It's so tempting to become a content goblin

Small Efforts - with Sean Sun and Andrew Askins

Season 2: Episode 5

In this episode Sean talks about being buried in client work at Miscreants and how to design trendy clothing that gets people hyped. Meanwhile, Andrew talks about making slow progress on ChartJuice and trying to fight the temptation to become an SEO content goblin.

Links:

• Andrew’s Twitter: @AndrewAskins
• Andrew's website: https://www.andrewaskins.com/
• ChartJuice: https://www.chartjuice.com/
• Sean’s Twitter: @seanqsun
• Miscreants: http://miscreants.com/
• StackWise: Coming soon...
• Cider: Coming soon...

For more information about the podcast, check out https://www.smalleffortspod.com/.

Transcript:
00:02.21

Sean

So where are you up to? You're late.

00:04.34

Andrew

Uh, I was, I'm so behind on writing my newsletter for this month. Um,

00:11.16

Sean

Because you're not using AI to help you anymore.

00:14.65

Andrew

Dick.

00:15.61

Sean

Sorry, sorry.

00:16.52

Andrew

Um, yeah, I just like, honestly I've been busy with, uh, with consulting work for somebody. I think that's, that's what I'm going to blame it on.

00:26.47

Sean

i it is his fault i would blame it on him as well he's made a lot of poor decisions recently we player

00:34.31

Andrew

Yeah, I've been busy with consulting work and then we were like, um we were up north for ah the fourth for a week. um And so there was like a day where I thought about trying to write it there. We had kind of a rainy day and I was like, I'm just going to fuck around on my phone and read a book instead.

00:49.38

Sean

I, it is his fault.

00:53.84

Andrew

um Which was a choice I don't really regret, but now I'm like,

00:55.16

Sean

I would blame it on him as well. He's made a lot of poor decisions recently.

00:59.72

Andrew

uh like two weeks behind getting a newsletter out so trying to trying to get a piece written about how I validated church use and like just how I got to the point where I was willing to make the investment in the initial MVP because when I say validated I don't know if the product is going to work yet we're a ways off from that but

01:07.48

Sean

Cool.

01:24.03

Andrew

validated it enough to have confidence building an MVP.

01:27.50

Sean

Cool.

01:27.60

Andrew

So writing an essay about that and then ah need to put together like the newsletter portion with some links and stuff. But yeah, completely lost track of time. I did the thing I do where I like procrastinated for 30 minutes and then started writing again 30 minutes before our podcast and then looked up and it was like four twelve and we were supposed to start at four o'clock. So

01:50.67

Sean

I do find that like that level of like crunch time is what really snaps me into flow real quick.

01:55.08

Andrew

Oh, absolutely.

01:56.39

Sean

Yeah. Yeah. I'm glad. I'm glad we could do that for you.

02:01.80

Andrew

Honestly, like, that's part of why we wanted to start the podcast again, right?

02:05.41

Sean

For sure.

02:05.71

Andrew

Or at least for me, I i needed, like, I need some social forcing functions to make me do shit.

02:07.01

Sean

Yeah.

02:13.01

Sean

Yeah. Yeah.

02:14.19

Andrew

If I have to give you an update every week, then I have to have an update every week.

02:14.27

Sean

hundred

02:20.36

Sean

Yeah. I mean, like you tweeted out something about us writing and I was like, fuck. And I started writing. I haven't done it last week, but ah since like, since you tweeted about it, but it at least like made me attempt to put words to the paper for a couple of days. So that was pretty cool.

02:38.93

Andrew

Nice. Yeah, we got to actually we got to decide on an actual an actual bet or something. But I don't want to do that right the second because I have too many other things I'm trying to do right this second.

02:46.30

Sean

Yeah.

02:52.07

Sean

For sure.

02:52.29

Andrew

I'm like, I don't want to take on a writing bet.

02:54.63

Sean

ah sure

02:55.72

Andrew

Maybe maybe in a ah month or two.

02:59.59

Sean

um How's your trip by the way, you went through a cabin.

03:03.82

Andrew

Yeah, Trip was great. um My girlfriend's aunt and uncle have this amazing place on Drummond Island, which is this cool island off the tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. If anyone listening has never been to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which you probably haven't because most people haven't, it's like one of the most beautiful parts of the entire country. like i didn't really hear about it until I came here and moved to Detroit. And now it's one of my favorite places in the world. It's so fucking beautiful. The Great Lakes are like

03:38.57

Andrew

turquoise blue. theres The trees feel like you're in the Pacific Northwest, um but the weather is way better than the Pacific Northwest. It's chilly enough in the middle of July that you need like a sweatshirt and jeans at night, um but it's warm enough to swim during the day.

03:53.37

Sean

whoa

03:57.01

Andrew

It's it's a magical place.

03:57.65

Sean

Whoa.

03:59.70

Andrew

um And I felt like a ah true digital nomad because I had I felt like I had perfected my my um transportable work setup. I had my laptop. my iPad, which they have made iPad mirroring so good and so easy now.

04:17.24

Sean

Yeah.

04:18.21

Andrew

I haven't used it in years, but it's like it's great now.

04:18.30

Sean

Yeah.

04:21.49

Andrew

And then I was using Starlink at Maddie's aunt and uncle's place. And the so the Wi-Fi was great. And I was just like, holy shit, with like that new Starlink Mini, you could have an amazing multi-screen set up that you could put in a backpack and it would be light as hell.

04:42.70

Sean

I thought a lot about what you said about the Starlink this weekend, by th...