UXH Mixology #14: It's Time!
In this edition: Lenny, Netflix's cool tags and it's all about Time
Hola!
As people move into full work mode, the focus on productivity is bound to set in. This week’s Mixology also does the same, kind of…
🌏 Product & Design News:
Notion launches a standalone calendar app
Which Calendar app do you use?
Likely Google Calendar, Microsoft’s Outlook or Mac’s inbuilt one.
But Notion, the doc creation platform (till now), feels you should use something else: their new Calendar App, which is based on their recent acquisition of Cron.
Now, the obvious question to ask: who needs a new calendar, something that is largely… boring?
But Notion is onto something here: productivity is probably one of the most sought after topics be it books, tools or hacks.
And, boring things make money: Ads for Google/Meta, Deliveries (and now ads) for Amazon, Hardware for Apple. Maybe Calendars for Notion? Who knows.
PS: Mac users: does the Calendar’s design not remind you of something? Just saying…
PS2: Always worth reading the launch blogs for new products. Check this one for Notion Calendar
💡 Interesting Reads:
Netflix: Vivid. Snappy. Tags.
Have you ever wondered how Netflix creates those ‘uniquely Netflix’ tags, alongside the movie/series descriptions: As with all things Netflix, there is an interesting story behind it.
In his post, Karthik Srinivasan, breaks down the approach taken, which is detailed in a NYT article
The biggest takeaway for me comes from Netflix’s Chief Product Officer, Eunice Kim:
“On average, if you haven’t gotten someone to hit play within 53 seconds, the likelihood goes down precipitously” that the person will watch anything.
Talk about attention spans: 53 sec, that’s it. Just wow!
For the nerds (and PMs in you): head over to Netflix Research and Netflix blogs for some absolutely amazing reads on how Netflix does, what it does.
My Fav is how Netflix personalises Artwork (the thumbnails) based on who’s watching. Gajab! 🔥
Making Apple Vision Pro
Not a read but a watch: on how Apple makes it Vision Pro Headset. Impressive to say the least. But personally, felt soothing watching it
Lenny Rachitsky's advice for success in a podcast and newsletter
Substack says 4% of you read Lenny’sNewsletter, so you likely know his story.
But for those who don’t, here’s a nice read on how he’s converted his podcast and newsletter in a super successful business, that brings in $1mn a year
Do feel Lenny is an exception though: the reality of driving revenues from pure deep content is far, far more difficult.
But, if you don’t try it, you wouldn’t know: so if there is a creator in you, and you have a story worth telling, hope this piece inspires you to start.
👉🏻PS: Have an interesting read to recommend to 6000+ readers? You can also recommend your article/video/case study too. Submit it here
📅 Events @ UXHack:
🔥 Now Live:
Weekend Hackathon #9
👉🏻 Product: Notion
⏰ Deadline: 22nd Jan 10AM IST
🏆 Win prizes worth Rs 5K
You can share your submission on social and tag us or upload at: uxhack.co/weekend/
TGIF Product & Design Quiz #40
Featuring this week: A new launch by Notion, an agreement and Quishing
Weekend Discussion ft Figma, Gumroad & LinkedIn
💼 Featured Jobs:
Design Jobs 🎨
Product Designer at Cred
Product Designer at Shaadi.com
Product Jobs 🅿️
🖥️ From Founders’ Desk:
Some productivity hacks from Nishith:
Given I am a bootstrapped founder, it becomes more important to ensure I am accountable to myself. Not in terms of the number of hours I put in, but more about whether I can accomplish what I have planned for in a day.
The ultimate aim is at that, at the end of the day, you want to go to sleep being content. So here are some productivity hacks, which I’m trying out:
Self-help books: There are many books like Atomic Habits, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and more. But it’s not easy to put them into practice.
I came across this tweet where frameworks from all popular books are summarized.
I have installed a time tracker for myself. The results have surprised me on the daily split between actual productive work, casual browsing, and discussions.
Fun fact: My 3.5 hrs were spent on Slack this week (we use this internally for async chats)
Try doing this for yourself.
And a post plug: On the eve of National Startup Day of India, I chimed in with my wishlist on how we can make startups a mainstream career option in India. Do give it a read. If it resonates, do like and reshare it 🙂
Alright then: that’s all the inspiration and productivity boost we can give you in one edition! Hope it kick starts a fire.
And if you are the kinds that likes to take it chill: enjoy the winter ❄️, a cup of coffee ☕️ and a good movie or two 🍿.
Either way, have a good weekend and we’ll see you soon. Bye! 👋🏻