Notes from the Community, Volume II

What comes after Volume I? Turns out it's … Volume II! Catch up on reader comments, links, and more.

Friends and readers, thanks for being out there! I’m so glad to be writing this newsletter and interacting with lots of people in the community. Here’s the second roundup of community notes, featuring reader comments, links, and more.

---

What We’ve Covered So Far 

We’re three weeks into the year. So far we’ve covered:

Introduction, It Was Going So Well, Unhelpful Life Advice, From Rejection to Reflection, Overthinking, A Couch Can Make You Happy, “I Wish I’d Made That Change Later,” Why This Now?, “Your Voicemail Isn’t  Working,” and Your Last 40 Minutes 

I’m looking forward to seeing the list expand as the year progresses.

Oh, and we launched The Vault! This is the first phase of my plan to reward paid subscribers while keeping most posts freely available to everyone. 🔐

Among other items, everyone with access will receive three 5-9 minute audio reflections. You can download or listen to these in the app, whatever is convenient to you. 🎙️

• FOCUS: How to Do Only One Thing a Time

• OVERWHELMED: Why It Happens and How to Feel Better

• PURPOSE: Discovering What Matters Most

I plan to add to The Vault throughout the year, so stay tuned for more.

Popular Comments 📝

Most posts will have the option to comment—and it’s so fun to see readers jumping in!

In this section I’ll highlight a few recent comments that were upvoted the most by the community. (These are edited lightly for brevity, without changing the tone. Read the full comments and many more on each post’s page.) 

From Ari, on the post How Valuable Were Your Last 40 Minutes?:

One thing I'm finding particularly useful is to set "tentpole" activities, rather than trying to rigorously schedule every minute of every day. This leads to a certain flexibility, while still ensuring that I get through everything I intended to do in the day. Today, I got through my business-related activities a little earlier than usual, so I had some time to fill. If I were tired, I'd take a nap. If I were inspired, I'd add another session of working on my novel.

From Penny, on the post Your Voicemail Isn’t Working:

I simply hate making phone calls. I feel I’m intruding on other people’s lives. I’m quite sure that self-worth issues are at least part of that, but I just don’t want to be a bother. I prefer text or email since it gives the recipient the option to answer (or not) at their convenience. Arguably, the same could be said of phone calls - people could see my number on their caller ID and respond accordingly- but that means I need to leave a message. I’m a writer for a reason - I love words - but I hear that beep and I begin rambling awkwardly, repeat myself, or miss the point of the call altogether.

And from Mary Kate Mack:

Moral of the story for me was this: YOU usually care way more about how your message is perceived than how it's actually being perceived. Not every exchange is transactional, and it's usually understood by friends and those close to us that life gets busy sometimes. Guess I'm feeling fortunate to have had that realization and know that those close to me get it, too.

From Jamey Burho, on the post “I Wish I’d Made That Change Later”: 

I'm committing to elegance in every aspect of my life: gracious and kind behavior, self-possession in difficult situations, politeness, tidy and polished looks, elegant clothing and home decor. I want every word I speak and write and everything I do to resonate with this new vibration of elegance I'm choosing for myself. I wish I had done this when I first became an adult so many years ago. But I'm giving myself slack- I didn't realize that I'd always been creating my own difficulties, mainly through inelegant thinking and behavior. No more! Onward!

And from Sarah Walworth, on the post Why This, Why Now:

1. In 2023 I escaped a toxic relationship and 2024 is all about two action words: rest and heal. I am hoping through therapy to unpack my why in every aspect of my life.

2. Being present for others is putting away my phone and making eye contact. Being present for myself is asking what I need right now and what lights me up.

3. Because negativity infected me, I often ask "Why not?" when I need to joyfully jump into something.

---

Art & Other Fun Things

* I love the style and vibes of Kelcey Ervick, who also recently started a visual newsletter. Check out this post on how (and why) to make 50 pounds of art

---

Posts and Stories I Liked 

As a Twitter refugee (I gave up using my account with 140k followers last year), I miss the format of short-form conversations. Substack Notes isn’t quite the same thing, but one thing it is helpful for is finding the work of other writers.

In addition to my regular browsing, I’m doing a public call for submissions. I’ll share many of the links that people send me in future posts.

For now, here are a few posts I’ve enjoyed recently: 

• Lullaby by Jane Ratcliffe — A beautiful and strange (in the best of ways) essay on choosing to separate from someone even when you still love them.

• Seven days of silence: a chatterbox's lament by Bess Stillman — What happens when a person who likes to talk (by their own admission!) is forced to be silent for a week?

• Practical Ways to Try for What You Actually Want by Jenna Britton — Some notes on self-sabotage, and how we don't have to be our own worst enemy.

Note: if you’re publishing a newsletter, feel free to comment in this post with the name of your publication so that other readers can find you. 

Special Thanks to our Paid Subscribers

As promised, most content on A Year of Mental Health will be completely free.

Paid subscribers make this possible.

Even though we still don’t have any paywalls, many of you have already upgraded your subscriptions—and I am grateful! Thank you. 🙏 🙏 🙏

Whenever someone upgrades, the platform offers subscribers a chance to write a note to the creator, which can be shared with the subscriber’s permission.

Here are a few that I received this week:

"I just started my own year of mental health work, grieving, and understanding of neurodivergence. This was timely. I enjoy your work in general, though I haven't applied much of it in my life, I've been focussed on other types of growth and adventures. This however resonated with me a lot and having followed your journey for the last 13 years I'm also curious about your new perspective. Cheers!"

---

"I am appreciating that you are taking the road less travelled in sharing what worked and what didn’t. I believe everyone can improve their mental health regardless of a diagnosis and I'm curious to see what comes next. "

---

"A Year of Mental Health is the only newsletter I read consistently. As a 64 year old woman with newly-diagnosed ADHD, and a genetic mutation that has made antidepressants ineffective - I’m focusing on my mental health this year. Chris’s style is warm, inviting, and thought-provoking. He’s definitely someone I want in my corner as I continue to navigate the path to mental health!"

---

Again, I want this project to be helpful and valuable to you. We’re just getting started, and it’s going to be a fun year. 

Scholarships Available Upon Request

What if you want a paid subscription but can’t afford it? It’s all good, we’ve got you covered! 🤝

Specifically, we now have a scholarship plan where you can pay whatever you can afford. These scholarships are covered by our Founding Members—thank you, Founding Members!

If you’d like one, just send a note to team @ chrisguillebeau .com with the word “Scholarship” in the subject line. We’ll help you get whatever option you need.

On the Horizon

That’s it for now, but I’ll be back Monday at 7am Pacific time. Upcoming topics include: The Power of Negative Thinking (yep), My 7-Year Adderall Journey, and Lessons From Your Six-Year-Old Self.

And maybe a surprise guest or two! Like I said, there’s much more to come. 🎁