How My Substack Experiment Went
26 Sep 2026 #experimentsI challenged myself to write 30 notes and 4 posts in Substack, but it cost me my sanity.
I chose Substack after being shadow-banned from Medium and, I have to admit it, I wanted some attention and book sales. But…
In past weeks, I’ve gone throught an episode of stress and anxiety. My head has been rushing with ruminating thoughts and time traveling, and trying to hit a quota of likes and comments to get subscribers and followers only added more oxygen and fuel to the fire. I was so anxious I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. I needed to work hard to get back to my steady lifestyle.
I quit engaging at all, and scheduled all my notes and posts instead.
Some random numbers
In spite of my lack of engagement in the last two weeks, here are some random numbers from my experiment:
- 8 followers and 7 subscribers.
- 45 notes and 4 posts written.
- 6 likes on my top-2 performing notes.
- 5 views, 1 like, and 1 comment on my top performing post.
One. Comment. On. A. Post. OMG! That already felt like going viral.
Here’s my #1 note:
One small daily choice that saved me from burnout: Do something for my body, mind, and spirit every day. True health means the three in balance. Work on each one every day. No excuses! That’s a simple recipe for a happy life.
And here’s my #1 post:
10 Reasons Why I Write 10 Bad Ideas
Yes, I tweaked a post I already shared here on my blog. Don’t call the Internet police, please.
Some lessons
Subscriber and follower count meant almost nothing, but here are the most important bits from my experiment:
#1. No matter the application, doomscrolling is always doomscrolling… and everything shown in a screen is most likely designed to steal your attention.
#2. You don’t have to grow or make money. Don’t listen to gurus selling you growth tactics. It’s OK to grow at your own pace… or to quit.
#3. Good ideas stand on their own, without hacks.
#4. If it drains you, cut it out. Your sanity is more important than a Monopoly money next to your name on a platform.
#5. Time in front of a screen is time away from yourself and from real interaction.
I’m keeping my Substack account to distribute my long-form posts to a wider audience, but strong, mindful participation rules: Only for 1 hour a week to schedule my content. Nothing more.
If you’re curious, here’s how my first, second, third, and fourth weeks went.
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