Merott 🐾
@merott
Followers
1,868
Following
1,153
Media
653
Statuses
5,533
/ 🐻❄️ Building a guilt-free habit tracker @polarhabits / 💌 Writing at / 💻 Freelancing @toptal
🇬🇧 London
Joined June 2009
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Columbus
• 353310 Tweets
Bill Clinton
• 160856 Tweets
山本太郎
• 143878 Tweets
Bills
• 118591 Tweets
Thanksgiving
• 87952 Tweets
Bret
• 69282 Tweets
#grandefratello
• 60371 Tweets
Mbappé
• 60283 Tweets
GALA TU PATRONA
• 59304 Tweets
Kerem
• 52421 Tweets
連休明け
• 50530 Tweets
#BizimÇocuklar
• 46442 Tweets
Geraldo
• 35217 Tweets
Lorenzo
• 31378 Tweets
Flamengo
• 26612 Tweets
Youngkin
• 20807 Tweets
İzlanda
• 17856 Tweets
緊急入院
• 15190 Tweets
KARIME TAMBIÉN ES TU PATRONA
• 12953 Tweets
GARIME TUS PATRONAS
• 12335 Tweets
休み明け
• 10984 Tweets
Fernando Gago
• 10917 Tweets
Uğurcan
• 10870 Tweets
Montella
• 10557 Tweets
FELICITACIONES DR GINOCCHIO
• 10466 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
I used to meditate every day, until I broke my 100-day streak. 😬
“Don’t break the chain.”
“Never miss twice.”
Yes, exactly… But eventually, I will. Then what?
4
2
29
I used to meditate every day, until I broke my 100-day streak. 😬
“Don’t break the chain.”
“Never miss twice.”
Yes, exactly… But eventually, I will. Then what?
6
24
436
That’s the problem with streaks and advice like that.
They encourage you to keep going and maintain a habit for as long as possible, but they don’t tell you how to get back on track when you inevitably fall off the wagon—because you will, that’s just life! 🤷🏻♂️
1
6
164
To be remembered, excite, surprise, and delight your audience.
And, don't neglect the ending.
5
8
133
Cohort-Based Courses Are Too Much
CBCs are taking the online education space by storm, but I don't believe in the hype. Not entirely, at least.
I'm hopeful for a more accessible, personalised and calm approach to online education!
👇🏻
36
5
97
💡 MVC: Minimum Viable Course
How do you know your online course idea has legs?
You don't, so you experiment with it! 🧪
We frequently talk about the 'Minimum Viable Product' in startups.
How come we don't talk about the 'Minimum Viable Course'?
Here are 16 MVC ideas! 🧶👇🏼
7
14
96
For the first time in 74 weeks, I didn't send my newsletter this week! 😬
Truth is, this year has been HARD. I've been swimming upstream, and I just can't anymore!
There's so much inspirational talk on Twitter, but not enough of the truth: It's fucking hard.
17
1
85
The reality is that habits are all about momentum, not streaks.
The longer you keep up a habit, the more momentum you build up, and the harder it becomes to break that habit.
1
2
74
💡 Introducing Open World Courses (OWCs)
What if online courses were like open-world games?
The course creator's job becomes not to design a curriculum, but to create a world of ideas, missions, and learning quests!
Imagine that! 👇🏻
24
9
70
I haven't slept all night. 🥱
I wasn't partying… No, I was preparing
@PolarHabits
for its
@ProductHunt
launch!
Support a sleep-deprived but excited maker? 🙏😅
20
5
63
That’s why I’m building
@polarhabits
—a habit tracker with no streaks and a “momentum system” to replace it.
It started as a spreadsheet I built for myself, but I quickly realised I’m not the only one who’s had to face the curse of habit streaks.
2
1
65
Some habit trackers let you skip days to save your streak, but that feels like cheating.
If I can skip days—as many as I want—and still keep my streak, then what’s the point of the streak? 🤔
1
1
61
We’re launching publicly in the new year, and the best way to get in is to join the waitlist! 👇🏻
6
3
60
Some people don’t get too attached to their habit streak.
It’s just a number, after all.
But I do, and I can’t help it. Once it breaks, it puts me down and makes me feel like I’ve lost all of my progress.
1
3
58
I've been writing CSS for 10 years.
Today, I learnt what a CSS 'declaration' is.
Basics.
Thanks,
@JoshWComeau
!
(The 'first declaration' emphasis gave it away. I wouldn't have been able to answer correctly without it! 😅)
2
2
55
I had meditated for 100 days straight.
That’s A LOT of momentum to vanish in just a few days, let alone overnight!
But streaks don’t care. Zero it is! 🤬
1
0
56
Lately, I feel invisible on Twitter/X…
Almost an hour after posting this, it barely has 50 impressions. Is it because I'm not "Verified"? 😅
34
1
55
I’ve never come across a habit tracker that takes the real nature of habits into account…
Momentum, not streaks.
No habit trackers differentiate a 5-day break on day 10, from a 5-day break on day 100. The first one ruins your momentum. The second is hardly a blip! 🤏🏻
3
0
54
Btw, this wasn't just a visual rant.
I'm cooking something… hopefully something better! 😁
7
2
53
You don't have to settle for 80-20, but make sure you're not chasing rainbows.
2
11
46
Last June, I started a curated newsletter: Course Creators Weekly.
So far, I…
📚 Reviewed over 400 articles, videos + podcast episodes
🌟 Summarised 151 pieces—countless hours of content
📈 Grown the newsletter to 446 people
🗣 Talked to over 50 people (or more?)
And now… 🥁
3
6
47
📈 Viral Writing 101
@ShaanVP
,
@dickiebush
, and
@Nicolascole77
talk about viral writing.
They dissect Twitter threads, and share actionable frameworks you can start using today to make sure your writing captures the eyeballs it deserves.
Some key lessons + video 👇🏻
3
7
46
@dickiebush
Well, helllooo! 👋🏻
I've been writing a curated newsletter for course creators, including 150+ summaries of other people's content over the past year.
Excited to start writing original content, together with you all on this ship! 🚢
I'll be writing mostly about online courses!
9
0
45
Polar Habits became Product Hunt's
#1
Product of the Day on New Year's Day! 🥳
648+ upvotes, 590+ new user signups, and 11 new subscriptions so far!
Thank you for all of your support! 🤗
I haven't slept all night. 🥱
I wasn't partying… No, I was preparing
@PolarHabits
for its
@ProductHunt
launch!
Support a sleep-deprived but excited maker? 🙏😅
20
5
63
12
4
44
Courses are like springs.
The more you compress your content, the more powerful your course becomes.
9
4
42
Imagine if online courses had difficulty levels, like video games! 👾
Want a crash course? Pick the 'Easy' level. You're told everything you need to know or do.
Want to learn deeply? Go for the 'Brutal' level. You're given a mission (e.g. research X), then you're on your own!
5
4
41
I’ve always wanted to build something, to be a “maker” of software on the Internet, and this felt like the greatest opportunity that’s come my way in a long time! 🤩
Even more exciting is that I'm partnering with
@adhdjesse
, and our brains are overwhelming us with ideas! 😅
2
0
38
Stop reading advice on how to 10x your Twitter following.
Start connecting with and helping individuals.
2
0
37
Course completion rates are bullsh*t
Why do we flaunt the completion rates of CBCs and keep comparing them to that of self-paced courses?
What does it even mean to "complete" a course? Attend every session? Do every assignment? None of that matters!
Focus on this instead! 👇🏻
6
1
35
🚀 A framework for Course-Market fit
Courses are complex systems with interdependent parts (levers) influencing one another.
@wes_kao
presents the Course Mechanics Canvas, and 12 levers you can pull on to design and deliver a top-notch CBC unique to you!
Summary + article 👇🏼
1
10
35
I've written 150+ summaries of curated content about online courses, featuring 78 people in over the past year.
Over the next 30 days, I'm writing 30 Atomic Essays as part of
#ship30for30
, sharing everything I've learnt in the process.
Follow along! 🧵👇🏼
3
2
35
Finally, it's here! 😅
I'm building a digital garden to explore things I'm curious about: online courses, learning design, student engagement, gamification, storytelling…
👉🏻
A quick video tour, with the song that helped me focus while building it! 🎻🔊
8
3
31
👋🏻 Hey, Twitter!
🤓 I tweet mostly about online courses.
📨 I send a weekly newsletter, sharing 3 articles, videos, or podcast episodes with bite-sized summaries:
👾 I'm excited about gamification in online courses—a topic I'll be exploring more soon.
5
0
31
@traversymedia
I've been freelancing via
@Toptal
since Feb 2017. Don't even have to think about finding clients.
2
2
31
So,
@JamesClear
is launching a habits app: Atoms!
Part of me is freaking out because of James's massive reach in the space! 😬
But the other part of me looks forward to seeing his take on a habits app, especially as I'm starting to work on my own mobile app for Polar Habits.
12
0
31
I'm going on a cruise! 🚢
After a year of curating and summarising other people's content, I'm going to start creating my own.
Everything I've learnt in the past 52 weeks, from 150+ pieces of content and 1000+ insights from 78 successful course creators.
More on that! 👇🏻
11
0
28
40 days have passed, and I still can't believe you're gone.
Rest in peace, Dad. Keep smiling.
10
0
31
The most emotionally powerful cover of "Baraye" I've heard so far, by Nico Santos.
Goosebumps all over me!
And he doesn't even speak Farsi! 🤯
👏👏👏
#MahsaAmini
#مهسا_امینی
2
10
27
I'm open to work!
I'm a freelance frontend dev, but I also love to talk about learning and online education.
Keeping an open mind about my next role / doesn't have to be dev stuff…
Who needs me? 😁
3
5
26
This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long.
I’m excited to finally read it!
3
1
24
I thought building in public meant publishing ideas in the open public.
We set up a Slack community for
@polarhabits
(great idea,
@adhdjesse
) and with only a handful of members, it's already buzzing with ideas and super valuable + specific feedback.⚡️
Building *with* public! 💪
1
1
24
👋🏼 I'm Merott.
I tweet mostly about online courses.
Every week, I curate, summarise and share 3 pieces of content in my newsletter for course creators:
And, I'm building a platform for cohort-based courses:
Hakuna Matata! 🦁
1
1
25
I'm excited to be joining
@beondeck
for the first cohort of On Deck Course Creators! 🤩
For a long time, I've felt like an outsider, building a product for an audience I don't understand.
It took a simple shift in my mindset to change how I felt… 👇
#buildingxebel
1
1
23
I have a double milestone to celebrate! 🥳
A year ago TODAY, I published the first edition of Course Creators Weekly.
After 53 editions, 160 summaries, and 79 people featured, the newsletter just hit 500 subscribers! 🎉
500 amazing people! 🤩
8
0
23
It's 3:15am, and I'm too pumped for our launch of
@PolarHabits
on
@ProductHunt
to feel tired or go to bed! 😅
<5 hours to go!
5
1
22
Let's replace "building an audience" with "making friends."
I sent a vulnerable email to my "audience" today, and only "friends" would reply with such supportive messages! ❤️
3
2
23
Do you teach online courses? I'm working on something that I think will help you! 🤔
Check it out, and tell me what you think! 😁
0
5
23
🧶 The future of online learning: Cohort-Based Courses (CBCs)
@nevmed
talks with
@gaganbiyani
about the future of online learning and cohort-based courses:
Summary + full conversation 👇🏼
3
5
22
I'm afraid of making a commitment and failing to see it through! 😬
They say you should face the fear and do it anyways… Good advice but like most good advice, easier said than done! 😅
2
0
21
I'm building on an online course platform for indie creators! 🤩
I've wanted to do this for so long, but feeling excited about it now more than ever, particularly as the world has been forced to embrace remote work and education.
2
1
22
I've been trying to figure out my WHY.
Why am I interested in online courses, and specifically helping course creators teach more effectively?
I might've found a lead…
3
0
21
Announcing Course Creators Weekly! 💌
I'll be sharing hand-picked content about:
❓ Choosing a topic
🙋♀️ Finding your niche
📹 Creating your content
💰 Marketing and selling your course
🥰 Supporting your students
First issue on Monday, June 29th 👇
0
2
20
🚀 A framework for Course-Market fit
Courses are complex systems with interdependent parts (levers) influencing one another.
@wes_kao
presents the Course Mechanics Canvas, and 12 levers you can pull on to design and deliver a top-notch CBC unique to you!
Summary + article 👇🏼
1
3
20
I'll get my newsletter back on track but I'm dropping some other projects for now so I don't burn out! 😰
4
0
19
@bmastrangelo
@synthesischool
I don't have kids, but I'm super excited for Synthesis and what the future of education holds! 😁
1
2
19
From the outside, it might seem like I've found my groove, writing a weekly newsletter consistently for over a year.
In reality, I'm overwhelmed and all over the place right now, in my professional AND personal life.
Don't believe what you see. There's a shitload you don't.
5
1
17
@anafabrega11
@nntaleb
Love it! 💯
My key takeaway (especially for adult learning):
Don't just transfer knowledge.
Design mini-projects that simulate the real work your learners will need to do, to make progress towards their own goals.
Create a safe space to experiment, fail, learn, and iterate!
0
0
18
🧪 New experiment… Starting today, I'll be tweeting regular (and some irregular) updates, as I try to grow Xebel from 0 to $10K MRR.
This'll be a slow, and hopefully steady journey! 🐢
Follow along with
#buildingxebel
3
1
18
👋🏻 I'm Merott!
🤓 I tweet mostly about online courses!
📨 Every week, I curate and share 3 articles, videos, or podcast episodes, with bite-sized summaries:
🌍 And, I'm creating tools and resources to help people build Open World Courses, aka OWCs!
4
0
17
Really enjoyed reading this article on how to set better long-term goals, by the amazing
@anthilemoon
1
7
18
Stories help us connect the dots and make sense of information. Use them.
1
3
18
If you're a frontend developer, you can't NOT follow
@JoshWComeau
.
Seriously.
I'm blown away by his skills, and I was secretly jealous until I tweeted this. Now I'm just openly jealous! 😄
1
1
17
"I've lost my drive" 😥
That was the subject of my last email to my newsletter subscribers.
I've paused CCW until I find that drive again!
I have some introspective work to do but instead of a silent search, I'll do it in public (as much as I'm comfortable sharing.)
🧵
3
0
17
I'm looking to hire an illustrator for a brand-new newsletter!
Recommendations?
11
0
16
Finally, after 16 issues, Course Creators Weekly has a home on the interwebs!
Want to create an online course, or up your game as an instructor? Check out what you missed, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss another one! 😉
3
2
17
I'm excited to finally push out a feature I'd planned before I even started building Polar Habits! 🥳
3 challenge modes: Calm, Daring, and Heroic! 🦸🏽
Each mode is progressively less forgiving of missed days—but never as brutal as streaks!
Coming soon to the Pro plan!
6
1
17
I broke the chain. I blame the system.
22 days straight, and then 0. That's not fair.
We need to build compassion into the systems we use in our daily lives.
Here's how we can do that with our daily habit tracking! 👇🏻
3
1
16
I said Cohort-Based Courses Are Too Much!
So, what's the solution?
I don't have the perfect solution, but there's something I've been thinking a lot about lately: Evergreen Cohorts.
Here's what I mean by that! 👇🏻
5
2
15
I wanted to write 30 essays. I wrote 29! 🤷🏻♂️
Got me over my perfectionism, and sparked new ideas, from CBCs to OWCs.
Here's what I learnt, and what's next…
4
2
15
Design inspiration board for Polar Habits mobile app is coming along nicely! 😁
3
0
15
I'm a coder, and my only experience with no-code is Zapier.
So, why start this
#100DaysOfNoCode
challenge?
Because I plan to build a course on it.
What? I'm only starting to learn about no-code, and I'm already planning to build a course? 😅
Well, yes… 🧵
5
1
15
The State Change Method: How to deliver engaging live lectures on Zoom
How do you engage people over Zoom?
@wes_kao
shares some really great tips in this article:
1
3
16
How to run a cohort-based course
@julia_saxena
has plenty of practical tips on this—possibly the most actionable piece of content I've shared in my newsletter so far! 💯
First, a summary… 👇🏼
3
1
15
Learning to code, and looking for extra accountability? I'll personally check in with you live for 15 minutes a week to keep you learning! 👨🏻💻
👉 👈
#CodeNewbie
#100DaysOfCode
#freeCodeCamp
#KeepLearning
#KeepOnLearning
#Programming
0
5
15
A year ago, I started Course Creators Weekly because I wanted to help people create life-changing online courses!
(Sounds cheesy and cliché but changing someone's life doesn't have to be revolutionary.)
Here's how that's going + announcement for my coaching service! 📣
4
3
16
Building my garden on the Internet…
Feeling excited but also overwhelmed with how much I *want* to do! 😅
4
0
14
The new is FREAKING AWESOME!
I also love the gamification with teams! 💯
It turns reading
@kentcdodds
's blog posts into a team sport, creates a dedicated space to huddle with teammates and personalises the site's theme—all elements of great gamification.
3
1
15
Online courses, especially self-paced ones, get a bad rep for their poor completion rates.
I call BS! 💩
3
4
15