Mike Bifulco

## The Big Idea Flow state is a mental space where deep focus and creativity come together, allowing you to work more effectively and productively. --- If you've ever found yourself _so focused_ on a task that you're nearly blind to the world around you,…

## The Big Idea Reaching milestones is gratifying, but the growth that comes from sharing your work is the real difference maker. --- ## Milestones, Growth & Putting Yourself Out There This week, 💌 Tiny Improvements hit 1,000 readers!

## Transitioning from next-sitemap to Next.js's Built-in Sitemap.xml and Robots.txt APIs In this post, I'll walk you through the process of migrating from the next-sitemap npm package to using Next.js's built-in API for generating sitemap.xml and robots.t…

## The Big Idea When faced with complex challenges, the most productive people I know return to first principles - fundamental truths they can build from. ## Back to Basics When was the last time you fully renovated the way you solve problems, from the gr…

## The Big Idea Sometimes, being mad is the best way to start something new. ## Stay mad I was walking home the other night, feeling lucky.

## The big idea In the early days of building a product, focus on building strong connections with small group of people to solicit meaningful feedback and drive network effect growth. ## Your product's success relies on trust When building something new,…

## The big idea Voting isn't just about one issue or one stance - each vote is an opportunity to think broadly about what kind of world we want to build.

## The big idea Using first principles in UX will make your product more intuitive and more enjoyable for your customers, while making your job easier. ## First Principles If you're not familiar with the term, **First Principles** are a way of thinking ab…

## Communication is everything Many products stumble, or fail to take off because builders don't incorporate feedback, missing the mark on real user needs.

Tech nerds can't resist the _big reveal_.

In this video from my Tiny Improvements series, I'm diving into product analytics to improve newsletter signups on my personal site.

# Contrast Elevates Perception We often think the quality of our work speaks for itself, but in reality, _perception_ often plays an even bigger role.

Burnout is your team's worst enemy.

In this video, I discuss my recent efforts to improve the product analytics experience on my website.

## The big idea Fonts are way more than just a stylistic choice - they're a critical element that influences readability, usability, and the overall effectiveness of your design. ## Font vs.

You've heard all the startup tropes: Launch fast, iterate faster.

## Test, trust the data, and optimize your site for better results In this video, I dive into A/B testing with PostHog to boost newsletter signups on my site.

At the beginning of my career, I worked in Microsoft's consulting organization.

Watch [Product Analytics for engineers: Debugging a conversion problem on my next.js site using @PostHog](https://youtu.be/4nWcB1a8M1s) on YouTube Thanks so much to PostHog for sponsoring this video and supporting my work!

## The worst time to learn how to deal with a crisis is during a crisis How's that for self-evident?

Watch [Product Analytics for engineers: Debugging a conversion problem on my next.js site using @PostHog](https://youtu.be/4nWcB1a8M1s) on YouTube ## Summary I've been experiencing a problem with my personal website, mikebifulco.com, where my newsletter s…

Perspective is an interesting thing.

Watch [The SECRET you need to hear about the difference between Taste and Skill](https://youtu.be/Ym6HQopqe-4) on YouTube ## Summary Mike discusses how important it is for creatives, especially those building startups and indie projects, to understand this

## Introduction When working with Supabase, you may need to seed your database with initial data.

## Canonically Speaking: Own Your Work You've gone through the trouble of planning, outlining, and writing an article - the product of hours (or sometimes days) of work.

When we started [Craftwork](https://craftwork.com), I had never used TypeScript before.

## Open Sourcing My Design System I'm open sourcing the Figma file I use to design and create images for my personal site.

We've all felt it: you're working on something new.

Odds are, nobody has used the thing you're building.

When building something new, what's more important: that it works, or that it looks good?

I studied computer science as an undergrad (a while ago).

Red lobster gave away so many free shrimp that they had to file for bankruptcy.

The endowment effect is a psychological phenomenon where people value things more highly simply because they own them.

My front door is a 10 minute walk from a small, serene park in a city-edge neighborhood.

_note: This post is inspired by an article that my pal Josh Finnie wrote, showing [how he added JSON-LD to his Astro.js site](https://www.joshfinnie.com/blog/adding-json-ld-to-my-blog/): If you're an Astro-naut - give that a read.

No team is perfect.

As the winter has turned into spring this year, I've been doing a whole lot of walking.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the garage with my dad.

This past weekend, I spent some time building a new project with 🧑‍🚀 [Astro](https://astro.build).

OpenApi.tools is an Open Source and community-driven list of high-quality, modern tools for OpenAPI that we've been maintaining over at APIs You Won't Hate for the past few years, and it's overdue for a rebuild. 🔧 In this session, I'll be using Astro.build

## Everyone loves a generous free tier There are loads of free tools I use to get my work done, and I love recommending free tools for others to use.

## SEO is the growth engine for your work If you're building a brand, a business, or a personal website, taking the time to invest in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) will help your work get discovered when people search for related topics on DuckDuckGo,…

Last year, I wrote a reflection on [the first 90 days as a technical cofounder](https://mikebifulco.com/newsletter/building-a-startup-in-2023-90-day-report) about the first three months of building Craftwork.

## Thanks, I hate it In the first days of building [Craftwork](https://craftwork.com), I made the decision to use Tailwind CSS for our projects.

Have you ever felt that you've seen a design that just makes sense to you, but you couldn't quite put your finger on why?

Join me for an exciting live stream where we dive into the world of design and development at Craftwork!

There's a difference between the skills needed to write code, and those needed to lead a successful business.

## Notes about today's Livecoding stream This is a YouTube Livestream, where I'll be working on integrating Resend Broadcasts into my next.js site to use for sending newsletters.

There have been _lots_ of interesting announcements from creators and startups this month.

_Editor's note: Happy New Year, gang!