Indie Maker W26 | The Week After the World Cup, Back to a Normal Rhythm

Today is day 186 of my one-person company. I've written weekly notes before, but only on and off. From here on I'll try to publish one every week, as a record of my own progress. I hope you find something useful in it.

This past week felt like a clear dividing line — it went by fast, and yet it also feels like a very long time has passed.

Early Monday morning: the World Cup final. I stayed up all night to watch it live, and when it ended I felt oddly empty — a complicated but calm feeling. That's what happens when you've been a fan long enough. If the team or the player you support does well, wonderful. If they lose, that's fine too. Your life goes on.

Tuesday morning, the first morning after the World Cup, I woke up naturally before 7am, went for a run, ate breakfast. Turns out I can be a morning person. It didn't last more than a few days though — the body has its own memory of when to sleep.

Wednesday and Thursday, business as usual: editing videos, publishing content. Then one post I put out without thinking much about it blew up on a social platform, and both product metrics and account metrics grew several times over. I'm starting to understand what it means for a willow to grow where you never planted one. For the things you're not particularly good at, just set a goal, do it on a regular cadence, and try to make each attempt a little better than your own average. Leave the rest to time and randomness, and wait.

By coincidence — I'd been frustrated for a while that my overseas presence had no traction — late on Friday night I casually replied to a thread and got close to 10k views and a hundred-odd likes, which had never happened to me on an overseas platform before. It made me trust myself more, and trust the point above more. Be sincere, be useful to others, pass on something good, post often — and things happen on their own.

Saturday evening: a night out at Pop Mart's theme park. The last time I went was autumn of last year, when I took first place in a ball-pit competition and won a pillow as the top prize.

Most of the rest of the time was spent freely and quietly.

Did I run this week? Three times, though none of them were long. Continuing next week.

Am I one step further along than last week? A little further, yes.

A few lessons from this week, not necessarily true

• Most of what other people tell you is wrong. You only really know once you've done it yourself.
• Chase what's trending, but faster isn't always better. Moving at a reasonably fast pace while delivering the best quality you can is usually what maximizes conversion. Otherwise you often catch the trend and still can't hold on to it.