What Works

A few episodes ago, I shared that I was rethinking social media as a way to fix my "distribution problem." Well, it's been a month, and I've posted 8 videos. The results have been not at all what I expected. In this quickie, I share my results so far, what's changed, and—because I can't help myself—a bigger question I have about interest-based distribution algorithms.
Summer Seminar is back! Join me for this pop-up reading and discussion group that combines speculative fiction with critical thinking and personal reflection. We start July 7. Flexible pricing. Learn more and register!
Footnotes:
Read the essay version of this episode (with charts!).
"Can Patreon fight fire with social media fire?" Patreon CEO Jack Conte in conversation with Nilay Patel
Audience capture

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If you're like me (and frankly, you probably are), you're easily overwhelmed by the sheer scope of your ideas. Not so much because they're so grand or world-changing, but because you see all the connections that could be included in your projects. Background information, theory, history, caveats... if you're curious and value context, any project can take on epic proportions.
And that's when you need a short assignment.
Footnotes:
Read the essay version of this episode.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
"Rethinking Social Media" by Tara McMullin on What Works
Tara McMullin on Instagram (@tara_mcmullin)
Summer Seminar starts July 7

☞ Summer Seminar is back! ☜
Summer Seminar is a very chill reading and online discussion group where there’s no such thing as being behind and no right answers. Think of it as an intellectual choose-your-own-adventure. This year, we’re reading On the Calculation of Volume (I) by Solvej Balle and The Wall by Marlen Haushofer. I loved both of these books, and they’re both full of ideas I haven’t stopped thinking about since I read them. I’m stoked to share them with you.
Learn more about Summer Seminar and register with flexible pricing!

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Today, I'm resharing an episode from last spring but with a fresh introduction about the feeling (too) late and some timely advice for my daughter, who graduates from high school tomorrow. It might be a good one to share with the graduate in your life!
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This episode is about the long term—the commitments, projects, and relationships we can work on when our "temporal bandwidth" widens. How we perceive time and our ability to do what's meaningful to us in time does have to be constrained by the urgency of now. There are ways to feel more grounded and create more possibilities at the same time.
Footnotes:
Read the essay version of this episode.
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
On Freedom by Timothy Snyder
Breaking Bread with the Dead by Alan Jacobs
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
"Practicing the Future" by Tara McMullin
"Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey Stuff" by Tara McMullin
"Busyness Decoded" by Tara McMullin
Find the What Works archives and subscribe to the newsletter at whatworks.fyi.

(00:00) - EP 489: Temporal Bandwidth

(00:04) - To be on time is to be late. Or is it?

(04:58) - Time Flies

(07:33) - The Steerswoman

(11:19) - "Temporal bandwidth is the width of your present"

(15:10) - Making the difficult choice

(20:01) - Credits

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"No matter how hard you post or what sites you do it in it’s never going to be 2019 again." — Amanda Mull on Bluesky
I'm thinking about getting back on social media. Weird, I know. But (1) I have a distribution problem, and (2) it's not what it used to be... which is bad, but maybe also good for me? Today, I'm putting my thoughts into words and relying on a new essay by communications scholar danah boyd to make sense of why getting back on platforms feels vaguely appealing.
Footnotes:
Read the essay version of this post.
"Social Media Is Now Parasocial Media" by danah boyd in Social Media + Society

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Eight months before ChatGPT launched to the world, I wrote about "the eggbeater effect," or the tendency for labor-saving tools to create new labor. Four years later, I'm revisiting that idea. Remember: just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Footnotes:
Read the essay version of this episode.
"The Stepford Wives" on You're Wrong About
More Work for Mother by Ruth Schwartz Cowan
"The Illusion of AI Productivity Gains" by Philippa Hardman
"AI Doesn't Reduce Work—It Itensifies It" by Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye in Harvard Business Review
"AI's big productivity boost? It's happening from the sofa" at Stanford Institution for Economic Policy Research
"Seeing Software" by Tara McMullin on What Works
"The Eggbeater Effect" by Tara McMullin on What Works (original)
"How the Push for Efficiency Changes Us" by Tara McMullin on What Works (work intensification)
MIT State of AI in Business 2026
"Beyond Productivity: Measuring the Real Value of AI" from Workday

(00:00) - Making Things Fancy

(01:19) - The Eggbeater Effect

(06:01) - More Work for Mother

(16:09) - Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

(19:43) - How to Decide When Doing More is the Right Decision

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