Creativity

I had so much to say about spring cleaning and decluttering that I thought it would be a four-part series. But no. My notion of ‘Tiny Tidying’ needed to be a tiny article too.

You may have heard me describe myself as the ‘lower the bar’ coach. Often, we expect too much from ourselves, and this gets in the way of even getting started. Writing a book is a massive project. Producing a body of artwork for sale has many, complex components. It’s easy to talk ourselves out of it at any phase of the process – and this is the same for keeping our spaces clean and clear.

If you would love a new approach to spring cleaning and decluttering, Tiny Tidying may be for you.

These ideas are based on my experience. Try them, see what works for you. Adopt and adapt.

Why bother decluttering?

Why not just live with dust and clutter? My surroundings have a big impact on my well-being.

Notice the impact of dirt or clutter. How does dust everywhere contribute to who you are and what you want? For me, the dust contributes to dry eyes and a feeling of staleness. It detracts from my value of beauty. It degrades my well-being and sense of love.

In coaching lingo, things that bother us but stick around are called ‘tolerations’. I tolerated an over-full, cluttered utensil drawer. I tolerated a giant, messy stack of printed recipes. I tolerated an out-of-control lid drawer. Every time I pass a dusty surface, I’m ‘pinged’ internally to do something. Talk about distracting!

Tidying, cleaning, and decluttering makes a perceptible difference. Notice what shifts in your space and in you. I feel freedom, peace, and space for creating.

What gets in the way of decluttering?

Cleaning is hard (for me) because I would rather do other things. Decluttering is hard because of all the decisions we have to make. Choose one deciding factor to guide you. Consider that ones you have used in the past may be outdated. (This might be useful someday. I may fit into this again. This might be valuable.)

Deciding factors could include: Have I used this in the last 5 years? How much do I really care about this? Does ‘keep it just in case’ really serve me now?

Our identity is closely connected with our belongings. Clearing things out causes us to face who we were, who we are now, and who we want to be. Be kind when clearing away ‘stuff’.

Our stuff reveals us. What am I not able or willing to let go of? For me, I cannot let go of hundreds of journals and sketchbooks. I admire those who burn or destroy old journals. I can’t do it yet, and maybe never.

How to Tiny Tidy

Tiny tidying = do one small thing, 5-15 minutes max.

Tiny = low bar, low expectations, low pain, low resistance. Dare you make it easy?

My favorite tiny tidying = cleaning the bathroom one piece at a time. Mirror, vanity, floor, toilet, all in tiny increments.

Tiny tidying can be done throughout the day when you need a break from sitting at the computer. Or one tiny tidy after you get home from work or at any break point in the day.

Stop as soon as you feel tired, overwhelmed, or ‘done’. Make a plan to finish if you need to go back to it.

What comes up for you when you read about Tiny Tidying?

I bet there are objections and resistance. That’s okay. Try one tiny thing and see what happens for you.

There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes with being a high-functioning person who can’t figure out why they’re stuck.

You’ve read the books. Done the therapy. Built the meditation practice. You’ve journaled, set intentions, and attended retreats. You can articulate your patterns with impressive clarity. You know what’s holding you back. You can name it in a sentence. And despite this cognitive awareness, it still persists.

I know the frustration that being stuck brings to our daily lives. Irritation, anxiety, and darker emotions like rage or jealousy mar an otherwise wonderful life. 

I spent 26 years coaching brilliant, accomplished people — writers, executives, artists, entrepreneurs — and I watched this pattern more times than I can count. Someone would arrive with real self-awareness. They’d done genuine inner work. And yet the same fear, hesitation, and self-sabotage would keep cycling back.

For a long time, I thought the answer was more of the same habit formation work: deeper conversation, better strategies, stronger accountability. These helped. But they took a long time. And for some clients, the deepest patterns simply would not shift.

But here’s the big surprise. The belief that’s driving your unhappiness is rarely the one you can articulate. The one you can name — “I’m afraid of failure” or “I don’t feel good enough” — is usually the surface expression of something older and quieter. Something installed so early that it doesn’t even feel like a belief. It feels like reality.

It’s the belief underneath the belief. And it lives in your subconscious mind, which was likely programmed before you were seven years old and controls roughly 95% of your behavior.

This is why willpower fails. This is why affirmations fade. This is why you can understand your pattern perfectly and still be run by it. You’re trying to update a program using a part of your mind that doesn’t have editing access.

When I discovered Quantum Energy Coaching, this was the piece that clicked. QEC works to replace limiting beliefs in the subconscious. Not reframe them. Replace them. With new beliefs that actually reflect your authentic self.

I experienced this myself after publishing my second novel, during a period of real struggle. In five sessions, beliefs I’d carried for decades dissolved. No homework or effort outside of the QEC sessions was required. They were simply no longer there, replaced by something clearer and truer. The relief was immediate. The change has held.

If you’re someone who has done the work and you still feel a persistent anxiety and unease, consider the possibility that you’re not doing anything wrong. You’ve simply been working at the wrong level.

The belief underneath is reachable. And once it shifts, everything above it shifts too.

If you’d like to explore whether QEC is right for your situation, I offer a free 30-minute discovery call.

Schedule Appointment

As someone with a lot of interests, I was afraid when I was young that I would be perceived as ‘flaky’ or ‘all over the place’. Maybe that’s why marking significant milestones is important to me. Doing something consistently for a long time means that I am committed beyond the fun part, engaged and passionate, and reliable. Far from flaky!

My first novel took 12 years to write. My coaching practice has been thriving since 1999. And this month marks 30 years of practicing yoga.

Those three practices – writing, coaching, and yoga – go well together. They require humility and constant learning. Just when conscious competence is reached, there’s a new skill to learn. But that’s okay. The passion I have for these disciplines will carry me to my grave.

It’s hard for me to write about yoga and its effects on me. I’ve written articles for Yoga Journal, and I wrote an essay about how yoga helped me during my leadership training. I wanted to write something for you enumerating 30 things yoga has given me, something beyond the clichés like ‘flexibility’.

May you see yourself in this list of benefits yoga has given me. May the things you are dedicated to give you lots to work with and grow from.

This is a long essay, but 30 years is a long time. It will take much less time to read than all the hours I spent in yoga studios, 3-5 hours per week, for 30 years.

30 gifts from 30 years on the mat

1. I recognized right away that yoga would be a lifetime practice, shoring up my well-being and longevity.
2. There’s always someone ‘better’ or ‘worse’ (more skilled) than you. So what? With yoga, there’s no competition; instead, a clear sense of we are all in this together.
3. All hail the beginner! I love seeing someone obviously new to yoga. The sweat, the struggle – to me, these people are heroic and courageous, trying something new. I want to be that brave.
4. I am open to new experiences – silent disco yoga in Golden Gate Park – yes! But naked yoga, goat yoga or yoga in the hot sun – no thank you. Okay, maybe a little nakedness and sun in Portugal:

   

5. It’s not about looking good. Like most arenas in life, no one is paying attention to you anyway, and it’s not because you’re old. It’s because everyone is up in their own head about their own stuff.
6. Let the body lead. The body is always in charge. Actually, jet lag taught me this, but yoga affirms it. This may be the most important thing to remember in life, hands down.
7. Your body can bear more intensity than you think. It took a couple decades, but I came to like the pressure of holding chair pose for longer than 30 seconds. This translates off the mat, where I am more able to sustain discomfort in writing, business, and life.
8. But forcing the body is always a bad idea. I remember how sore I was from my first class – stretching and pushing too much! Never push. Never force.
9. Our minds love to limit us. Our bodies can do so much more than we think.
10. Yoga is not about winning, but sometimes a challenge can reveal our limitlessness. I learned this in a silly yoga competition in 2010 where I pulled off an unbelievable yoga feat.

    

11. The nervous system needs its own regular practice. I’m beyond thrilled that restorative and yin classes are now packed with people ready to regulate their nervous systems.
12. Even after a break from travel or illness, it’s easy to get back into the flow. No muss, no fuss; after a break, just get back to it. This applies to writing.
13. Sometimes I don’t ‘feel like’ going, but I am always glad I showed up for yoga.
14. Practicing yoga while traveling is fun, refreshing, and a way to connect with people. Thanks to the studios in Lisbon, New York, London, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Lancaster, and other places I’ve laid down my mat.
15. Magic is possible! You can indeed meet your future spouse at yoga, even when most of the other students are yoga twigs.
16. Not judging the playlist or the teacher is the yoga.
17. Every yoga class offers a clean slate, just like every day.

    

18. Yoga has not made me skinny. It has made me strong, flexible and confident.
19. A consistent yoga practice is a stealth asset for any physical activity such as dancing, rock climbing or long-distance walking.
20. There’s no age gate on yoga nor on most things in life. The 80-somethings who practice at my studio assure me it’s possible.
21. From yoga I have learned how much I like rigor and challenge. This has helped me in writing, relationships, and work.
22. There’s great peace in being in a room with other people and not having to chat.
23. And, I am delighted that I have made good friends in yoga class.
24. It’s never what you look like; it’s how you feel.
25. Even in a class, we have to follow our body’s wisdom. This is what I teach my clients – develop your own inner compass.
26. Taking a break is almost always helpful for creativity. Insights always, always come during yoga, when I am away from screens and work.
27. I’m not super mellow, Zen or some kind of perfect person from all the yoga. But people often say they like my ‘energy’. A result of yoga?
28. Lots of cross-lateral poses in yoga have added to my whole-brain health. I believe this has helped me be more curious and also more coordinated both physically and mentally. We use cross-lateral movements in my QEC coaching to help the brain absorb new information.
29. No other physical practice I have done feels like a physical, mental and emotional cleansing like yoga does.
30. It’s always right to acknowledge our lineage. Thanks to the boyfriend yogi who got me into yoga. Thanks to Richard Hittleman’s 28 Days of Yoga book that got me started. Thanks to Gove belly-dancer yoga teacher, Brenna Hatami, Richard Freeman and all the teachers at the Yoga Workshop, Kindness, Samadhi, my teacher Carlos in Lisbon, the teachers in all the cities I have practiced in, and their teachers too. And anyone I have forgotten. You are each in me when I show up to the mat.

What have you been committed to forever that you have benefited greatly from? I’d love to hear in a comment below. 

Jane Fonda in Five Acts

Ever since I saw the documentary about Jane Fonda’s life, I have had new respect for her.

Jane Fonda in Five Acts (documentary, 2018 by Susan Lacy) blew me away. It’s a bit long, but thankfully so is the life of Jane Fonda. I’m impressed by how many different experiences she has had. Sure, many of them were attached to rich and powerful men. But Jane has been her own dynamic force in the world since she became an activist in the 60s. After I saw it, I couldn’t stop thinking about how we can have wildly different chapters in our lives, and how Jane gives me permission to speak up and take a stand for my values.

Last week, Jane was on one of my favorite podcasts, ON with Kara Swisher. I’d just been writing this Boost and the next morning I got to listen to their conversation, How to Turn Rage into Hope. It felt like a fun synchronicity.

If you want to see more Jane Fonda, check out the French film All Together (2011 Stéphane Robelin) In French it’s et si on vivait tous ensemble. I watched this entire movie some years ago and didn’t realize it was Jane (speaking French!) until the end.

GREAT movie about a group of friends – septegenarians – who decide to take their lives into their own hands and move in together.

Other great women you should know

Speaking of amazing American women speaking French, you must see A Private Life with Jodie Foster.(2026 Rebecca Zlotowski) In French, it’s une vie privée. I loved this movie so much. Great in so many ways, and I adore anything featuring a therapist. Give me a French psychological drama any day, and I will be happy.

Tami Palmer and I have been internet friends for a while now. She writes novels and leads writing retreats, and now she’s launched a podcast, The Intention Podcast with Tami Palmer. I was honored to be her first guest, where we talked about living a creative life, Big Magic, and the spiritual aspects of creativity.

Helen Hiebert is a fascinating Colorado paper artist and teacher. Her newsletter, The Sunday Paper, is full of interesting things Helen is doing in the world of art made with paper. Her new book, Weaving with Paper, features 30 paper weaving projects.

The book also includes insights from artists on maintaining a daily practice. I contributed to this with my counterintuitive advice (pages 62 and 69).

There’s a new magazine by Rachel Allen and Solveig Petch, The Bigger Picture. The first edition – a lovely paperback – theme is Thinking Bigger. What a gorgeous magazine featuring people doing what they love, and doing it big! I am honored to have been featured in the inaugural edition.

Have you ever done an audit on the things you consume? And the resources you devote to what you consume – time, money, etc?

I think about this a lot, and admit to being somewhat unconscious about my consuming. I feel sometimes a bit obsessive around books, movies, TV shows and podcasts. I am a culture junkie, and I love being connected to the world through the things people create.

And sometimes it’s just too much. How to know what’s too much?

Many of my coaching sessions revolve around how my clients spend their time and resources. Writing a book or starting a business takes a lot of energy. Most of us are already maxed out, so something has to go.

If you made a list of all the things you consume, including mindless scrolling online, where might you find time/energy/space for your own projects?

Something came up last week that forced this issue for me, and I am excited to share it with you.

I follow Scott Galloway, a professor and author whose Pivot podcast with Kara Swisher always informs me and makes me feel more human.

Scott has launched Resist and Unsubscribe, a simple yet powerful Economic Strike  that gives us a way to take a stand. Scott believes – and I am with him – that in the US the thing that has the most power is our ability to decide where we spend our money. Resist and Unsubscribe gives us a way to say no to the billionaires who are driving a dehumanization on a mass scale.

Resist and Unsubscribe is also a stand against companies that are directly funding ICE efforts. The website is here, including links with instructions for how to unsubscribe.

This helps immediately

The impact of unsubscribing can reveal things. How much are we spending, perhaps on things we don’t use or want? How the spending we have perhaps unconsciously continued actually does not reflect our values and how we want to live. What would we be doing with our precious resources of time and money if they were not going to billionaires who don’t even respect us?

Steve is going to work in the mountains today. “I’m going to end it today,” I told him.

“What?”

“I’m going to pull the plug.”

“On what?”

I pause. Saying it means I have to actually do it.

“Cancelling Netflix.”

I have already unsubscribed from most of the subscriptions Scott mentions. The hardest for me is Netflix.

Since 2020, I have been a couch potato in the evenings. It’s time to relax and unwind with Steve. If we aren’t doing that, will we lose some connection while we are in our separate spaces? I would like to be in my studio some evenings, but my time with Steve is precious and I want to have as much of it as I can.

I spoke with a client yesterday who has the same relationship with Netflix. But she was able to pull away and devote more time to reading. Yes! I thought. I have all these books I want to read NOW:

If I am honest, my relationship with Netflix has been 50/50. The endless scrolling to find something we want to watch is draining.

What I really want to watch is Ken Burns’ American Revolution show. We’ve seen a couple of episodes and I have learned so much. And the artwork is stunning! No photos from that era, so it’s mostly paintings used to depict events.

Thank you for being you, for being with me in this creative adventure, and for helping me stay honest. I’m going right now to unsubscribe from Netflix and subscribe to PBS.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Share what you’re unsubscribing from below.

I know many of us are wondering, “What can I do?” How do we contribute to bringing peace into action in the world?

As a coach, I focus on helping my clients be stable so they can do their creative work. But distraction, overwhelm and the inability to focus is plaguing many of us now.

What gets in the way of emotional stability? A deregulated nervous system. You’ve probably heard about how a deregulated nervous systems can cause us to feel:

• Anxious all the time
• Unable to sleep well
• Easily irritated
• Overwhelmed by emotions

If you feel out of whack and unable to bring calm and focus, you might consider building a new relationship with your nervous system.

With a regulated nervous system, we can:

• Show up more for ourselves and others
• Have resiliency around the intensity of the world
• Feel grounded and able to act according to our strengths.

What’s making a difference for me now

Today, I share some of the things that make a noticeable difference for me and my nervous system.

One of the most meaningful shifts for me has come from working both as a client and a practitioner with a modality called Quantum Energy Coaching.

For the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to live with a consistently regulated nervous system. I’m still myself, but I’m no longer pulled into overwhelm or left at the mercy of sudden emotional surges.

When something does trigger me, it’s more like a match being lit and then extinguished. The fire doesn’t take over my day. I don’t get caught in endless thought loops that burn up my precious energy.

This kind of steadiness has made life and my work far more enjoyable.

If you’re curious about experiencing this kind of transformation for yourself, reach out, and I’ll send you more information.

Along with this longer-term support, there are easy, inexpensive things I turn to every day to bring myself back into calm. They’re not cures, but they help.

Here are my favorite calming practices.

Daily morning time in my studio ‘lounge’. There’s a very low bar = it’s just time with me as a human as I awaken to the day, not diving into work mode as I did in my 30s and 40s. This ritual is not any big whoop, just time with coffee, water, my notebooks. I pull my tarot and angel card and doodle some notes and images in my journal. As the coffee kicks in, ideas formulate. Sometimes I write for work, sometimes I do research.

This time is always accompanied by music on Insight Timer. I love the gentle, soothing sounds. I am not claiming this time as ‘meditating’.

Shakti mat naps You may have heard me rave about my Shakti mat. This acupressure mat allows for deep rest and a deep nap. The feeling afterward is like having had a wonderful massage or a great yoga class. Also accompanied by music on Insight Timer. I do this almost daily and take my mat on all my travels.

Walks in nature Living close to City Park gives me a giant backyard to wander in. Seeing the lake, tons of geese coming and going and squawking and pecking and pooping, plus people, dogs, life helps me recenter myself after being at a screen for long hours.

Time with my artist at my studio desk playing with watercolor paint. My artist is back! If you want to see what’s happening in my art studio, join me at Stumbling Toward Genius where I share my art and process.

Cuddling with my husband Steve or my granddog Rex instantly calms my nervous system. I feel a sense of love and connection. My body relaxes instantly in a primal way.

Expressive journaling has been helpful to clear thoughts and emotions and recalibrate to what’s true for me. Takes some time, but it’s surprisingly powerful and simple.

What helps you maintain a regulated nervous system? Share in a comment below.

Art on this website is by Cynthia Morris. 

What are you hungry for, creativity-wise? If you’re like me, you have plenty of ‘good’ ideas. Maybe you’ve followed one of those genius ideas only to realize you had no gas in the tank to take it very far. It was a ‘smart’ idea, not a ‘heart’ idea.

You have probably heard me talk about creating from devotion, not discipline. Sure, we need structure to bring our ideas to life. But if we are forcing ourselves to do show up, it just won’t happen.

This was my experience last fall, when I committed to a writing project that was not aligned with my soul. I thought that accountability and structure would do the work of making it viable. Instead, it just felt awful. I cycled through a lot of dark forest paths until I found the bright light of my truth:

I cannot do anything that doesn’t come from the heart. 

This insight came to me during a reflective writing practice in my Write ON group. Wow, was it powerful. It may sound obvious but I truly felt the difference between the mind’s ideas about what we should do – perhaps driven by cultural expectations – and the heart’s desire – driven by our soul work.

This brings me to a natural experience – hunger. We know when we are hungry, and if we pause to inquire within, we also know what we crave. I believe this is the same for our creative work – it’s a natural impulse.

What are you hungry for now? What do you devote yourself to this year? 

After three years of writing and publishing a novel, I’m now hungry for my visual art. I have filled pages in my new artist notebook with what I want. Over the holiday break, I spent time every day painting in my studio and it filled me up and made me hungry for more.

I’ll share more about my Creative Edge for 2026 soon. For now, here’s the first painting I made when I came back to my watercolors. I love these colorful macarons so much. I simply played with my watercolor palette, exploring different color combinations.

Later this week, I will share what’s coming up for us in 2026. A couple of big new things are on the agenda and I can’t wait to share with you!

I filled this custom-designed accordion notebook in a week, using our fun, easy and quick sketchbook practices. Writing, drawing, filling pages with the delight that is Lisbon.

Three spots left in our April, 2025 Capture the Lisbon Wow! Reserve your spot here!

Sometimes I feel guilty that in the realm of writing and creating, I really know what works for me and what doesn’t. Owning my process and honoring it reduces SO much stress.

I trust myself, and I know how to manage the inner and outer obstacles of making. This allows me to focus on the real work = the very challenging work of writing a good novel!

But then I remember that guilt does no good, and that I have devoted my entire professional life to helping others feel this kind of creative empowerment. I want this kind of confidence for everyone.

My work as a coach focuses on helping people know, love, and trust their own creative process. Sure, people hire me to help them with their writing. But we do that by helping them clarify and honor their own whackadoodle ways of getting things done.

Your Artist Knows the Way

I’ve taken everything I know about how we can honor our creative habits and put it into a program I am certain you will love.

Your Artist Knows the Way is a free program on Substack. In it, I guide you through writing your own manual for your artist. What do they love? What do they need to create more easily? You’ll find out and capture it in a way that will change your creativity forever.

You’ve probably read plenty of how-to books on productivity and creativity. You’ve possibly failed to stick with their advice and been left feeling like it’s your fault.

I believe the way to being satisfied with our creative output is to know our artist inside and out.

Your Artist Knows the Way is not another how-to program. It’s a know-you process designed to help you release your abundant creativity in fun, empowering ways. 

Each month features a different theme, with three invitations. You can get a free subscription, or you can upgrade to paid interaction with me, discounts on coaching with me, and handy PDFs at the end of the month so you have all the invitations in one place.

You are going to LOVE this! Come on over and check it out. 

PS This is a great thing to do with friends, so pass this on to your creative buddies so you can do it together.

Don’t have creative buddies? They are waiting to get to know you in Your Artist Knows the Way!

What’s your plan for staying on track with your writing project this summer? This year’s sunny season is different for me. I have a couple of big projects plus a coaching skills training I am taking. I’m also hosting a 14-week session of Write ON, my coaching group for writers with a project they must focus on. We have a few spots left, and we start soon. Find out if you are a fit for Write ON here. 

Why you must create

If you’re reading this newsletter, you are an artist of some kind. A writer, painter, knitter, gardener, chef…your creativity is a force of nature that you must express. You likely have experienced the consequences when you don’t let your art into your life on the regular. If your creativity is on the shelf too long:

• a lingering sense of dissatisfaction can permeate life
• jealousy replaces the joy we deserve to have around our creative drive
• we lose touch with the part of ourselves that makes us whole.

Our original impulse, the drive to make things that matter, is as necessary as our need to eat, be sheltered and be connected to others. I assert that creating belongs on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

I’ve been coaching creative people to be their most creative selves for 25 years. When we make space for our creative work, more happiness, more connection, and more satisfaction come almost immediately. This satisfaction ripples out into all areas of their life like a radiating sun. When we’re happy creators, everything is better.

Here’s a note from Tina Bettison, a client who knew she needed her creativity back:

“When I think back to how I felt a year ago – lost, depressed, grieving, unsure of who I was and the point of my existence – and how I feel now, I’m soooo different. Soooo alive. Coaching with you has literally turned my life around and given me back myself.”

– Tina Bettison

Creativity is not optional. Our original impulse must be heeded. I believe that we derive our vitality from our creativity. When we are making things or writing, we feel alive. We feel a sense of purpose. Getting lost in our creative work is its own escape.

You feel most alive and happy when you’re creating. It’s your birthright and it’s who you are. To not create means unhappiness, and dissatisfaction and detracts from the overall quality of life. I believe creating must go on the list of other essentials like food, shelter, love, money.

One more reason why you must create

When I wrote my ebook, Cross the Finish Line, I realized something profound.

It’s okay to dabble, explore, and have a lot of creative interests. And when we finish a meaningful project, we glean the deep gifts of that work. Finishing and publishing my novel revealed to me that I am a tenacious person whose commitment goes beyond the many challenges that arose during the thirteen years it took to write.

Imagine the enormous confidence that I gained from recognizing myself as a persistent person. With that confidence, I crafted a new vision of myself. I used that new self-perception to step up to more creative projects.

I want everyone to be creatively fulfilled – on their own terms. Knowing what works for us is key to making things that make us whole. This belief is at the core of what I am making for you. I hope/plan/intend to launch it sometime next month!

In the meantime, I’d love to hear about the challenges that stand in the way of you fulfilling your creative destiny. Feel free to share your inner and outer obstacles here.

Any change in our routine — holidays, vacations, visits from loved ones — can bring a slump in our creative work. Even when we’re completely into our book or art projects, there’s often an inertia that keeps us from getting back into the groove.

Shifting from one mode to another is a challenge for most creatives. We want to get into the flow, but there are a million things we need to do first. Then, when we’re in the flow, it’s hard to tear ourselves away and return to the ‘real’ world.

I coach all my clients on this. It’s one of the biggest problems we solve together – how to get back into the groove.

Here are three things that help my clients rekindle their dedication to their projects.

Lower the bar. Expecting to jump back in full speed just adds pressure. Let your return be as slow as it needs to, but be firm with yourself about getting back to your writing and creative pursuits. Build up to where you left off, if needed. Start with brief (10 minute) free-writes or similar warm-up exercises. I invite my clients to have a 15-minute ‘date’ with their project, to get back in touch without pressure.

Connect to the love. What do you love about your writing practice, your project? You may take a few moments to jot down what you love about it. If you have already done this writing, take it out and revisit your passion.

Design new support structures. Make appointments with your mastermind partners and set up a meeting with your coach or writing buddies to design structure and accountability that works for you.

Beating yourself up over what’s actually a natural ebb and flow cycle doesn’t help us get on track. Be kind to yourself as you resume your writing or other creative work.

What works for you to get back to the writing or art-making?

I’m plugging away at my Lisbon novel. Like most of us, I always want to do more than I actually do. Sigh.

As a coach, I know how to get things across the finish line. But that doesn’t mean that wrangling focus is easy.

My deadline for a completed draft (that I can send to an editor) is October 14. That’s when I go to Europe to lead Paris Sketchbook and do a reconnaissance trip for Capture the Lisbon Wow. A trip makes for a strong deadline/motivator to keep working.

But that’s months away. I need a shorter deadline for real focus. My commitment for this summer is to make the novel my #1 priority. ‘Summer’ seems endless and long. But when reality check the calendar, I have only nine weeks. This excludes the weeks when I am leading my Vermont and Montana retreats. (We have a few spots in those if you need a break from your routine to uplevel your joy.)

Some weeks have more client meetings than others. Like you, I have to squeeze my passion project into the spaces around paid work. Here’s how I have shifted things to honor my #1 priority:

No new work projects. This is harder than it might seem; I love to tinker with the systems that make my work work. My focus is my clients, my retreats, and my novel. That’s it.

I’ve set aside my non-fiction book for now. It was okay to work on two projects earlier this year. But I am highly motivated to get this novel done and into the world. Hopefully by 2025!

Reduce my subscriptions. I love reading others’ newsletters. The trouble is, I am easily distracted and think I need to know about/do/take on the thing they are talking about. This week I unsubscribed from a lot of newsletters that I don’t really read. It was hard to let go of hearing from people I love, but I can go back when I don’t need such focus.

Put the novel first. On non-client days, I usually write my newsletter and work on my creativity retreats. Now, I start the workday with the novel.

Join a writing challenge. Jami Attenberg has her free #1000wordsofsummer challenge. Can I write 1,000 words a day for two weeks? Indeed I can, and this will add an extra layer of focus. Check it out and join us. 

I’m fortunate to have a flexible schedule. These measures help, and I still have to deal with the insecurities and cluelessness about writing a novel. It helps me a ton to write about this in my author notebook.

I’m sharing more about how to stay focused in my newsletter, Impulses. Get your subscription here.

What are you working on this summer and how is it helping you focus? Share in a comment below.