A small prompt for a Merry Christmas:
A realistic Christmas tree ornament: a transparent glass bauble hanging on a Christmas tree branch. Inside the ornament is a cute chibi-style plush doll inspired by the picture attached.
The doll wears a [color] Santa hat with plain white trim and pom-pom. Hands and face are the same skin tone.
Inside the bauble there is soft artificial snow and subtle floating snow particles. The ornament cap is metallic silver with delicate detailing.
Color palette: [add yours]
Background: softly blurred Christmas tree with warm fairy lights and [colors] decorations, bokeh effect.
Style: high-quality product photography, cozy, festive, whimsical, handcrafted plush aesthetic, shallow depth of field, soft warm lighting, ultra-detailed, realistic materials.
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I published a deep dive today on why user interviews often feel productive โ but still lead teams in the wrong direction.
Itโs not about users lying.
Itโs about how easily conversations distort reality.
If youโre running interviews right now, this might help you hear whatโs actually being said.
https://open.substack.com/pub/carolinapoll/p/why-most-user-interviews-lie-to-you?r=3b1q9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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Every December I sit with the same question:
โWhat actually changed in my life this year?โ
This time, instead of doing it alone, I asked ChatGPT to act as a facilitator โ and the clarity that came out of it surprised me.
I turned the process into a kit so you can try it too:a thoughtful prompt + a Miro template to organise your reflection.
โจ Your Year Personal Reflection Kit
If you need a gentle moment to make sense of your year, let me know and Iโll send it your way.
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This year, I wrote 48 posts on Substack, 200 on Linkedin, reached readers in 66 countries, and had over 300k impressions across platforms.
None of it was overnight. All of it was slow and steady.
I just published a full breakdown of my first year writing online โ including analytics, mistakes, and patterns.
https://open.substack.com/pub/carolinapoll/p/a-year-of-writing-in-public-what?r=3b1q9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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Last week I showed the Miroverse community how I build my templates.
Today I turned that session into a practical guide โ and one of my favourite posts so far.
If you like Miro, templates and structure, this one is for you:
https://open.substack.com/pub/carolinapoll/p/how-my-miroverse-templates-come-to?r=3b1q9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true