A Thank You Note & A Map for The Future
reworking my Substack for 2024
You can listen to an audio version of this newsletter above. Please note that this is unedited and there may be some natural stumbles, as I’m recording in my home office.
I sent my very first newsletter on February 1, 2019 to 18 people. A lot has happened since then. I’ve grown as a scholar and writer, and I’m thrilled to send today’s letter to almost 1,500 people. Since I transferred my newsletter to this Substack, I’ve enjoyed the rich community, read a ton of great writing, made new friends, and learned a lot about writing and about life in general.
Firstly, I want to thank you so much for being here with me and supporting my work in 2023. I hope my musings have helped you slow down, try new things, and balance your productivity practice with the truth that you are so much more than what you produce. I am so grateful for each read, like, and comment!
Starting next week, I’ll be making some exciting shifts to the way I run this letter to make it even better for you in 2024.
The Changes
I am making my monthly Q&A posts free for everyone. I’m making this shift because I think Q&As are a generous way to offer support to my readers and I want everyone to benefit from my answers to your questions. If you’d like to submit a question for the monthly Q&A—which can be about anything from productivity to chronic illness to alt-ac paths to writing to slow fashion to hobbies—you can do so here.
I’ve decided to eliminate the 10% discount on Success & Accountability Coaching for paid subscribers. Instead, I lowered the price of Success & Accountability Coaching by $60/month while also increasing the length of the sessions.
Not to fear, paid subscribers to Tending will still receive two perks as my thank you for supporting my writing: a monthly co-working session and special quarterly posts with resources like workshops, video lessons, deep dives, etc.
The New Schedule
I’m exploring a new schedule for my posts. I may tweak it as needed, but I’m excited to try it out!
Week 1: Slow Productivity
Week 2: Curiosities (this was so popular that I’m giving it a whole post!)
Week 3: Personal Essay
Week 4: Q&A
Week 5: Special Post for Paid Subscribers (once a quarter)
If you have any special requests for topics you’d like me to cover next year, please feel free to reach out via email or write a comment on this post.
The Quarter 1 Co-Working Dates and Times
After offering a few different days and times for co-working, I’ve determined that Friday from 12-3pm ET tends to work for most people, so Quarter 1’s Co-Working Sessions will be as follows. I’ll send a separate email next week to my paid subscribers with the Zoom links.
Friday January 12, 2024: 12-3pm EST
Friday February 9, 2024: 12-3pm EST
Friday March 8, 2024: 12-3pm EST
If you’re a paid subscriber and had hoped to attend co-working but that time doesn’t work for you this quarter, please send me an email to Kate@KateHenry.com (or reply to this email) and I’ll consider offering an additional pop-up co-working session at a different day and time.
Thank you for being a reader! I’ll be back in your inbox next week for a post about rationing your productivity.
Take good care and talk soon,
Dr. Kate