Building for humans — user research with AI
Meeting the people behind the software you're building. And how to stay human while leveraging AI.
Notes on life
& building products.
Building for humans - How to test products with real people
Users don’t know what they want. Watch what they do.
Building a calm business
With AI you can now build a calm software business — no venture capital, no hundred thousand followers.
My Business Failures: The Hero’s Journey Part II
Fifteen years of businesses, and every one failed the same way — no distribution.
The People Who Did This Before
Ten founders who built narrow, unglamorous software — and what their stories have in common.
The Hero’s Journey: Building Boring Software
Choosing boring software over cool product — and finding the fun.
I Do My Best AI Work After I Shut the Laptop
Disconnecting to keep judgment ahead of agent output.
Building Mac Apps on a Baby Anchored Schedule
Anchors not schedules, and shipping a Mac app in a week.
I Needed a Candid Co-Founder, So I Created One
Building a Braintrust for a solo founder with AI.
The Big Catch-Up
First email — catching up on years of life and work.
On not using social media
I want to keep in touch. That's the simple version.
IFS App: AI Voice Coach for Self-Therapy
A personal exploration of voice AI for practising Internal Family Systems between therapy sessions.
Reflections on building a design studio
The story of Deep Work: a distributed studio, a different way of working, and lessons from growing it.
Thoughts after returning from a sabbatical, finding meaningful work in flow
Leaving the studio, living in a van, and finding my way back to work I enjoy.
Growing a decentralized community at Deep Work
How people joined the studio, developed their skills and shared ownership of the work.
How a new type of experiential psychological therapy and meditation changed my life
My experience of Internal Family Systems, meditation and finding a healthier way to work. With the original podcast.
How we combined Cal Newport’s Deep Work and GV Design Sprints to create the Hypersprint
Combining focused work, collaborative design and user testing into shorter, more sustainable sprints.
Do Things That Don’t Decentralize
Start with what people need, release and learn — then decentralize the rest.
DIY electric yacht conversion
Batteries, motor controllers, and a lot of fibreglass.
The next note, in your inbox.
Thank you, Charlie x