-songwriter and voice of Rumi - wrote Golden on her way to the dentist
buff.ly
EJAE wrote Golden on her way to the dentist | Note to Self
Singer-songwriter EJAE recorded a couple of voice notes on her way to the dentist which became the mega-hit earworm Golden. EJAE was the voice of lead...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 10/09/2025
Experience is the best teacher
buff.ly
Experiential knowledge | Note to Self
Parenthood reminds me on a daily basis: there’s a big difference between intellectual and experiential knowledge. Lessons from a book or teacher pass...
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 09/09/2025
It's launch day! 💙 📓 🚀 This is my new blog, an actual ongoing note to myself about joy over productivity buff.ly/Yrt7tYo
notetoself.studio
Welcome to my blog | Note to Self
Hello world. This is my new blog. I’ve been writing it in private for awhile now, so I’m glad you’re here. Check out what it’s all about, then I hope...
060
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 09/09/2025
Publishing today is all about self-publishing
buff.ly
Everything Kevin Kelly knows about self-publishing | Note to Self
Kevin Kelly’s excellent essay about publishing today is that it’s all about self-publishing. These points jumped out at me: The traditional approach to...
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 08/09/2025
At some point, the ability to check items off a todo-list stops moving you forward, and instead holds you back.
buff.ly
How to be unproductive | Note to Self
When your self-worth is linked to your productivity, you see every activity in your day as either valuable (productive) or not. I have this disease. At...
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 03/09/2025
Issue 2 of the newsletter is out
buttondown.com
⚡️ Not a bolt, but a whisper
Epiphanies are rarer than we think.
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 02/09/2025
Epiphanies are rarer than we think. When you ask a big question, the answer arrives not as a lightning bolt, but as a whisper.
notetoself.studio
A whisper or a notion
What did you figure out on sabbatical? What was the takeaway from the 10-day? When you give yourself time and space to ask big questions, you expect an...
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 01/09/2025
Po Bronson: "Confusing intensity and passion is a common mistake. Intensity is external; passion invokes something inside you. Passion is a call-and-response with your soul. It’s not just adrenaline."
notetoself.studio
Intensity versus passion
Confusing intensity and passion is a common mistake. Intensity is external; passion invokes something inside you. Passion is a call-and-response with...
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 12/08/2025
All your ideas are downstream from what you take in. Garbage in, garbage out. You improve your output with higher-quality input.
notetoself.studio
Intentional inputs
Years ago I was at Disneyland in California with my family, taking a lunch break between rides. As I sipped my drink and watched the crowd passing by, I...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 11/08/2025
“Vibe coding is on a spectrum of how much you understand the code. The more you understand, the less you are vibing.” – Steve Krouse blog.val.town/vibe-code
A line graph where the Y axis is "vibe" and the X axis is "understanding." A line starts at the the top of vibe and comes down diagonally as it goes further on the understanding end.
010
Reposted by Note to Self
Gina Trapani @ginatrapani.org · 08/08/2025
I tend to discount AI chatbots as a fawning junior intern trying desperately to impress me but Harsh Claude and I might be able to get somewhere - wonderful piece
091
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 08/08/2025
How has anyone achieved notable success? They worked hard and got lucky.
notetoself.studio
Worked hard, got lucky
How does anyone achieve notable success? The answer is always, “They worked hard and got lucky.” Most people emphasize how hard they worked to achieve a...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 06/08/2025
One way to separate pointless cruelty from productive feedback: The Disapproval Matrix, an oldie-but-goodie from Anne Friedman www.annfriedman.com/the-disappro...
A 4-box matrix called The Disapproval Matrix, where the Y axis top to bottom runs Rational to Irrational. The X axis runs left to right Know You to Don't Know You. 

Top left corner is Lovers, people who want to see you improve and thrive. Top right corner is Critics, experts in your field. Bottom left corner is Frenemies, people who don't wan to see you improve. Bottom right corner is Haters, jealous ignoramuses.
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 05/08/2025
"In the Who Cares Era, the most radical thing you can do is care. In a moment where machines churn out mediocrity, make something yourself. Make it imperfect. Make it rough. Just make it."
dansinker.com
The Who Cares Era | dansinker.com
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 04/08/2025
“Observe your respiration.” What I heard him say was, “Observe your desperation.” Yes, my desperation. I am desperate. I am so, so desperate.
notetoself.studio
One monkey mind's 10-day silent meditation course
As someone who works at a keyboard in front of a screen, I live in my head. I rely on facts and logic and narrative and reasoning to form my understanding...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 01/08/2025
First issue of the newsletter went out. Deep breath: You can't edit or unsend a sent email.
buttondown.com
🦋 Smash that butterfly
Time to take that idea and turn it into something tangible.
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 31/07/2025
Linds Redding: "The trick to being truly creative is to be completely unselfconscious. That’s why children are so good at it. And why people with Volkswagens, and mortgages, Personal Equity Plans and matching Louis Vuitton luggage are not."
lindsredding.com
A Short Lesson in Perspective
Many years ago, when I first started to work in the advertising industry, we used to have this thing called The Overnight Test. It worked like this: My creative partner Laurence and I would spend t...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 30/07/2025
Martha Beck: "Your true self is intensely interested in your real life’s work—but it could give a rat’s ass about anything else."
notetoself.studio
Quit like a bored intern
Your true self is intensely interested in your real life’s work—but it could give a rat’s ass about anything else. When you pursue a career that pulls...
000
Reposted by Note to Self
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 19/06/2025
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
6263661411259
Reposted by Note to Self
Gina Trapani @ginatrapani.org · 10/07/2025
look for the helpers johayartist.com
johayartist.com
PERSISTERS JO HAY
Persisters is an ongoing series of large-scale portrait paintings depicting trailblazing women in their pursuit of justice at this current time in history.
031
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 29/07/2025
Counterintuitive to a cardio type: when it comes to lifting weights, you get stronger after a break.
notetoself.studio
Stronger after the break
I started lifting weights about 6 months ago as a complete beginner. Once a week I meet my trainer for a strength workout. On a few occasions I’ve had to...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 28/07/2025
Ann Patchett describes the idea for her next book as a beautiful butterfly fluttering around her mind. To write it, she has to smash the butterfly onto her desk and pin it down into a flat, broken, poorly-reassembled version of itself. That's how you turn an idea into something tangible.
notetoself.studio
Smashing the butterfly
Writer Ann Patchett describes the idea she has for her next project as a beautiful, wild butterfly fluttering about her mind, a three dimensional miracle...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 25/07/2025
Productivity is about hustle, urgency, achievement, and winning. Creativity is about presence, noticing, inspiration, and practice.
notetoself.studio
Creativity over productivity
When you focus on maximizing productivity, you inhibit creativity. In many ways, productivity and creativity are at odds. Productivity is all about...
000
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 24/07/2025
Blogging is fun, so I’ve started again.
notetoself.studio
What I'm doing here
Blogging is fun, so I’ve started again. Winnie the Pooh said, “I always get to where I am going by walking away from where I have been.” What I’m doing...
010
Note to Self @notetoself.studio · 22/07/2025
Hello, world. Just setting up my bsky
020