creative productivity
Feeling 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…
Read MoreSay goodbye to creative burnout: “If it doesn’t fit, it won’t happen.”
When too many projects split your focus, nothing gets done—at least they don’t get done without a panicked scramble, cramming in extra work on evenings and weekends. Find out how screenwriter and film director André Hedetoft broke the pattern and started getting his most important work done on time.
Read MoreWhy do I feel trapped as an artist if creativity is so freeing?
You have a passion. You’re inspired and motivated. So why can’t you manage to do the thing? Feel trapped? Here’s some news: You are. Ready to get out?
Read MoreAgainst grit: Why setting the bar low is the key to making real change in your life
You don’t need a will of iron or a massive supply of “grit” to make real changes in your life. Instead, you need to set the bar low. The secret to hitting those big creative goals is not about waiting for inspiration, it’s taking much smaller steps, much more often.
Read MoreMaking better comics: 12 years and 12 hard-won lessons learned
The point of being human is to try things that are incredibly difficult, to reach for heaven, even if it exceeds your grasp. That’s who we are. That’s what makes it all worth it.
Read MoreHow to stop putting off that major project in 6 simple steps
There are projects on your list that have been there a very long time. Everybody has them. I have them. Here’s how to (finally) get them done.
Read More“It’s kind of poised to leap now, and that’s really scary and exciting…”
Liz Schiller had been putting off finishing a years-long project of writing a musical…until she made it her One Goal and got help from her CFW cohort. What can you do when you’re overwhelmed by a giant project?
Read MoreHappiness and Productivity: You need to treat yourself like a dog
If we all agree that punishment and cruelty don’t work on others, why are they your go-tos when it comes to changing your own less-than optimal behaviors?
Read MoreHow do you become who you want to be? Dare to be bad.
Inside your head, there’s a version of you who’s killing it.
That you is working steadily on the novel, the blog, the film, the podcast, the comic, the website. Alternate-you is publishing, going live. And the world is loving it.
But on the outside? You’re barely moving.
You’ve got to take the next step.