Creative Wellness Letters - 📝 are you feeling reflective?

Pre-S: I’m planning topics for the rest of 2024, and I want to know what you want to hear about in these letters!

Topic ideas or specific questions are welcomed - reply and let me know if you have any!

Hi Reader, 

How is your fall season going so far? (I know, there are technically a few more days of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but I feel Labor Day as the ceremonial transition point into fall.)

I used to feel a lot more negatively about autumn, because, when I lived in Minnesota, the cold dark winter was looming after it - moving to the milder climate of the Bay Area has done wonders for my attitude!

Even so, I’ve always loved that “fresh start” feeling of a new school year, and because much of my work as an educator and collaborative pianist organizes itself around a school year schedule, I still feel it deeply.

As I wrote about in the last letter, I’m coming out of almost a full year of album-related busyness and near-constant forward motion, and am trying to observe Spacious September as I dream up my next projects - it’s definitely a season of reflection.

Why should we make time for reflection, in the midst of our already over-busy lives?

It’s an essential part of tapping into your creativity and the cycle of self care (figuring out what you need and fulfilling that need). Slowing down is the only way to hear your own inner voice telling you what you truly need and desire.

Coming back to rest (whichever type you need at the moment), self care, and energy replenishment is what allows us to also replenish creativity. This is a very cyclical lesson that I find myself re-learning again and again.

In stressful times, you might feel like it’s withering, and it’s easy not to make time for it, but your reflection practice can be as simple or complex as it needs to be!

Even throughout busy times, I keep a small reflection ritual through my personal weekly check-in, which has just 4 simple questions:

1. What worked?

2. What didn’t work?

3. What did I learn? (or re-learn!)

4. What are my intentions for next week?

You can steal these for yourself, if you want 😉⤵️

Some weeks I have the bandwidth for more detail and depth than others, but regardless, it’s always helpful to take these 10 minutes to check in. 

I also compile the “what did I learn” answers when I do my monthly and yearly reviews, and it’s cool to see where the patterns emerge.

If you’re having similar reflective cravings right now, here are some more of my favorite reflection prompts:

• What does my creative work need from me this month?
• What does my business need from me this month?
• What does my life need from me this month?
• What are your non-negotiables?
• What’s on your yes list, and no list?

Prompts for feeling creatively stuck:

• Where can you find hope?
• Where can you find joy?
• Where can you find inspiration?
• What feels good to me right now
• What feels fun and exciting to me right now?
• What am I curious about?

And even more prompts!:

• Reflection prompts for figuring out which type of rest you need right now (blog post)
• Prompts for nurturing your relationship with creativity (S3 E5, with PDF)

You can also check out Episode 55 of Being A Whole Person: Simple Reflection Practices to Support Your Creativity + Life, for more on this topic. 

Lately, I’m also feeling a strong desire to declutter and clear things out, both in the physical and digital realms, and I’ll share more about that in the next letter, along with some tangible steps for fall cleaning in the creative realm! 🧹

Does autumn (or any change of season) put you in a reflective mood? What questions feel most present for you right now? I’d love to hear about it, if you’d like to share!

🕸️ Staying on the good side of the internet 🕸️

• All We Have to Do is Decide We're Ready - Jami Attenberg on using timelines to create motivating structure to actually do our creative projects.

• Why Designing for Introverts is Better for Everyone - I love pretty much everything that Priya Parker writes, and this is also affirming for introverts - win-win!
• Tatsuya Tanaka Creates Paris 2024 Olympics Miniatures - I know, the Olympics are over, but I found these to be so clever and creatively inspiring.