Hello! I'm Nate Kadlac, designer of Plan Your Next, a newsletter that connects design, creativity, and how you prepare for your next thing.
Every Sunday, I aim to make this newsletter as timeless as the joy of eating a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza. Just kidding, they’re discontinuing it. If you’re new here; join us.
What’s new this week?
🎤 Episode #8 of It’s Gotta Be the Mic: Our final episode of this first season! It’s been such a fun adventure to co-host this podcast with Reza. Neither of us wants it to end, so we’ll be kicking another season off with a slightly tweaked format we’ll talk about soon.
💻 On Saturday, I gave a presentation on design fundamentals to the first cohort of Minimum Viable Video by Cam Houser. You can check out the slide deck here. If you’re curious in knowing how video can be used more intentionally, reach out and I can make an intro.
🎨 I’ve been graciously added to the collective at Superbest NYC, an agency started by some talented friends of mine.
✍️ The On Deck Writer Fellowship wrapped up this week and I’m full of gratitude for the experience and what I plan to do next. Pun intended. Curious? Let’s chat.
Good morning from Los Angeles!
“Always have your next trip planned,” I’d often say to myself.
For as long as I can remember, memories from my travels feel like they have been etched into my heart. Whether it’s spending a month in Buenos Aires working on a startup, riding the rails through Europe, or spending a month in Noe Valley perched in a sunroom reading The Fountainhead; these are the memories I can’t imagine losing, even if I tried.
I was recently a guest on Paul Lecrone’s podcast and he brought up my very first travel video. It’s vivid because of the energy I felt during my first overseas trip to London. I remember feeling shocked when the tired man at the ticket counter told us, “one of you is not going to London today,” while staring directly at my roommate’s expired passport. When he arrived 36 hours later, I felt I had to show him the ropes, as I was essentially a London historian by that point.
This newsletter started from this simple mantra of having your next thing planned. I struggle with what the focus of this newsletter is at times, but it’s given me another lens to look through.
It’s fitting that 2020 has been many things to many people, and outside of trying to create a baby with the combination of cups and needles, I’ve been focused on my writing. Travel is a distant memory, sitting in a crusty lost and found bin, never to be claimed.
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end,” said Seneca—and 2,000 years later, by Semisonic.
Writing has given me a new perspective on travel. Not for the future, but traveling back in time. I’ve never called myself a writer because I have this fixed idea of what a writer is. I have friends who do this for a living and sweat the details. I’m here struggling to write a weekly letter to you. When I compare myself to them, I am not in the same universe.
But sitting here—fingers to keyboard—I’m traveling, thinking about where I’ve been and where I’m going. Writing has been my escape to embrace my past adventures and to meet new virtual heroes.
In 2021, I hope we can all get off our asses and find something to chase.
“If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food, it's a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”
🍻 Find your next virtual co-worker
Focusmate partners you with a person to create a distraction-free session. I like this idea if you're feeling distracted and need to feel the pressure of someone holding you accountable.
🔎 Find your next font
I’ve been using Fontanello for awhile now whenever I come across a font that I need to know what it is. It’s a Chrome extension that shows you the source. I highly recommend this tool.
📹 Your next video
I mean, need I say more?
See you next Sunday
Are there certain topics you would like me to cover? Hit reply and expect a response!
As always, my calendar is always open to chat about your crazy ideas.
Have a great week!
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