# 270
I want to get a job, or thrive in a new role, but nobody here knows what I do yet
Dictionarian
Creating your own language to capture the nuance you’re seeing that makes you good at what you do
# 264
I get frustrated and discouraged by people’s feedback about my writing
Feedback Filter
A binary grounding question we ask ourselves to recalibrate and put criticism in perspective
# 278
I want our company to grow and become more valuable in the public’s eye
Launch Mode
Acting in a way that earns you the privilege of making an announcement about your work
# 277
I just got bad news or had a shitty performance, and it’s depressing me
Zooming Out
Widening your lens to get perspective on the complete picture of your situation
# 241
I am making major changes as a writer, and don’t want to do it alone
Secure Base
The human support system with love as its scaffolding help you process your artistic changes
# 243
I have never done this kind of writing before, and I’m not confident in my abilities
Accidental Preparation
The hardcore formative time that fosters dreams, acts as creative training and lays groundwork for the years to follow.
# 246
I am not good at dealing with sudden changes, they throw me off my writing game
Associative Trigger
Personal patterns and physical objects that echo the habits of action and allow you to enter into your creative zone.
# 248
I can’t start from scratch and stare at a blank page or screen all day
Well Digging
Accumulating an ongoing reference file for your brain to work on through a passive, unconscious process
# 247
I have a hard time getting started with my writing, it takes forever to get into the zone
Centering Sequence
A daily ritual that brings your brain up to operating temperature in order to run properly
# 245
I work at home and it’s hard to see where my work ends and my self begins
Punching Out
A ritual of leave taking at the end of your creative workday
# 244
I have lots of ideas and need a way to see them with fresh eyes to discover their potential
Arbitrary Sorting Mechanism
An organizing principle, free of judgment and expectation, that allows ideas to find each other
# 242
I want to do something completely different in my creative life, and it’s scary
Unlabeling
The reinvention process of peeling off your old identity and creating a new one that sticks
# 251
I just got kicked in the nuts by life, and it sucks
Good Low
When life hands you a pile of shit, you strategically convert that experience into creative resources of energy, fertility and happiness
# 249
I sometimes get anxiety and it comes out of nowhere and I can’t write
Early Warning System
A personal seismograph that helps us take preemptive action against impending inner turmoil and anxiety
# 252
I am tired of looking at my writing project and I need a break to get new energy
Tourniquetting
Creating a healthy sense of distance from your work by damming up the creative flow, compressing the circulation and applying pressure
# 255
I have too many writing opportunities coming my way, and not sure which to pursue
Whitespacing
Defining your creative journey by the work you decline
# 254
I’m bored and stuck need an outlet for my energy
Clearinghouse
A conceptual destination where you can unite all of her interesting elements, intermingling your interests and themes into a meaningful, cohesive whole
# 253
I don’t do open mics or showcases, but I need to get more exposure for my work
Permissionless Platform
Hiring yourself to create a local artist’s residency
# 250
I am not getting anywhere with this stupid writing project and it’s annoying
Go Perpendicular
Intentionally walking away from your current work to engage in something unrelated to the flow of activity
# 258
I want to connect with people more through my writing, but it’s hard to get noticed
Blood Gauge
A personal filter for your own work that reinforces the importance of risk.
# 257
I have a team that takes forever to finish writing projects
Haybarning
Declaring something done so your team can reap the benefits of their hard work
# 256
I always suck when I first start writing, and it makes me want to quit
Excavating
Clearing the surface level content out of your system to allow quality ideas to emerge
# 259
I have been staring at the screen for too long, not sure what to do
Artist Allotment
A personal policy for managing compositional paralysis
# 260
I’m not confident or motivated with my writing, and I’ve lost momentum
Shelving
Converting your creative area into a progress rich environment that stimulates focus and buoys my spirits
# 221
I have a big meeting, presentation or performance coming up and I want to nail it
Over Preparation
Creating twenty percent more content than necessary so it’s easier to adjust on the fly
# 224
I have this cool idea, but I don’t know if I should share it with people yet
Paranoia Snowball
Working quietly and quickly to keep your idea contained until it’s strong enough to roll on its own
# 231
I don’t know where to get ideas, and I wish there was something unique about my writing
Units Up
Exponentially increasing your activity level to create a stronger baseline for yourself
# 230
I keep writing the same things over and over, and need to branch out
Spiraling
Growing your creative life in an open ended, upward curve of new possibilities
# 237
I am doing the same old creative work without elevating, just executing
Forging
Motivating your creativity by forcing yourself to overcome unpleasant but unavoidable challenges
# 236
I feel bad when my mind distorts events from the past
Fictioning
Treating memory as an art form for the purposes of nourishing yourself
# 234
I don’t write as fast or perfectly as I want, so I talk myself out of doing my ideas
Ignorance Capital
Intentionally not knowing your destination to give yourself speed, power and momentum
# 239
I want my team members to grow personally so they can contribute professionally
Unlocking
Creating an environment that forces people access new talents and skills
# 240
I am ready to reinvent myself, and I need to make it official
Creative Retirement
Writing a letter of resignation to yourself to bookend an important stage in your artistic life
# 238
I am living through a public crisis right no, and everyone around me is freaking out
Shitstorming
Reorienting ourselves in our pain so that we aren't a victim of it
# 235
I don’t journal like I should, but I just don’t see the point
Metabolizing
Treating journaling as a psychological and physical accounting of your emotions
# 222
I need to work out some feelings and figure out what’s going on
Aggressive Pondering
Deliberately creating a situation or framed experience in order to have an arena in which to work out an unresolved issue
# 226
I hired this person to help with my writing project, but their results suck, and it’s costly and exhausting
Upfronting
Giving more frontend raw material our creative collaborators so they can do more for us
# 228
I want to know how to proceed in this writing project, even without a lot of information
Tracking
Monitoring our machinery of intuitive thought to figure out the next steps in our tasks
# 227
I had this shitty thing happen, and it’s hard to deal with
Misfortunation
Reframing aspects of our circumstances that we can view as gifts to be treasured
# 225
I have a huge and scary writing project to do that is out of my depth, and it’s intimidating me into paralysis
Impossibility Subroutine
A ritual to help ramp up your energy and snap myself into appropriate state of mind to approach an overwhelming task
# 223
I have unhealthy habits that make it hard to get my writing done consistently
Relocation
Reducing our exposure to the kinds of situations and surroundings that enable us in the wrong direction
# 229
I have some clients, but they’re not worth the effort, and I want to grow
Upstreaming
Filtering projects based on labor intensity and the economy of effort
# 233
I think the universe is against me, and my writing projects keep getting derailed
Positivity Filter
Increasing your field of vision to allow you to better notice the opportunities that lead to success
# 232
I have a role where I use my writing to help the team, and I want to do well
Support Survey
A template for collecting data on people and processes that helps you prioritize creative projects
# 219
I work in volatile, disorganized environment where people are overlooking valuable opportunities
Campgrounding
Leaving things at your company more organized than when you found them
# 215
I have this big meeting coming up about my work, and I’m freaking out
Priming
Reminding yourself of your accumulated track record to build faith in your creative capabilities
# 216
I want to publish this new piece of writing, but I’m afraid of how it’s going to be received
Reality Waterfall
A chain of logic that reduces the probability of something negative happening to such a degree that it seems ridiculous
# 220
I am feeling apathetic and foolish, since ideas get ignored, shelved or barely supported
Long Gaming
The willing to initiate risky projects and be misunderstood for extended periods of time
# 218
I am a new, young team member and want to get noticed for writing welll
Value Continuum
An employee contribution framework for tracking ideas, tools, connections and opportunities
# 213
I have to pay bills otherwise I will have to move back in with my parents
Hacquisitioning
Making a list of everyone you ever served in the past and asking them to buy this new thing you just made