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Indrajeet's Newsletter

Issue: 1, Friday, September 22, 2023

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Hey Reader! 👋

I talked about the idea of starting a newsletter sometime last month. I got to it asap as possible to ride the motivation high.

However, as the high began wearing off the next day, my monke (not to confuse with its sophisticated spelling) brain started finding different ways to procrastinate on the idea. It did so in the garb of brainstorming the newsletter design, its colors, fonts, content, and so on.

Eventually, I decided to ignore all these ways of making the newsletter look cosmetically appealing. Because I realized three things:

1. If the motivation wears off completely, the newsletter will meet the vegetative fate of my previous side projects.
2. I can always improve, beautify, or revamp the newsletter anytime I want. There’s no bureaucracy to prevent me from changing things as they deem fit. I am the Michael Scott of this Threat Level Midnight.
3. Done is always better than perfect.
   - An old saying​
   - Aditya Shukla (Gave me this piece of advice in one of our counseling sessions)
   - Indrajeet Deshpande

So, I’d like to welcome you to the first issue of Indrajeet’s Newsletter* and thank you for being its early subscribers!

*The monke brain also managed to find the newsletter title as a worthy area to procrastinate on. I was bullish on Indrajeet’s Fortnightly Digest/Dispatch, but again, I picked simplicity. If I find something more catchy and less cringe in the future, I’ll rename the newsletter. (Perhaps you may have some suggestions? Let me know by replying to this email!)

Without any further ado, let’s jump into the content!

Stuff I Wrote 🖊️

I took a small break from writing satire as the jokes I was writing felt too stretched and forced. The hiatus was productive because when I came back, the writing felt easier. Here are two of my most recent satire posts:

• ​Breaking! Social Media Influencer Makes Chandrayaan-3 Landing About Himself by Not Making It About Himself​
• ​Marketer’s Shocking Realization: Psychology Is Actually Essential for Marketing​

Interesting Stuff I Came Across 🔍

• During my hiatus, I read some online satire to dissect how to write and escalate jokes to make them sound ridiculous. I stumbled upon this piece by McSweeney’s that was in the same vein as the topics I cover but written in a different style.
  ​For Just Forty Hours a Week of Intense Work Outside Your Full-Time Job, You Too Can Make Passive Income by Eli Grober
• A friend and I were talking about our productivity struggles, how imminent distractions await us just as we’re about to enter the flow state, and other typical productivity/time management/life management woes.
  I suggested Doist’s summary of Cal Newport’s Deep Work to him and felt it was time for me as well to revisit the piece to work out the productivity kinks.
  During our discussion, he shared a video of Cal Newport explaining his multiscale planning and time-blocking strategies to get things done on time.

What I’m Listening to 💿

The ‘Tallica boys released their 11th studio album 72 Seasons earlier this year and I listened to it when it came out, but didn’t really listen to it listen to it, you know?

Since I’d already allotted a slot in the newsletter to talk about an album I’m listening to, I thought I should give it a few more spins and let it grow on me!

I absolutely love it when Metallica embraces its old-school roots. Also, James Hetfield’s vocals manage to pierce through the thickest layers of your body and touch your soul (Apologies if that line made you go ew).

Links: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music​

I’d like to thank you again for being a part of this journey, and I hope to see you in the second issue of Indrajeet’s Newsletter. In the meantime, I’d like to hear from you. Is there anything specific you’d like to see more or less of or provide feedback on my writing?

Farewell for now,
Indrajeet