Off the cuff!
A quick update written in a single sitting because my drafts folder is overfull
Howdy! Happy 2026! As is my pattern, I’ve blurred into the new year rather than waking up on January 1st as someone entirely new…
In general, 2025 was far more creatively focused (and quiet) than my previous 3 to 4 years. Before last year, I went through a period of rapid creative exploration and experimentation, which was delightful but exhausting.
A rising sense that I ought to get serious about focusing and prioritizing on one or two core projects finally settled with clarity at the start of 2025. My year was therefore more calm, deliberate, and surprisingly, my need to be online or share updates waned to almost nothing. However, I kept writing and working. It was just that I felt less anxious to get things “out the door”.
I am writing this in a single sitting because it’s been too long since I’ve been able to sit down and write something that actually gets out of my office and onto the web. Sometimes short and sweet is a nice way to break up those long and meticulous posts. I have five or six posts that have been in progress for multiple months. I am excited to share them but they are longer and need more care, so they’re also burning a whole in my drafts folder.
Here is what’s coming:
good_work episode 2: check out episode one with Keegan McNamara in the meantime.
Coolest folks I discovered in 2025: a simple list of interesting people I discovered last year. You can read the 2022, 2023 and 2024’s lists if you’re curious or looking for new follows. I am sure each person on them is still very cool.
Marking Your Year Between the Pages of the Books You Read: a new project I’ve made with a friend that is in the Printernet universe and launching soon. This was inspired by a wonderful, personalized Christmas gift I received this year!
An essay about boredom: this is the piece in the group which has been in my drafts the longest… going on 2 years now I think. It has a lot I am very proud of and therefore being too precious about. There is still some trimmable fat.
Books I Read in 2025: exactly what is sounds like… mostly for me / record keeping purposes but others might see something that looks interesting!
Rough Draft 2026: a loose review of 2025 and a looser plan for 2026, following the signal of those things that energize me most. You can check out some old rough drafts or read about the general idea if you’re curious how they work.
The Writing Life: a short post about some experiences I’ve had while working on a longer work of fiction. One of those “notes on creativity” types of posts, inspired by reading Annie Dillard’s book of the same name.
Your Books Deserve To Be Read: another new project I’ve made in the Printernet universe that will be launching soon
The name of this newsletter and it’s predecessor site is Polymathematics. It’s a term I coined to describe the practice of multiple interests over time. I think I used to ignore the “over time” part and as a consequence would get anxious about not doing everything all at once. Since late 2024 and all of last year, I think I’ve accepted the true nature of a creative life revolving around more than one interest. The true nature should be slow, calm, and happy to let things brew (even for years). Lots brewing, more to come!
Talk soon,
Jake