How to Choose a Topic

When in doubt, start simple. Good topics are:

• Small enough to finish in a week or two

• Useful to a real audience

• Specific (not vague or generic)

Examples of good topics

• Instructions/documentation

  • “Set up encrypted backups on a Mac (first-time freelancers)”

  • “Prep a skateboard for winter (beginners)”

• Short video

  • “Export Figma → PDF with selectable text (2 min)”

  • “Bake-in captions on iPhone using Clips (90s)”

• Mini manual

  • “New-hire IT checklist for a 5-person shop (one-pager per task)”

  • “Board game quick-start: Wingspan in 10 minutes”

• Proposal/brief

  • “Replace PDF forms with a web form for intake (clinic)”

  • “Add alt-text standards to our CMS (small nonprofit)”

Topics to avoid (unless you can add a unique twist)

• Overdone basics (change a tire, tie a tie, make scrambled eggs)

• Generic life hacks with no clear outcome

• Highly polarizing persuasion topics