Monday preparation #7: Writing, research, and Study Brew

It felt good to take a week off from writing blog content.

Last week, there was no Friday rundown or Monday preparation post. Most of my time went into organizing content and finishing the BETA version of the native Mac app for TWO Docs.

Read also: I took a week off from writing

Claude’s audit said the app should be ready, but we all know how that usually goes with AI-written code. I’ll do another final check this week to make sure everything is in order before I consider it ready to publish.

And that’s where I need to do some research first.

The Mac app and Apple’s requirements

I completely forgot that publishing a Mac app comes with its own set of requirements.

I need a paid Apple Developer account, and I have to figure out whether to publish under my personal name or a company. Then there’s notarization, which I still need to understand properly, along with the differences between distributing the app directly as a DMG file and putting it on the Mac App Store.

I’ve never published a native Mac app before, so this is all new territory for me.

Building the app was the big challenge, but I can’t just throw a DMG file onto the TWO website and assume everything is taken care of. There are procedures to follow, and I need to understand what Apple expects before I make any decisions.

I also don’t want to get stuck halfway through the publishing process because I overlooked some requirement or misunderstood Apple’s policies.

So this week, I want to spend a few days researching the whole process, taking notes, and putting together a proper plan with some guided AI assistance.

I’d rather understand the requirements now than discover something important is missing when I’m ready to launch.

The goal is still to get the BETA out there, but I need to be realistic about the steps between finishing the code and making the app available to people.

Writing for all my blogs

There’s obviously going to be a lot of writing happening here on my main personal blog, but I also want to finish a couple of things for my other sites.

Last week, I wrote another article on my Life in Taiwan blog, pieter.tw. I still need one more post to complete the year, and it’s been bothering me that I’m not entirely done with the content plan for that site.

It’s just one article, but I want to get it out of the way.

Indie Hacker Blog is already done for the year. I could leave it there, but I’m thinking about writing one more article for January so I can start the new year ahead of schedule.

There’s also the iPad app I planned for January.

After building the native Mac app, I have a much better idea of what to expect when working on another native Apple application. That doesn’t mean the iPad app will be easy, but at least I’m not going into it completely blind.

I should take advantage of what I’ve learned instead of letting the momentum disappear.

I’m not going to rush into building it just yet. There’s enough to do with TWO and Study Brew, and I still need to get the Mac app through its final checks and publishing process.

But getting the writing done early is a different matter. That’s something I can take care of without interfering too much with the development work.

Study Brew needs more attention

This is probably the most important part of my week after the Mac app.

I’ve been putting a lot of effort into Story Brew, Story Valley, and Study Brew, and all three podcast channels are growing faster than I expected.

Read also: My podcast stats are a bit surprising

Traffic to the Study Brew website is also slightly up.

The problem is that the content channels are developing faster than the web application they’re supposed to support.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I think it’s time to work more proactively on Study Brew itself. I don’t want to keep building an audience around English-learning content while leaving the learning app sitting in the background, idling or gathering dust.

I already did a partial audit, and I have a better idea of where I want to take the product.

Working with Claude has also become more productive again. With Opus 5.5, the development process feels considerably better than it did before.

Credit where it’s due: Claude has delivered a strong model, and that makes a difference when I’m trying to work through a larger project.

Read also: Claude got so dumb, so I stopped relying on it alone

But the model isn’t going to make all the decisions for me. I still need to understand what I’ve built, where the problems are, and what needs to change.

And there’s one thing I completely fucked up.

The missing stories

The stories I record for the podcast channels are supposed to be published on the Study Brew website as well.

Except I haven’t updated that section for a long time.

That means a lot of the stories I’ve already recorded and published on the podcast platforms aren’t even available on the website yet.

That’s a problem.

I’m putting time into creating this content, recording it, publishing it, and building the channels, but the website isn’t keeping up with the work happening elsewhere.

It also creates a disconnect between the content and the product. Someone might discover a story through a podcast, visit the website, and find that the story isn’t there.

That’s not how I want Study Brew to work.

I need to bring the website back in line with the content I’m already producing. It doesn’t make much sense to keep adding more stories to the pipeline if I haven’t properly published the ones I’ve already finished.

And this isn’t just about uploading missing content. It gives me another reason to review the current structure of the website and how everything fits together.

A partial audit isn’t enough

After spending more time thinking about Study Brew and running a few experiments, I’ve realized how flawed the current version of the app is.

I don’t think it’s worth continuing to build on top of the existing structure without addressing those problems first.

I’d rather rectify things now than do a half-assed job and end up having to rebuild everything later.

I’ve been through this process with TWO already. I know what happens when I keep adding things without having a clear picture of the product and its underlying structure.

The more I build, the more expensive it becomes to change direction.

Read also: Pivot, persevere and cut loose: making decisions

That’s why I want to finish the audit before committing to the next phase of development.

I have a better idea of what needs to change, but I still need to work through the details and make sure the proposed changes fit together.

For Study Brew, this week’s work is going to focus on updating the website, evaluating possible layout changes, and finishing the audit.

I’m not committing to every change just yet. First, I want a clear plan that I can work through in smaller pieces.

Once that’s done, I’ll have a better idea of what needs to be rebuilt, what can stay, and how to move forward without repeating the same mistakes.

The rest of the week

On Wednesday, I have to travel to Taipei for my passport renewal, so that’s one less working day.

That’s fine. I can work around it.

I also need to spend some time going through my emails.

Apparently, quite a few outreach emails have landed in my inbox, both automated and non-automated. Some are about potential collaborations, while others involve paid partnerships.

I haven’t properly gone through them yet, so I need to figure out what’s worth responding to and what fits with the work I’m doing.

I’m not going to accept every opportunity that comes my way. Some might be interesting, some might not be relevant, and others might require more time than they’re worth.

But I should at least look at what’s there and make a decision instead of letting those emails sit in my inbox.

There’s also the usual writing to get through, the Mac app to check, and Study Brew to work on.

It’s a fairly full week, but at least I have a clearer idea of where things stand.

Final note

Monday is already kicking off strong, and I’m ready to get back into my usual routine.

Taking last week off from writing was a good decision. I finished the Mac app BETA, got more content organized, and gave myself some breathing room.

Now I need to turn that progress into the next set of milestones.

The Mac app needs to make it through the final checks and Apple’s publishing requirements. Study Brew needs a proper audit and some overdue attention on the website.

And I want to finish the remaining writing for my other blogs so I can stop carrying those unfinished tasks into another week.

I don’t expect to finish everything by Friday, especially with the trip to Taipei. But I want to make meaningful progress, somewhat.

For now, I’m starting with the checklist, sorting out the research I need for the Mac app, and figuring out how to approach Study Brew without rushing into another build.

Let’s see where I stand by Friday.