Productivity & Mindset

Category

September 21, 2019

Why Creative People Hold Themselves Back

Most people do not struggle with a lack of potential. They struggle with a lack of willingness to share it. We hold ourselves back all the time. We stay quiet when we should speak up. We keep ideas to ourselves that could help other people. We hide creative work because we fear criticism. We convince ourselves our writing, art, business idea, or contribution is not quite ready yet. On the surface, holding back appears to be a confidence problem. In reality, it is often a fear problem. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of standing out. Fear of discovering what happens when we finally put ourselves out there. The tragedy is that the gifts, ideas, and experiences we withhold cannot help anyone while they remain hidden. Creativity only creates value when it moves beyond the creator and into the world.

September 20, 2019

The Hidden Cost of Staying Stuck and Why Change Creates Freedom

The cost of staying stuck is often far greater than the cost of change. Most people know they need to make a change long before they actually do it. They feel restless in a career they no longer enjoy, trapped in habits that no longer serve them, or frustrated by goals that seem permanently out of reach. Yet despite recognizing the problem, they stay where they are because change feels uncertain. The familiar feels safe, even when it isn't helping us grow. We are creatures of routine. We take the same roads, follow the same patterns, and make the same decisions because consistency reduces effort and uncertainty.

Unfortunately, the habits and routines that once served us can eventually become the very things keeping us stuck. Growth almost always requires change. Sometimes that change is small and gradual. Other times it is uncomfortable, disruptive, and radical. While radical change often feels risky, staying stuck carries risks of its own. Lost opportunities, unrealized potential, and years spent pursuing something that no longer aligns with who we are can quietly accumulate over time. The freedom we seek is often waiting on the other side of a decision we've been avoiding.

September 19, 2019

Why Writing Shorter Helps You Write Longer

Big creative projects often feel overwhelming before they even begin. Whether you're writing a novel, launching a blog, building a business, or pursuing any long-term goal, it's easy to become fixated on the size of the finish line. The larger the project appears, the easier it becomes to procrastinate, overthink, or convince yourself you'll start tomorrow. Ironically, the people who produce the most work rarely focus on the finished product. They focus on the next small step. Learning to write longer often starts by learning to write shorter, reducing intimidating goals into manageable actions that can be repeated consistently over time.

September 18, 2019

Why Making Lists Brings Order to Chaos and Improves Productivity

Have you ever had trouble falling asleep because your brain is on overdrive? It's hard to turn off the switch when so many things need our attention. Human beings cannot think two thoughts at the exact same time. We can move between thoughts incredibly quickly, and we can act upon multiple thoughts at the same time (like compound exercises), but our brains are literally unable to take two inputs and process them at once. It's this natural proclivity to become overwhelmed that results in the effectiveness of making lists.

September 15, 2019

Why Small Adjustments Often Lead to Big Results

Success rarely comes from doing the same thing repeatedly and hoping for a different outcome. More often, progress comes from making small adjustments, observing the results, and improving along the way. Yet many of us continue using the same methods long after they have stopped working because change feels uncertain, uncomfortable, or risky. The good news is that meaningful improvement is often much closer than we think. A small tweak to a process, habit, system, or perspective can completely change the results we experience. Whether you're building a business, improving productivity, strengthening relationships, writing a book, or pursuing a personal goal, success is frequently less about working harder and more about making better adjustments. Sometimes the breakthrough we're looking for is not a dramatic transformation. It's a simple change we haven't tried yet.

September 12, 2019

How Successful Authors Overcome Writer’s Block (And Keep Creating)

Every writer eventually encounters the same frustrating experience: staring at the page with nothing to say. Ideas disappear. Motivation fades. Progress stalls. Some people call it writer's block. Others describe it as creative fatigue, burnout, or simply feeling stuck. Whatever name you give it, the experience is remarkably common. To better understand how writers navigate these creative slowdowns, I asked six successful authors to share their experiences with writer's block, what it feels like, how they work through it, and what they do to prevent it from happening in the first place. Their answers reveal an encouraging truth: writer's block is not a sign that you're not a writer. It's often part of the creative process itself.

September 10, 2019

How Amy and Greg Newbold Create Picture Books as a Team

Creating picture books is often viewed as a solitary pursuit, but some of the most memorable books are built through collaboration. Author Amy Newbold and illustrator Greg Newbold have spent years combining storytelling, visual art, creativity, and mutual trust to create award-winning children's books together. In this interview, they share lessons on writing, illustration, publishing, creative partnerships, and what it takes to build books as a husband-and-wife team.

September 9, 2019

10 Things Non-Writers Don’t Understand About Writing

Non-writers often see the finished product, but writers live through the uncertainty, self-doubt, editing, rejection, and invisible work required to create it. To people outside the process, writing can look like a hobby, a side interest, or a simple act of putting words on a page. But writing teaches lessons that extend far beyond books and articles. It reveals how creativity works, why meaningful work feels difficult, and what it takes to persist when progress is invisible. Here are 10 things writers understand that many non-writers never fully see.