If you’re living in San Francisco and feeling unusually depressed, you may have SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Research suggests it affects brown people more than others, FWIW.
I lived in SF for years, but only learned about it after moving to Portland, OR. Hope this helps! twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
My best guess so far is that SAD is an evolutionary adaptation to reduce caloric spend during the winter / monsoon season, when it was hard to come by food for months on end.
The best antidote I’ve found so far is going for a really long walk, 15,000 steps or so (2-3 hrs).
I’m glad I experience this “bone level sadness” for a few months a year.
It makes me much more empathetic to those who suffer from all the other kinds of depressions, which may not have as simple or free (or socially acceptable) antidotes.
First, stop comparing your first draft to anyone’s published masterwork.
That stuff’s been written, rewritten, reviewed, copy edited, line edited, and more. Let them inspire you, but not demotivate you.
Instead, compare your unpublished words to your peers’ unpublished words. You'll start to notice mistakes in their work that you missed (and can now fix) in your own.
The best way to do this is to start a writing group and meet regularly.
To collect feedback, I prefer the ABCD framework:
- What’s Amazing?
- What’s Boring?
- What’s Confusing?
- What Didn’t you believe?
Beyond the feedback, a writing group can also keep you going when you would have otherwise given up.
Research the company.
Use the product.
Find the CEO's email online.
Write a personable and specific email relaying your experience. Suggest some ideas, report a bug, or include a small UX improvement.
One more thing: I am redeploying the vast majority of my management fee as LP capital, so 96% of the fund is going towards new startups. (Versus the traditional 80%.)
One more $100K check wired! Thanks to @AngelList for making it so easy. All I have to do (after deciding to invest) is fill out a 5-question Typeform, check some legal boxes, and CC their team on the thread.
I'll record a video if anyone's curious to see how easy it really is!