I've been wrestling with this growing collection of notes that exist in a strange limbo—they're more developed than random thoughts but not polished enough to be proper blog posts. I've labeled them "TODO > Blog posts" in my to-do app, convincing myself that someday they'll turn into fully formed blog posts.

But here's the thing: they rarely do.

The pressure of "blog posts" 📝

The term "blog post" carries so much weight for me. It comes with baggage: Where does this fit in my content strategy? When should I schedule it? Have I created a proper content brief? What's the purpose and who's the target audience? Does it follow the proper structure?

It's exhausting just thinking about it! The result? Those notes just sit there, collecting digital dust, rarely transforming into what I've labeled them to be.

The irony is that in trying to create "perfect" content, I end up creating no content at all.

The social media dilemma📱

"Just share these on social media!" my brain helpfully suggests. But that solution comes with a problem:

I've never felt comfortable publishing unpolished thoughts on platforms that have become calculated spaces for personal branding and lead generation. They (I mean, experts) say, “Stick to a few consistent content pillars,” “You have to maintain a cohesive personal brand,” “Post strategically for maximum engagement.”

But my thoughts don't follow those neat categories! They wander. They explore. They branch out randomly. They refuse to be contained in those tidy little boxes that social media seems to demand.

The private notes paradox 🔒

Currently, these thoughts live exclusively in my personal note-taking app, Capacities—visible only to me. Which creates yet another problem (yes, I know, problems everywhere 🫠).

I specifically set out to learn in public and share my journey openly. What's the point of writing if I'm the only one who will ever read it?

If a thought exists only in my private notes, how does it make an impact?

Finding the digital suburbs 🏡

What I'm looking for is a space that exists somewhere between the crowded city center of social media and the isolated cabin of my private notes. Think of it as learning in the 'suburbs'—quieter than downtown but not as isolated as my own backyard.

So I'm creating exactly what I need: Unpublished Notes. A living collection of ideas in progress where I can freely share:

• Random thoughts that don't fit neat categories
• Things I'm currently learning about
• Experiments I'm running
• Half-formed ideas that might lead somewhere

And I'm deliberately not calling it a blog because that would bring back all those pressures I'm trying to escape.

Sometimes the perfect solution isn't finding the right existing platform—it's creating the exact space you need for your particular way of thinking and sharing.

I polished this note and turned it into this blog post.