Lately #002: The “Substack Tax,” iOS Shortcuts, and a New AI Assistant

It's been an interesting few weeks in the Tacosik household (more on that later). Right now, if you need me, you'll find me taking a beat to focus on being a good dad and husband and giving my brain a bit of a break.

But I'm also spending a little time investing in my own projects. Part of that is doing more "creating for myself," thanks to year-old advice from a content mentor (shoutout Adam Newton) that I've finally taken. And with that, here's some of the stuff I've been into Lately.

ICYMI — Lately #001: Heavy Things, Noah Kahan, and Trying to Buy a Pillow Online »

Reading: The “Substack Tax”

The Verge ran a piece recently on writers leaving Substack for competitors like Ghost and Beehiiv. These are platforms that, depending on how you're building, make a lot of financial sense once you start building a paid audience.

I've been toying with the idea of standing up a newsletter for a while (gross, I know — who needs more in their inbox?), so understanding the math on Substack's cut is worth doing before I'm in too deep.

But there’s also another side to choosing. I'm trying to be more thoughtful about the platforms I put my creative energy into, and what I'm quietly endorsing by association when I do. It's easy to just pick whatever's most popular, but it's a little harder to actually ask whether I'm okay with what that platform stands for, who runs it, and how they handled things. Worth a read if you're thinking through the same thing.

Watching: YouTube is good again

I'm kind of over the AI slop you're reading everywhere, and I've noticed my content consumption habits are reflecting that. YouTube has slowly become a part of my rotation again — and not just for YouTube golf and Tiny Desk sets, though those are still very much in the mix.

I've been spending more time on the tech and productivity side lately, and it's been a fun corner to explore. My current favorite find: Stephen Robles. If you're into Apple, apps, and Shortcuts, he's worth a subscribe. He's also built a full community with a Shortcuts-focused membership, regular tutorials, and more, and I've found his videos to be really good at taking a practical, every day approach to the usefulness of Shortcuts.

Because of this, I've built more Shortcuts in the last two weeks than I have in the last two years (currently toying with this use case for the iPhone’s action button). Most of them I probably didn't need, but still a fun exercise.

Using: AI that actually works for me

My take on AI apps right now is that most of them are solving problems I don't have, while the thing I actually want — a reliable assistant that just handles the chaos and busyness of being a working parent— remains mostly out of reach.

Summer is about two weeks away and life is already getting busier. The kids' schedules are about to ramp up, and the list of things I need to keep track of keeps growing: reach out to the school about this, swimming lessons start this day, the pool needs treated and cleaned, the weeds are out of control in the flowerbeds, and I forgot to workout (again).

Any one of those things, on its own, is relatively easy (and they're all good problems to have). But sometimes, keeping up on everything at once, while also having to figure out what to make for dinner? Things start to slip.

That's the version of AI I want. Not an AI-slop content generator. Something closer to a second brain that's paying attention when I'm not.

Poppy — which just came out of beta this week — is taking a swing at that. You connect your calendar, messages, email, health data, and location, and it tries to surface what's relevant for your day before you have to ask.

I've only been tinkering for a few days, and I'm still deciding whether it becomes something I rely on or just another app I forget to open. The connectors aren't all there yet, but so far, it's a promising start.

Wild Card: The decision to just wear a normal watch

A few months ago, I got rid of my Apple Watch. I felt like the notifications on my wrist were creating more anxiety than they were relieving, and without them, it’s really just an expensive health tracker that’s constantly telling me to stand up.

So I made the switch to an Oura Ring for the health tracking, and started just… wearing normal watches. Groundbreaking, I know.

The watch world has been a fun one to explore (and another corner of YouTube I’ve been diving into). It's not something I want to drop serious money into, just something to dabble in.

My recent favorite find, thanks to one of my absolute favorite newsletters from David Pierce, has been URA Watches. This small team out of Osijek, Croatia, disassembles and entirely rebuilds Casio watches.

The one specifically I can’t stop looking at is the one that David mentioned in his newsletter: the Obsidian Black A700, a modified Casio A700 with an all-black dial, matte case, and a clean look. It's not flashy, but that's the appeal. Subtle, low-profile, and unique.

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That’s Lately #002. If you’ve got something you’ve been watching, reading, using, or eyeing for your wrist, hit me up at hello@joetacosik.com or on LinkedIn.

Talk soon!