Being a creator means mastering & balancing two important things:

👉 A deep creative practice

👉 A System to support that practice

Too much system without any creative practice & you'll start to feel like an empty robot just pumping out content. Too much practice without enough system and you'll end up feeling lost, and aimless & nothing will ever get finished.

Does either of those scenarios sound familiar? You might need a balance check.

Here's How I Balance Practice & System Daily As A Creator:

The Practice: Explore In The Writing Inbox

Every morning I wake up, open my writing inbox & start writing. I keep a whole bunch of notes I've taken from different sources in there and I choose a few from the list & just write about them. This isn't content - I don't have to worry about hooks or headlines or even making sense. I just explore & play with ideas.

The practice is my safe space, my creative place where I can prime the pump for any content I need to write that day.

The System: Work The Up Next Board

In the afternoon I open my Up Next Content Board & choose something to work on. I don't use a content calendar. Instead, I use a production line concept. I have a bunch of ideas (like order tickets in a restaurant) that I can choose from to work on. Most days I work a little on each idea, moving them forward incrementally. And then choose one to publish.

The system helps keep things organised but flexible & content feels easy to publish.

By separating the practice (explore mode) and the system (publishing mode) I'm able to feed my creativity & keep the algorithm (& my audience) happy.