Deferred Interest Vol. 28
What a post-it taught me about purpose and productivity
Setting intentions like it’s 2019
Hey Everyone,
Intentionality is a life saver. Back when I was a banking analyst, my girlfriend and I would write down three adjectives on a post-it note. Words we wanted to be described as in our internal reviews.
Every day, we’d check our respective lists and evaluate how well we were actually living them. Over time, those little post-its were primary drivers of our behavior, steering how we moved through high-pressure, complex, and sometimes frustrating situations. While these words would evolve, the act of setting intention gave structure and meaning to my everyday work.
I originally started writing this note about how daily intention-setting curbed my anxiety during the pandemic. I’d set three intentions each morning, a mix of personal and professional. This short but achievable list provided structure without suffocating me.
But when I thought about where this practice really began, I remembered the post-its. Honestly, that memory makes me a little emotional. We were so young (not saying I’m old now) and ambitious. We just wanted to be the best version of our professional selves every day, and we bonded over that. Don’t worry, we did our fair share of complaining at our desks late at night too.
Why the story time? Because revisiting these practices has helped me feel more grounded lately. More confident and clear about how I’ve spent my days. It’s easy to look up and wonder what did I actually DO today? But having a guide makes it easier to look back and point to where your day had purpose and productivity.
So I’ll leave you with this. How might you bring more intentionality to your days? Is there a version of this exercise that could work for you?
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Circling back on some of those “deferred”…“interests”…
Some continuing or closing thoughts on topics brought up in previous newsletters based on new, relevant information
Kate Somerville has been acquired by Rare Beauty Brands (no, not Selena’s Rare Beauty)
It seems the rumors were true. Rare Beauty Brands (not to be confused with Rare Beauty) just acquired Kate Somerville.
Last year there were unconfirmed reports that Unilever was exploring sale options for Kate Somerville and REN Skincare. REN has since been shut down, and now Kate has officially been sold off.
If you read my Shelf Life series earlier this year, you know that Unilever’s been aggressively reshaping its portfolio. They launched a “Growth Action Plan” in 2023 to double down on premium wellness brands. But not all of their higher end brands have been top performers.
While brands like Tatcha and K18 have flourished, Kate Somerville struggled to stand out. To make room for new winners, Unilever had to let some other brands go, including Dollar Shave Club, Suave and Elida (which includes Q-tips and Caress).
But remember, one brands divestiture can be another brand’s big bet. Rare Beauty Brands has a much tighter portfolio, home to Patchology, Dr. Dana, and Dot Dot Dash. Maybe Kate Somerville finds the spotlight there. And for those of us emotionally attached to ExfoliKate cleanser? We can exhale. The brand lives on.
Unfortunately, the government is still shut down
We’re now 28 days into the federal government shutdown, and surprise surprise, no progress. The senate is expected to hold its 13th vote (and likely fail) on the funding bill today.
Urgently, more than 40 million Americans are at risk of losing access to SNAP (federal food assistance) on November 1. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it won’t tap emergency funds to cover the gap, and the White House insists no funds will remain past month-end.
Quick refresher: SNAP helps low-income families buy nutritious groceries. One in five children benefit, along with millions of seniors and disabled adults. It is a social safety net that promotes public health and food security.
November 1 also marks the start of Open Enrollment for 2026 Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans. Without renewed tax credits, out-of-pocket premiums are expected to rise drastically for the 20 million subsidized enrollees.
Thanks, I bought it on ChatGPT
The term of the week is “agentic commerce”. OpenAI recently rolled out its Instant Checkout feature, which allows users to purchase products directly through its platform. Instead of using AI to help you find things, AI can actually help you buy things. The “agentic” part means the AI acts more like an agent, taking steps to complete transactions on your behalf. It’s bridging discovery to checkout to fulfillment.
Naturally, I had to ask ChatGPT how this all works and how the agent determines which brands get recommended or excluded.
Prompt:
If I, for example, ask for recommendations for the best women’s fitted white tee shirts for under $50, where would ChatGPT source its responses from? Is it a limited pool, i.e. only brands and retailers who sign up for Instant Checkout can get recommended?
Response:
Important Distinction: ChatGPT’s product recommendations don’t only show ACP merchants, but only ACP merchants can be purchased directly inside ChatGPT.
ChatGPT pulls responses from a combination of sources, depending on what capabilities are active in your session (i.e. whether you’re using GPT-4, whether browsing is enabled, etc.). The current sourcing breakdown:
1. Web-browsing (real-time search)
If you’re using GPT-4 with browsing enabled, ChatGPT can:
Search the open web (including retailer sites, reviews, marketplace listings)
Aggregate and summarize current product options
Link out to third-party websites
But these suggestions are not directly shoppable — they’re just links.
2. Merchants using the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)
This is the special set of products that are:
Instantly shoppable in the chat interface
Powered by merchants who have opted into the Instant Checkout program via ACP
So yes — only merchants who have implemented ACP can be included in Instant Checkout responses (that little “Buy” button inside the chat).
That means:
If a merchant hasn’t opted in, their products can still be recommended via browsing or general knowledge — but they can’t be purchased directly inside ChatGPT
If they have opted in, their product metadata is used to populate product listings, compare prices, and trigger Instant Checkout options
So far, Etsy merchants are live. Shopify merchants are next.
Implications for your audience or readers:
Early movers (especially Etsy/Shopify brands) get access to a new discovery channel — before it becomes pay-to-play.
Consumers may not even realize they’re seeing a filtered set of merchants if they’re only shown ACP-enabled products in checkout-friendly recommendations.
Brands will increasingly need to think about “AI shelf space” the way they think about SEO or retailer end caps.
Over time, we’ll likely see affiliate-style monetization models, where GPT takes a cut of purchases it helps facilitate — blurring the line between recommendation engine and sales channel.
Early movers (especially Etsy/Shopify brands) get access to a new discovery channel — before it becomes pay-to-play.
Consumers may not even realize they’re seeing a filtered set of merchants if they’re only shown ACP-enabled products in checkout-friendly recommendations.
Brands will increasingly need to think about “AI shelf space” the way they think about SEO or retailer end caps.
Over time, we’ll likely see affiliate-style monetization models, where GPT takes a cut of purchases it helps facilitate — blurring the line between recommendation engine and sales channel.
Would you buy something through ChatGPT? This is all so new, but I’ll be keeping an eye out on the significance of this channel for brands. Will it be more robust like TikTok shop, or more of a discovery channel?
Save for Later
I was in San Francisco for work last week and it is just the most dystopian place I've been. There’s an overt issue with houselessness and drugs, meanwhile every single billboard is for an AI company and the streets are filled with driverless cars (i.e. Waymo). Unreal.
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That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading.
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Jamie
Dystopian is EXACTLY the word I've been trying to find to describe SF since my first trip in 2022!
The five minute journal was something I got during Covid and cont to use / gift it too . Love the post it idea