Read time: 10 minutes
MCC #66 – 28 Jul 2023
Welcome to My Creative Calling!
I know how you feel.
You would love to be creating something.
You would like to show up each day.
But there is one problem…
It’s so bloody hard!
Something always comes up.
- Work gets in the way
- A family emergency calls
- You’re not feeling the best
- And a million other reasons
So you’re always on the hunt for some help. You’ll take any little nugget of guidance that comes your way.
Someone in my audience reached out with a question:
What strategies do you use to stay on track to write your newsletter?
Hmmm.
At first, I was like:
“I don’t know. It just kinda happens. I find a way to make it work.”
But then I started writing a response. And before I knew it, I had a mini-essay.
So I thought I would share some takeaways here. This is one of the questions I get the most.
People find it hard to show up consistently.
To be honest, this is something I am still figuring out myself. It’s a constant work in progress. My life is extremely unpredictable now, with a baby at home and another on the way.
Things inevitably come up.
“Shit happens”, as they say.
So the best you can do is roll with it and remain professional.
Can I tell you a secret?
I am naturally a disorganised person. My life often feels like a mess. If you looked in my office right now, you would exclaim, “Oh my god!”
- Books all over the floor
- Sticky notes all over the desk
- Scraps of paper and notepads piling up
- Random audio and video equipment scattered everywhere
It looks like utter chaos.
But here’s my secret:
I thrive in a bit of chaos.
When things are too perfect, I feel bored and uninspired.
I think that’s why I felt trapped working in mature organisations. In contrast, I loved the raw energy of working in startup companies.
Out of the mud of my office rises the lotus flower of this newsletter.
And I extend this metaphor to the chaos of my life — having a baby and starting a business. Although the problems suck, they provide endless avenues for valuable content.
So I secretly enjoy teetering on the edge of chaos.
But there is an inherent problem:
It’s great for creativity but bad for productivity.
I’m in a constant seesaw of brimming with enthusiasm and then crashing into procrastination.
It’s a real challenge to stay motivated over time through the ups and downs of life.
There’s another thing I want to mention:
I don’t come from a writing or marketing background.
So it’s been difficult working things out as I go.
You might say, winging it.
I’m not sure if this is a strength or a weakness. On the one hand, it’s nice having expertise, but I’ve also written about the benefits of the amateur mindset.
So I hope that encourages you to give things a go, no matter how difficult your circumstances are.
As if I can rise above the challenges of:
- Life’s unpredictability’s like having children or a demanding job
- Not being a naturally organised or productive person
- Coming in fresh from a different background
And still produce a consistent weekly newsletter. You can too!
Note this applies to any creative work you’re shipping (it doesn’t have to be a newsletter).
And so, with that introduction out the way, let’s dive in:
What I have found helpful to be consistent
Have a note-taking system
Content is easy to create if you have an inspirational resource to draw from. Pay attention to what you learn, notice or reflect on and capture it down in notes (in the moment, or you’ll forget!).
Some people have crazy detailed note systems, which become a job in themselves. Still, I just use the Apple Notes app on my phone as it’s easy – I capture insights on the go, then can access them later on my computer when newsletter time.
Find what system works for you. Once you get into a habit of this, you will have endless content ideas.
Have a deadline
Parkinson’s Law says that work expands to the time allowed. So if you give yourself one week, it will take one week.
My deadline is to have the newsletter completed and scheduled by Thursday afternoon for the Friday newsletter. But I need to work in more of a buffer as I have not hit that in recent weeks.
So the lesson is to set stretch deadlines but be realistic with yourself.
Block off “Deep Work”
Block of at least 1 hour a day for “deep work”. Preferably more.
But I know some of you have to create around full-time work and family commitments.
This uninterrupted, focused work is where you do the heavy lifting.
Review your notes from the note system and write out your content pieces.
I usually get a 3-hour deep work session every Thursday where I get the bulk of my newsletter done. But I do not like this becoming a bottleneck point of failure. So I am working to spread that load over the week.
I wrote more on deep work here.
Build in creative space
I usually go for a long walk to ponder what I have been reading, writing and listening to.
We typically get more insights and good ideas away from the desk. It’s essential to break up your day.
Dan Koe says to hunt in the mornings (productive output) and gather in the afternoons (creative input).
Block a separate editing space
Allow a separate 1-hour time block for editing and cleaning things up.
Can I tell you another secret? I hate editing. Like, hate with a passion. I really don’t enjoy it.
So if you’re anything like me, having some space here is essential, or it will burn you out. There’s nothing like coming back to your draft with fresh eyes and insight.
Another trick is reading your work out loud. When reading aloud, it’s easy to spot where something is off or doesn’t make sense.
And a final trick, if you have someone kind enough to review your work, make use of that. My wife loves editing, so I ask her to review if she has time.
Block time for scheduling
Create a time slot for scheduling the content. However long this takes.
For me, this is another boring administrative part of the job, but it has to be done! I also pull in quotes and images and create any required artwork here. I manually post my newsletter to my website blog, so there is double the work here. But worth it as the blog becomes an evergreen asset.
If you’re doing social media content, schedule your content in advance using the in-app scheduling features or third-party apps like Buffer.
If we have to post each day manually, it’s easy to get burned out and miss a day, leading to missing more days.
So best to prepare and schedule in advance where possible.
Never run out of ideas
Suppose you have the base ideas but are running out of new ways to express your content.
Look at what your favourite creators are doing. Study their posts, unpack them and then see how you could substitute in your own point of view—no point reinventing the wheel.
You will notice that the best creators only talk about a few main themes, but they have found multiple ways to present them. There’s a saying, “Instead of saying 1,000 things one way, learn to say one thing 1,000 ways.”
Channel your heroes
You can also channel your favourite creator’s voice into your work.
For example, in a recent newsletter, I mentioned how David Whyte greatly influences me (virtual mentor) around one of my themes of longing for meaningful work. At face value, this is a bit left-field as he is a poet, but I broadly write about creativity, personal growth and business. However, I hope this influence can help me uncover a unique patch of turf that I can call my own, where I can really speak to those longing for more creativity, depth and fulfilment from their work.
If you pick 3-5 main influences (or virtual mentors), you can channel them into a truly unique and powerful voice.
I admire how Dan Koe draws inspiration from Alan Watts, and he channels a spiritual aspect into his business writing. It makes him stand out in a league of his own. This is how you get the depth to your content above the generic superficial content out there.
This could light a fire inside for you in terms of content generation. As suddenly, it becomes so much more creative and interesting. Many productivity challenges disappear when you look forward to creating each week.
Speak to one person
Try and speak to one person in your content.
For example, I often write to the “me” from three years ago (who was lost and confused, trapped in the corporate 9 to 5), as then I can channel what is relevant and know that it will resonate with one person.
And this also helps with ideas as I know those struggles inside and out from that time.
Create templates
Have set templates for your content.
Use a tool like Canva to create posts and set fonts, colours (up to 3), and post styles.
Make these tough decisions up front, and then stick with them for a decent amount of time.
Again, follow your favourite creators and mimic their styles to get started.
Then you are not burning mental energy worrying about colours and fonts on each post. And it builds brand recognition for your audience.
Build a pipeline
Have a pipeline of future work to account for the unexpected curveballs life throws at us.
I mentioned this in one of my recent newsletters where I got sick and didn’t feel like creating, but I had to ship a newsletter the next day.
I wished I had a week or two of newsletters prepared and saved up my sleeve.
Expect “The Dip”
Hang in there through “the dip”. Seth Godin wrote about “The Dip”, which is this valley we fall into after starting a new project.
The problem is we never know whether this dip goes on for endless miles or we could be on the verge of rising out of the dip to a peak of success.
So it’s hard to know when to quit or keep going.
You just have to trust yourself and what that little voice inside is telling you.
Remember, things online take time. And it can feel like no one is out there listening, but trust me, they are.
Put your subconscious to work
Now I don’t want to get “woo woo” on you, but this is a big one I have come around to in recent years.
There is something magical about creating space between tasks in your project. Your subconscious mind gets busy cooking up ideas in the background.
For example, on a Friday, I choose my newsletter topic for the following week and then spend half an hour visualising what that could look like.
Then I put it down for the weekend—no more work on it. I just enjoy hanging out with my family.
But here’s where the magic appears, when I pick that newsletter theme up on Monday morning, I will be brimming with new insights and ideas.
I am always shocked and impressed at the connections my mind made behind the scenes — I think of a good quote or a long-lost story from my past. Don’t ignore this. It’s the secret juice!
That’s (almost) it
I hope that helps.
Suppose social content is your struggle. I think the best way to have a constant flow of social media content is to write a weekly long-form newsletter. (My biased opinion, haha!)
Then you have depth you can draw on for your content. This sounds harder, but it’s actually easier and more beneficial in the long run.
For example, by writing this newsletter, I have already come up with 10+ sub-posts I could do on social media as text or video based on each header subject here. I’ve already done the heavy lifting. So it makes for easy social media scheduling.
In summary, I will say:
Create a plan you can work to
Often we get carried away implementing someone else’s system. But after a couple of weeks, we fall flat on our faces. We’re drowning in overwhelm. It wasn’t a realistic system for our life and how we operate.
Or we get carried away creating this over-the-top elaborate plan. But really, we are just procrastinating as we waste time creating that plan, which we know deep down will never work in reality.
So remember:
The best plan is one you will stick to. It shouldn’t feel like a burden or a prison.
Now make that plan!
And if you still can’t stick to that plan:
Accountability helps
Accountability buddies can make a world of difference.
We may not feel like doing something, but we feel pressured to live up to our promise.
There have been many times I did not feel like writing this newsletter. But now, the fact that I have a growing audience and have been doing it for over a year drives me forward. I can’t not show up. I am committed now.
Sometimes I have found that if people struggle with accountability, there may be a misalignment between desires and goals. Or maybe that particular goal isn’t exciting and daunting enough.
I challenge you not to settle for mediocrity here. Dive deeper. Find that goal or purpose that lights you up.
Then consistency isn’t such a big problem.
Reflection
A simple way to get started, as a writing example:
- Pick a weekly theme you want to write about.
- Research it over the weekend (books, podcasts, YouTube, etc).
- Schedule a deep work block (e.g. get up an hour earlier before work) and bring your ideas and research together in writing
- If you “can’t find your voice”. Write as you talk. Or channel your virtual mentors. What unique interests do you have that you could maybe pair with your theme? This will bring an exciting edge to your writing.
- If stuck for ideas — never let anything go to waste. Anytime you help someone like a friend or someone at work, take note of your advice. That can become your unique content.
- Think, what is a plan that I could do, would do, and even enjoy doing?
- What would a goal look like for you to show up weekly and not need “accountability”?
A quote to ponder
A schedule is not a bloody prison.
Jordan B. Peterson
Design a creative system you look forward to.
What happened this week
YouTube
I recorded 45mins of videos this week. But I mucked up the audio settings, devastating! I’m learning how painful this video process can be if you don’t get it right the first time.
Anyway, I’m gonna use my trusty new friend A.I. to fix the audio. So will have something out next week.
Poetry & Purpose
Oh, so wise?
But no,
the older me is wise
“oh, so wise”, you say.”
… continue reading on my Substack
Final thoughts
Today’s writing background music playlist was Evening Jazz on Spotify.
Another way to help stay consistent — caffeine:
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with a friend, and if you haven’t already, sign up here.
It would be great to have you on board!
Cheers!
Matt K. Head
When you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:
Coaching
- Find more meaning and fulfilment in your work
- Gain clarity and start taking action on your creative journey
