Announce the challenge, then post the receipts
A public goal with a number and a deadline gives your updates a storyline and gives you a reason to ship.
Random updates are hard to follow. A challenge with a deadline is a series: people know what you’re trying to do, can see where you are and want to know how it ends. It also makes quitting quietly a lot more awkward, which is sort of the point.
In March 2014, Pieter Levels published a blog post titled “I’m Launching 12 Startups in 12 Months.” His reason was personal: he wanted to change his habits and force himself to finish what he started. He kept a progress list on that same post, linking a write-up for each launch. Number four on the list was Nomad List, and Remote OK shows up there too. He even defined failure upfront: a project with no sign of demand counted as failed.
Your version can be smaller. Pick a goal with a number and a date, like “ship 4 features in 4 weeks” or “10 paying users by June 30.” Post it, pin it and add every update as a reply to that post, so the whole story lives in one thread.
The example
- Instead of
- “Working on some new stuff, will share when it’s ready.”
- Try
- “Challenge: 4 small features in 4 weeks, all shipped in public. Week 1 of 4: CSV export is live. Next up: Slack alerts.”
Before you flush
Write a one-line public goal with a number and a deadline, post it and pin it to your profile.