2010 September | Constructively Productive

Archive for September, 2010

Sep 30, 2010 by Ali Luke

Why I’m Excited to be Back at Work

Three years ago, I hated dragging myself into my day job after a vacation. I’d had a taste of what I loved – time to write, sleep in, eat leisurely meals, enjoy time with family – and suddenly I was straight back into the working world. Ever accidentally hopped in the shower when it was running cold? For lots of folks, heading back to work after a...

Sep 27, 2010 by Thursday Bram

Too Lazy to Fail

The fact of the matter isn’t that I get excited about pouring every waking hour I have into my work. The reality of the matter is that I’m simply too lazy to fail. I’m too lazy to commute into an office job. I’m too lazy to be willing to earn a living doing manual labor, like construction. I’m even too lazy to mow my own lawn. All...

Sep 20, 2010 by Thursday Bram

Getting into the Spirit of the Season

I’ve got a rhythm in how I handle my day, which I’ve put plenty of thought into. But I’ve only recently started thinking about what the seasons mean for me. Sure, on the surface, I know that I have plenty of seasonal habits — during the winter, I make pots and pots of soup, while it makes much rarer appearances on the dinner table in the summer....

Sep 14, 2010 by Thursday Bram

Put Your Own Value on Your Time

I’ve always been one of those people who puts a lot of effort into school work. I’m generally good at it and I can tell from the start how long a project will take. This has been useful as I slowly work my way through my master’s program — I take one class each semester in addition to freelancing full-time, so being able to shoe-horn papers...

Sep 10, 2010 by Ali Luke

Last Chance to Get The Creativity Toolbox at $27

If you’ve been biding your time to buy The Creativity Toolbox … you’ll want to grab it now for $27. Our early bird deal finishes at midnight (Friday 10th). After that, it’s off the shelves until I’m back from honeymoon. We’ll be bringing it back at $47, with extra content and added shine — but if you buy now, you’ll...

Sep 8, 2010 by Ali Luke

The Truth About Creative Burnout: 30 Experts Speak Out

Maybe you’ve felt burnt out for a while. Maybe you accept it as an inevitability. Maybe you’re pretty sure there should be some way to stay on top of your game – enjoying, and profiting from, your creativity. Except you’ve not quite figured it out yet. Maybe you keep staring at a blank page or canvas or screen, feeling stuck – again. We...

Sep 7, 2010 by Thursday Bram

The Creativity Toolbox: What You Need to Be Productive and Creative

Note: The full version of the Toolbox is now available here. As a general rule, there are two problems when it comes to creativity: how do we come up with enough time to work on the projects we truly want to spend our time on, and how do we make a living in the process? While there is plenty of productivity advice out there, most of it isn’t focused on...

Sep 3, 2010 by Thursday Bram

Finding the Source of Your Energy

I’m just home from a big convention and I’m excited. I have a huge stack of ideas I want to follow up on and plenty of energy to do so with. I went with a friend, however, who will be spending the entire day after (and maybe a few days to come) recovering from all the energy it took her to get through the exact same weekend. It’s a question...

Sep 1, 2010 by Ali Luke

Are You Using Your Creative Hot Spots?

We all have times of day when we’re ready to rock the world – and times when we can’t summon up the energy to do much more than watch television. Last week, I had a firm reminder of how important it is to do my creative work during my best hours. I was helping out with a kids’ holiday club at my church each morning – and having a fantastic...