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SPECIAL⚡️ANNOUNCEMENT:
Before we jump into this edition of MY⚡️FI Monday I wanted to share something with all you guys who subscribe before I share it with the world tomorrow! I’ve created a Notion template specifically designed to help creative people like you with task management, project management, and even life habits called the MY⚡️FI CREATIVE CLARITY PLANNER. Best part is it’s all FREE!
I use Notion everyday for songwriting, task management, planning, ideation, and more… if you don’t use it, you should be! I use this planner I’ve designed everyday myself as well. Get organized, set your priorities, and get to creating!
MY⚡️Feature
featured piece of advice for creatives and creative leaders
Micro Steps
I talk with creative people all the time and it would seem that one thing we all experience (myself included) is the feeling of being overwhelmed. We look at the work we long to accomplish and it all seems so huge. Making a record, making a movie, building our team, designing a new brand, writing a book, etc… And sometimes even smaller goals can feel overwhelming. Things like writing a blog post, creating content for social media, writing a single song, designing one graphic can seem overwhelming.
The fear of a blank page is a real thing.
Heck, I’m even overwhelmed trying to write this newsletter today tbh.
And maybe you know or have heard someone talk about this before, but it’s a whole lot easier when you take things in smaller steps.
But what happens when even the small steps seem like too much?
I have to create micro steps. They are smaller steps inside my steps that ultimately lead me to my creative goals and help me finish projects all the time.
There are 2 ways to approach creating these micro steps that I have found helpful.
The first is to simply break things down further. Meaning that if your goal is to write a blog post and writing 500-1000 words feels overwhelming then set the first goal of just writing an opening paragraph. The set the goal of writing 1 point, then another, then another, then the close, then edit it, then proof it, then read it aloud. All of those are micro steps within the step of creating a blog post. Make sense?
The second way to approach creating micro steps is to change your mindset all together from focusing on tasks to focusing on time. This helps me so much when I’m songwriting or producing. Instead of setting goals like writing a chorus, or making 3 beats, or tracking bass and keys on a project today. I set time based goals. Such as songwriting for 2 hours, or tracking for 2 hours on a project, or making a 16 bar loop in 10 minutes. The goal isn’t to finish a song or even a section of a song. It’s just to focus on songwriting for a period of time and that has helped me tremendously to be productive, but not to force my creativity for the sake of reaching a goal.
I hope this is helpful and particularly as we enter the last month of the year. I encourage you to start looking at 2024 and setting up your creative goals and rhythms. I coach creative people almost every day and I would love to help you. Click here and set up a FREE 30 minute call to find out what coaching looks like and how I could potentially help you take some micro steps of your own that lead to your creative goals.
If your creative goals are overwhelming then create smaller steps. If those small steps are overwhelming then create steps inside those steps. The tiniest of steps will still move you forward.
MY⚡️Follows
great people to follow on social media
Artwork Archive
(@artworkarchive) provides artists, collectors, and organizations with tools to manage their art career or collection. They post opportunities, encouragement, and tips, primarily for visual artists, on how to build your career well.
Marc Scibilia
(@marcscibilia) is a phenomenal music producer and an incredible follow on IG. His live loop posts in particular are amazing and inspiring. He’s just released a brand new Christmas EP called Corduroy Christmas as well. Give him a follow and enjoy!
Ivy Manor Music Group
(@ivymanormusicgroup) is a collective of incredible musicians, producers, and artists based out of the historic town of Muscle Shoals, AL. Artists like Okay Kenedi and Gary Nichols call it home and they are consistently releasing incredible and inspiring projects.
MY⚡️Finds
cool stuff I found this week
Ugly Books
Finding unique and inspiring journals is key for me in collecting ideas, exploring them, and making a mess. Ugly books makes really cool journals in a variety of colors and sizes that immediately caught my attention. Check them out here!
Decent Samples
I stumbled across Decent Samples by accident on Instagram and saw they had some free software instruments. I was immediately blown away. It’s really rare that a free software instrument impresses me, but I’ve been telling all my producer friends about it for weeks so I wanted to share it here as well! Click here if you love unique and useful software instruments!
MY⚡️Favorites
some of my favorite sights, sounds, and reads
Justin Hawkins
Justin Hawkins is the lead singer and guitarist of the band The Darkness. Aside from being a fantastic singer and guitarist in an incredible band he also has a hilarious and inspiring youtube channel where he watches creative performance or videos and gives his own brand of distinctive commentary. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Crucial Drives
No matter what type of creativity you are into it’s highly likely that you’re working in the digital world at some point. Meaning that you need a computer and probably lots of storage. I LOVE the SSD drives from Crucial. I bought another one on Black Friday and I can’t recommend them highly enough. Small, durable, powerful, and a great value. If you need a new drive click here!
MY⚡️FI Podcast
a podcast about the journey of creativity
Ep. 039 :: Whitestone Motion Pictures
Brandon McCormick and Nicholas Kirk are the duo behind Whitestone Motion Pictures. They have created dozens of incredible short films, and their work has been featured on the History Channel, A&E, NBC, CNN, and more. Recently they hosted the premier of their first full-length feature film, “The Daylong Brothers”. It’s billed as a “southern gothic musical” and it delivers in every way. Jump in the conversation with us as we talk about the complexities of film making, overcoming being overwhelmed, and the importance of experiencing art together.
MY⚡️FI Blog
monthly blog for creatives and creative leaders
Phases of Creativity
On the blog this month I share a little advice on how to reach your creative goals in 2024 by taking things in phases, being aware of the poison you can encounter in each phase, and the antidote to overcome it. Check out the blog by clicking here.