creative productivity
Resetting for the New Year: the power of a self-compassionate annual review
I’m about to ask you to do something hard, but before I do, I want to tell you a little story. Last month, I wrapped up the autumn class I teach each year called “Illustration Projects.” The title is vague, I know, but that’s intentional, because the content of the class changes each year. It’s…
Read MoreHow being brave just ONCE brought forth a world of opportunities, and kickstarted a dream creative career
If you have big dreams of starting a creative career… If you can imagine making something awesome and ambitious… …then you can also imagine screwing it all up, being found out as a loser and a fraud, being banned from all future creative career options and endeavors, and being sent to the corner to think…
Read MoreHabit Stacking | Step into your creative identity
Listen to this lesson: Subscribe to this podcast feed to listen on to go! Conscious decision? That work you did yesterday? It’s all about setting the direction. Providing you with longer-term vision. Giving you a filter for what matters most, and which way to orient and point yourself. The key to arriving at that destination…
Read MoreHow to finish what you start (and why you procrastinate even though you care deeply about the work)
Listen to this lesson: Subscribe to this podcast feed to listen on to go! What’s really stopping you from finishing what you start? If you’re reading these words, I know you’ve been struggling to get traction on your self-generated creative work and actually finish what you start. You probably have a backlog of projects you…
Read MoreYour new superpower: NOT trying to do everything
When you pay yourself first, not only with money, but with time, you can choose to focus on your highest values without having your entire life dialed in.
Read MoreImperfect mortals: What really makes a creative community work
A year ago, I started an online creative community. It was just luck that I took the dive and committed to convening an ongoing online support system (for serious creatives who’ve taken my flagship course, the Creative Focus Workshop) just in time to provide the kind of deep, flexible, empathetic comradeship we all need so…
Read MoreWorking From Home: Tools for Sanity in Isolation
If you’re like a lot of people I know, you’ve long wished for flex time and the freedom to work from home. But our current situation brings to mind one of those bargains with the devil you see in movies, where you ask for flex time, and then the devil is like: You’ve got it!…
Read MoreOvercome procrastination and anxiety — follow through on your creative habit
Banish the endless self-critical monologue running in your head. Decide what you want to do, what you WILL do, and follow through on your creative habit.
Read MoreFeeling stuck? 6 ways to defeat the blank page✍️
Recently, I wrote about how common it is to feel the impulse to undermine yourself and get derailed just when things are going well. It’s great if you can identify what’s happening in time, and pull back from the brink. But what if you’ve already managed to drive your project into a ditch, and you’re…
Read MoreLosing focus? There are reasons you derail your progress
It happens every time I get about two-thirds of the way through the Creative Focus Workshop with a group of students, and creaky, self-defeating patterns start breaking down. People start to take action on projects that have been back-burnered for ages. Stuff starts to happen. It was happening for Chris, who has wanted for years…
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