A Year of Mental Health Is Now 100% Free

It was more like 90% free before, but now it’s ALL free. (Also: a new course coming soon!)

Hi everyone, a few updates today! Here’s a summary for anyone in a hurry: 

• All posts for this project (80+ so far) are now free 

• I’m making a course! (which won’t be free, but it’s pretty cool)

• I appreciate you

And here’s more on each of those points, for those who like details. 

First, all of my posts for A Year of Mental Health are now freely available to all.

That’s right, all of my posts for this project are now un-paywalled. Most of them (like 90%) were already free, but going forward I don’t expect to have any paywalls at all. 

There’s not really a longer story or strategy behind this decision. I just think this is better, so that’s why I’m doing it. I might change my mind at some point! 

As noted in the last community notes roundup, there are now more than 80 detailed posts in the archives since January. This includes 10+ activities, 6+ interviews, and many more to come of both.

But what about paid subscribers—you know, the ones who make this possible? 

I haven’t forgotten about you! Not at all. I’m very grateful that hundreds of people (close to 500 at the moment, and growing every day) have decided to support the project even though most content has been free since the beginning. 

So going forward, I’ll continue to develop some special things for paid subscribers. Among others, I’ll be updating and adding to The Vault, which already contains a bunch of resources, with more on the way.

If you’ve enjoyed the writing and like the decision to make it free for everyone, I’d be grateful for your support. You can even get 20% off when signing up for a year:

(And obviously, if anyone who’s been paying prefers to cancel now that all of the posts are free, that’s fine.)

Next, I’m making a new course! 

A few months ago, I did a reader survey (thanks to everyone who participated!) asking about your challenges in doing things. 

Well, I’m making a new course—my first in three years—on this very topic. It’s about accomplishing tasks of all kinds from a neurodivergent perspective, which is sorely neglected in pretty much every modern productivity method. 

A lil’ sneak peek of DOING THINGS. Coming Q3 2024.

The course is mostly done but not ready yet—meaning that I’ve finished the content but still have a lot to do to get it suitable for publication, and I’m also in the midst of book edits this summer. Most likely it will be ready in early September. 

Unlike all the posts and mailings, the Doing Things course will NOT be free, but I’m going to offer it at an affordable price for everyone who wants it, with an even larger discount for paid subscribers.

There’s nothing wrong with high-cost courses (some of them can be very helpful), but just like making everything for the newsletter free, a lower-priced option for this one just feels better. Stay tuned for updates.

Lastly (for now), I’m also planning something else.

I realize this might be anticlimactic, but do you ever work on something that you’re really excited about, and you want to tell everyone but you also don’t want to jinx it?

That’s kind of where I’m at with something right now. Many years ago, before I started The Art of Non-Conformity, I had the idea for it and it kept me up at night. I was “the good kind of nervous” about it, and I thought about it all the time. 

That’s usually a sign that an idea is worth paying attention to: when it won’t leave you alone. 

Anyway, for the past two months I’ve been thinking about something that fits this category precisely. 

I can’t say what it is just yet—which I realize is probably annoying!—but I’m honestly a little scared to tell you about it, so I’m starting with this note, and now I’m more likely to follow-through on it. Consider it forced accountability of the best kind. 

One thing I CAN tell you: I’m still very glad to be writing these posts and newsletters. As I said recently in “Can you tell me something hopeful?”:

Hope is a sense of optimism and expectation that things will improve—even if you aren’t sure when or how.

I remain very hopeful, and grateful, to you. 

Yours in the revolution,

Chris

P.S. If we haven’t connected recently (or ever), feel free to post a comment or send me a note letting me where you live and why you’re reading. You can also do that as a reply to this email or in a Direct Message on Substack. I don’t always do a great job with email or DMs, to be honest, but I’ll do my best to get back to everyone who says hi in the next couple of days. 

If you’re reading this later, I might be behind or anxious about something, so no guarantees. 🤓