Amy McNichol
@amymcnichol.bsky.social
Knows her own know best. Agile comms and content design. Curator of @allconsuming.bsky.social
Be consumed: ithoughtaboutthatalot.com
Subscribe: buttondown.email/ithoughtalot
Be consumed: ithoughtaboutthatalot.com
Subscribe: buttondown.email/ithoughtalot
Pinned
Amy McNichol
@amymcnichol.bsky.social
· Dec 19
🌟 Here is your last-post-before-Christmas warning!🌟
We have a few copies of the I Thought About That A Lot book left (like, I can count them on my fingers). If you'd like one in time for Christmas, order your copy before 2pm tomorrow (Friday 20 December).
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
We have a few copies of the I Thought About That A Lot book left (like, I can count them on my fingers). If you'd like one in time for Christmas, order your copy before 2pm tomorrow (Friday 20 December).
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
In 2024, @jo-scho.bsky.social thought about her first love: Oasis. Tonight, she's off to see 'em.
July 19, 2025 at 1:45 PM
In 2024, @jo-scho.bsky.social thought about her first love: Oasis. Tonight, she's off to see 'em.
Autocratic weeknotes.
Breaking News: Elon Musk said federal workers must summarize their accomplishments for the week in an email or be forced to leave, a tactic he used after buying Twitter. Follow live updates.
Trump Administration Live Updates: Latest News on Elon Musk, CPAC and More
www.nytimes.com
February 23, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Autocratic weeknotes.
Breaking Bluesky silence to ask for reading recs on Kendrick Lamar. Mostly commentary on his cultural commentary but also Super Bowl subtleties I definitely missed (US flag >> swastikas?!)
February 11, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Breaking Bluesky silence to ask for reading recs on Kendrick Lamar. Mostly commentary on his cultural commentary but also Super Bowl subtleties I definitely missed (US flag >> swastikas?!)
Not a particularly useful button then. Help? Help.
January 16, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Not a particularly useful button then. Help? Help.
Reposted by Amy McNichol
Thanks for including this @amymcnichol.bsky.social @allconsuming.bsky.social ❤️
My first love was Oasis. If you didn't like Oasis, this essay is also about nostalgia and optimism, and hopefully you can substitute [oasis] with [your first band].
If you did like Oasis, press play on 'Whatever'.
December 24, 2024 at 2:23 PM
Thanks for including this @amymcnichol.bsky.social @allconsuming.bsky.social ❤️
My first love was Oasis. If you didn't like Oasis, this essay is also about nostalgia and optimism, and hopefully you can substitute [oasis] with [your first band].
If you did like Oasis, press play on 'Whatever'.
By my husband who bench presses 80kg, has had watery eyes over his Grandad this morning, and is now smoking half a side of salmon on the terrace. Masculinity isn't toxic by default.
"How can the strength of my testosterone-fueled vessel co-exist with my tenderness? Where does the need for control and competition meet my delicate emotions and thoughtfulness? Why do we treat men with privilege, yet our number one killer is ourselves?"
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/muscles
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/muscles
December 23, 2024 at 2:12 PM
By my husband who bench presses 80kg, has had watery eyes over his Grandad this morning, and is now smoking half a side of salmon on the terrace. Masculinity isn't toxic by default.
Every year, @madebysheppard.bsky.social says there's one essay that just gets him. This is that one: honest. Heartbreaking. Funny.
In 2024, I thought a lot about my mum, her Alzheimer’s, and the Gregg’s sausage roll scam
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-mum-...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-mum-...
December 23, 2024 at 1:24 PM
Every year, @madebysheppard.bsky.social says there's one essay that just gets him. This is that one: honest. Heartbreaking. Funny.
Challenging to edit when the essay is about indifference and apathy around the subject. How might we encourage people to engage?
Last year, I saw a bloodied, dead baby outside a hospital.
I've been seeing dead babies quite frequently since, and I've noticed a lot of people seem to ignore them.
Maybe they don’t see them at all.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-i-a...
I've been seeing dead babies quite frequently since, and I've noticed a lot of people seem to ignore them.
Maybe they don’t see them at all.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-i-a...
December 21, 2024 at 5:32 PM
Challenging to edit when the essay is about indifference and apathy around the subject. How might we encourage people to engage?
🌝Today's essay is by 2024's oldest contributor. It's got a touch of the Mighty Boosh and a whiff of the wacky backy about it but it's just lovely. Gentle. In awe of the universe. Incredulous at their insignificance in the vastness of the universe ☄️🌟 and thrilled to pieces with how lucky they are 💛
In 2024, I thought a lot about markers in time and space
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/markers...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/markers...
December 20, 2024 at 11:50 AM
🌝Today's essay is by 2024's oldest contributor. It's got a touch of the Mighty Boosh and a whiff of the wacky backy about it but it's just lovely. Gentle. In awe of the universe. Incredulous at their insignificance in the vastness of the universe ☄️🌟 and thrilled to pieces with how lucky they are 💛
Reposted by Amy McNichol
"Ghosting needs a rebrand. The term feels too cute – a bit silly. Stick your tongue out and wink ghost emoji. But it is serious, it takes a real mental toll."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/ghosting
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/ghosting
December 19, 2024 at 11:11 AM
"Ghosting needs a rebrand. The term feels too cute – a bit silly. Stick your tongue out and wink ghost emoji. But it is serious, it takes a real mental toll."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/ghosting
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/ghosting
🌟 Here is your last-post-before-Christmas warning!🌟
We have a few copies of the I Thought About That A Lot book left (like, I can count them on my fingers). If you'd like one in time for Christmas, order your copy before 2pm tomorrow (Friday 20 December).
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
We have a few copies of the I Thought About That A Lot book left (like, I can count them on my fingers). If you'd like one in time for Christmas, order your copy before 2pm tomorrow (Friday 20 December).
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
December 19, 2024 at 2:32 PM
🌟 Here is your last-post-before-Christmas warning!🌟
We have a few copies of the I Thought About That A Lot book left (like, I can count them on my fingers). If you'd like one in time for Christmas, order your copy before 2pm tomorrow (Friday 20 December).
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
We have a few copies of the I Thought About That A Lot book left (like, I can count them on my fingers). If you'd like one in time for Christmas, order your copy before 2pm tomorrow (Friday 20 December).
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
⚠️ WARNING❗❗❗
This essay may compel you to bin your desk job, chuck your laptop in the pond, take a sabbatical and live your best creative, arty-farty, explore-all-the-galleries, do-some-journaling, free-your-mind life.
Inspired by The Artist's Way (fondly referred to as 'The Dickhead's Way').
This essay may compel you to bin your desk job, chuck your laptop in the pond, take a sabbatical and live your best creative, arty-farty, explore-all-the-galleries, do-some-journaling, free-your-mind life.
Inspired by The Artist's Way (fondly referred to as 'The Dickhead's Way').
In 2024, I thought a lot about creativity and self-discovery woo-woo
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/creativ...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/creativ...
December 18, 2024 at 11:08 AM
⚠️ WARNING❗❗❗
This essay may compel you to bin your desk job, chuck your laptop in the pond, take a sabbatical and live your best creative, arty-farty, explore-all-the-galleries, do-some-journaling, free-your-mind life.
Inspired by The Artist's Way (fondly referred to as 'The Dickhead's Way').
This essay may compel you to bin your desk job, chuck your laptop in the pond, take a sabbatical and live your best creative, arty-farty, explore-all-the-galleries, do-some-journaling, free-your-mind life.
Inspired by The Artist's Way (fondly referred to as 'The Dickhead's Way').
Loved working with this contributor. She's 66 and hadn't worked with an editor before but had a lovely balance of strong narrative voice and openness to trying new stuff. I'm glad she's found some peace this year.
"At 17, Dad wound up on the Arctic Convoys which sailed to the Soviet Union in perilous conditions, and under heavy threat of German attack. Dad’s ship was torpedoed and he survived by clinging on to a plank of wood. He was one of only six survivors."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-my-...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-my-...
December 17, 2024 at 12:01 PM
Loved working with this contributor. She's 66 and hadn't worked with an editor before but had a lovely balance of strong narrative voice and openness to trying new stuff. I'm glad she's found some peace this year.
Fun to edit and lots of amusing quips but these days we would call this child abuse tbh.
"I’ve never really had an OK time at the dentist – not since The Incident back in 1971 at the hands of my mother and Mr E. This year, some rather unfortunate dental activity in the top right corner of my mouth has triggered some terribly bad memories."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-top-...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-top-...
December 16, 2024 at 6:59 PM
Fun to edit and lots of amusing quips but these days we would call this child abuse tbh.
"While the decision to be child-free was always pretty clear for both of us, its ripple effects through our social lives have been more surprising than we anticipated. Here's how things have changed for us as the dominant draw in our clique has transferred from friends to family."
So well-written 👏
So well-written 👏
In 2024, I thought a lot about friendship in my child-free forties
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/friends...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/friends...
December 16, 2024 at 6:58 PM
"While the decision to be child-free was always pretty clear for both of us, its ripple effects through our social lives have been more surprising than we anticipated. Here's how things have changed for us as the dominant draw in our clique has transferred from friends to family."
So well-written 👏
So well-written 👏
🤩 @mollywj.bsky.social, in her 'middle-age mum era', has written about fandom as grown up. "It feels special to be on the inside of something as remarkable as what she’s created, but also objective enough not to buy into every last element of it."
Publishing today, on Taylor Swift's 35th birthday
Publishing today, on Taylor Swift's 35th birthday
"Most new music’s not aimed at us Millennials. While I can appreciate Sabrina Carpenter’s lyrical quips, the teeny-tiny outfits age me out. I like Charli XCX, but I’m too tired to have a brat summer... But Taylor manages to feel like she’s for everyone."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/taylor-...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/taylor-...
December 13, 2024 at 11:14 AM
🤩 @mollywj.bsky.social, in her 'middle-age mum era', has written about fandom as grown up. "It feels special to be on the inside of something as remarkable as what she’s created, but also objective enough not to buy into every last element of it."
Publishing today, on Taylor Swift's 35th birthday
Publishing today, on Taylor Swift's 35th birthday
🤯 Professional experience being dismissed by young prat
🤯 Pandering to fragile ego cos: = easier life
🤯 Lack of research and awareness around menopause
🤯 Catholic guru creating balkanisation between women
Too fucking right we still need feminism 👏 💯
🤯 Pandering to fragile ego cos: = easier life
🤯 Lack of research and awareness around menopause
🤯 Catholic guru creating balkanisation between women
Too fucking right we still need feminism 👏 💯
In 2024, I thought a lot about why we still need feminism
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-we-...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/why-we-...
December 13, 2024 at 10:53 AM
🤯 Professional experience being dismissed by young prat
🤯 Pandering to fragile ego cos: = easier life
🤯 Lack of research and awareness around menopause
🤯 Catholic guru creating balkanisation between women
Too fucking right we still need feminism 👏 💯
🤯 Pandering to fragile ego cos: = easier life
🤯 Lack of research and awareness around menopause
🤯 Catholic guru creating balkanisation between women
Too fucking right we still need feminism 👏 💯
In April, I saw ex Match of the Day mag writer @christowers.bsky.social post about his painful loss on his Insta and asked him to turn his post into an essay.
Oh man, he didn't disappoint.
You don't have to like football, #Arsenal or even scarves to appreciate this – it's just lovely.
Oh man, he didn't disappoint.
You don't have to like football, #Arsenal or even scarves to appreciate this – it's just lovely.
"Losing a bundle of red and white woolly fibres may seem trivial, and mourning its loss perhaps childish – but do NOT mistake a football supporter’s scarf for simply being a piece of functional, mass-produced and easily-replaceable clothing."
i-thought-a-lot-about-that.webflow.io/2024/my-lost...
i-thought-a-lot-about-that.webflow.io/2024/my-lost...
December 11, 2024 at 6:10 PM
In April, I saw ex Match of the Day mag writer @christowers.bsky.social post about his painful loss on his Insta and asked him to turn his post into an essay.
Oh man, he didn't disappoint.
You don't have to like football, #Arsenal or even scarves to appreciate this – it's just lovely.
Oh man, he didn't disappoint.
You don't have to like football, #Arsenal or even scarves to appreciate this – it's just lovely.
To be kept in mind for your next jaunt:
"If we engage more meaningfully with the culture and residents of a place when we travel, we will become more empathetic to the impact that us being there has on both."
Thank you to Rosemary Evans for the edits.
"If we engage more meaningfully with the culture and residents of a place when we travel, we will become more empathetic to the impact that us being there has on both."
Thank you to Rosemary Evans for the edits.
December 10, 2024 at 11:56 PM
To be kept in mind for your next jaunt:
"If we engage more meaningfully with the culture and residents of a place when we travel, we will become more empathetic to the impact that us being there has on both."
Thank you to Rosemary Evans for the edits.
"If we engage more meaningfully with the culture and residents of a place when we travel, we will become more empathetic to the impact that us being there has on both."
Thank you to Rosemary Evans for the edits.
Friends! We only have a handful of books left. They include good words, 162 pages of munken pure rough 120gsm paper, lots of white space and cute illos.
TL;DR: they look and feel nice, and therefore make gorgey Christmas presents.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
TL;DR: they look and feel nice, and therefore make gorgey Christmas presents.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
Shop – I thought about that a lot
A new anonymous essay published every day in December in the countdown to Christmas.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com
December 10, 2024 at 7:19 PM
Friends! We only have a handful of books left. They include good words, 162 pages of munken pure rough 120gsm paper, lots of white space and cute illos.
TL;DR: they look and feel nice, and therefore make gorgey Christmas presents.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
TL;DR: they look and feel nice, and therefore make gorgey Christmas presents.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
Reposted by Amy McNichol
Do you know what a pouch of Douglas is? If you don't, find out in my short advent blog. It could come in useful one day...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-pouch-of-douglas
#endometriosis
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-pouch-of-douglas
#endometriosis
In 2024, I thought a lot about my pouch of Douglas – I thought a lot about that
A new anonymous essay published every day in December in the countdown to Christmas.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com
December 9, 2024 at 10:16 AM
Do you know what a pouch of Douglas is? If you don't, find out in my short advent blog. It could come in useful one day...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-pouch-of-douglas
#endometriosis
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-pouch-of-douglas
#endometriosis
It’s the second most common gynae condition in the UK but takes ~9yrs to get a diagnosis of #endometriosis. 🤯 Somehow, @kerry1yons.bsky.social has written with humour on this – despite experiencing years of medical gaslighting. She's thought a lot about others who are un/misdiagnosed this year.
The nurse was holding my hand as I opened my eyes. She leant in close.
“The operation was a success,” she whispered. “You’ve got endometriosis, but we’ve removed the cells we found.
They were in your pouch of Douglas."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-pouc...
“The operation was a success,” she whispered. “You’ve got endometriosis, but we’ve removed the cells we found.
They were in your pouch of Douglas."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/my-pouc...
December 9, 2024 at 11:58 AM
It’s the second most common gynae condition in the UK but takes ~9yrs to get a diagnosis of #endometriosis. 🤯 Somehow, @kerry1yons.bsky.social has written with humour on this – despite experiencing years of medical gaslighting. She's thought a lot about others who are un/misdiagnosed this year.
Reposted by Amy McNichol
Yep I know it is ironic staking claim to an anonymous essay I wrote about shutting up but I've wanted to write for @allconsuming.bsky.social since @amymcnichol.bsky.social started it and after @jo-scho.bsky.social managed to make this readable I am quite proud of it!
"I became addicted to the dopamine hits from interactions with my content. As my profile grew, I found my career started to benefit and I leaned in more and more... But now, as the poster child for openness, I want to close myself off."
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/shuttin...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/shuttin...
December 7, 2024 at 3:07 PM
Yep I know it is ironic staking claim to an anonymous essay I wrote about shutting up but I've wanted to write for @allconsuming.bsky.social since @amymcnichol.bsky.social started it and after @jo-scho.bsky.social managed to make this readable I am quite proud of it!
Soz, off to join this contributor in the Eastern Sierra Mountains, USA. Brb...
(or will I?)
(or will I?)
In 2024, I thought a lot about what home feels like for a nomad
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/what-ho...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/what-ho...
December 7, 2024 at 2:24 PM
Soz, off to join this contributor in the Eastern Sierra Mountains, USA. Brb...
(or will I?)
(or will I?)
Another Christmas cracker from fashion darrrling @hardyps.bsky.social 💅
"Some buyers think I am both a chat facility and an Evri delivery driver coordinator. There are those who haven’t bothered to read my crafted sales copy, and send 1 word Qs about my wares that remind me of my time on dating apps: “Length?” “Size?”
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/selling...
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2024/selling...
December 5, 2024 at 3:51 PM
Another Christmas cracker from fashion darrrling @hardyps.bsky.social 💅