I’ve sketched in my sketchbook 7 times this month. That may not seem like a lot, but compared to last year - where I sketched 15 times over the entire year, that’s a 641% increase in sketching so far! 7 times in 23 days. It’s really not a lot. But it’s a start. Each of those days required a concerted effort. I took out my sketchbook, sat down, and drew something for a period of time. I had to take time out of my busy day. I had to turn off all distractions and focus on the task. I had to set it up to be as easy as possible, putting a sketchbook in a pen in a visible spot. I also went out and bought a smaller sketchbook to travel with that I can take with me to coffee shops and out and about. I have also collected a Pinterest board of ideas to sketch. I’m making this process as low-stakes as possible and allowing myself to copy other people’s drawings. That may seem like cheating for some, but my goal is to sketch and play around with line and how the pen moves on the paper. Why does this matter to you? This is me going through the process of building a habit. With the right skills and systems, anyone can build a habit that they can be consistent with. And I have evidence of this in how I built my walking habit last year. It’s still going strong. Even with the fires in LA and several low emotional days where I just haven’t had it in me, for the most part, I’m still showing up. This time on a treadmill inside while I wait for the air to dissipate a little bit more and not be quite so toxic that I’ll die of cancer in 6 years. Treadmill walking is hard on my soul - being stuck inside is NOT fun. But I’m tricking myself to keep doing it. I’ve got my coffee and a good podcast, and I use little successes to keep me going once I’ve started my walk. Can I walk for 10 minutes?
Can I walk a mile?
How about another 0.5?
What if I add some incline, can I do that for 2 minutes?
Can I go to the halfway point of the podcast?
What about another lap?
Sketching is a much easier habit for me to build because, for now, it’s all enjoyable. When I start to sketch from life and create my own compositions, it will get a lot harder because my perfectionist brain will show up and tell me I should be better at this and that I’m failing and should give up. I know that’s how the negative talk in my brain works — and I’m preparing for it. This is why for now, I am leaning into: Let it be as easy as possible. How could you adjust your environment to help make the habits you’re trying to build as easy as possible? Requiring less decision-making in the moment and reducing the friction standing in the way of you accomplishing what you say you want to? Morgan P.S. If you're a new subscriber, reply to this email and tell me a little bit about your journey and why you are here so I can create content that better serves you! |
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I squashed my perfectionist brain yesterday and painted for the first time in maybe years. Instead of spending another day thinking about how much I wanted to do art, that I needed to set up a space, carve out some time, and dig out my art supplies buried deep in the dreaded junk closet, I took a straw from coaching. I asked myself, ‘How can I make this as low-lift as possible? What do I need? What keeps getting in the way? How can I lower the barrier to entry?’ We often get stuck in these...
I got a text immediately after getting into my car to head to the gym. “Your produce box is arriving in 20 min.” Ugh. I quickly calculated in my head - it would take me 15 min to get there, another hour to workout, and then 50 min to do my morning walk in the fancy neighborhood - that I had already put off. It’s 70 degrees out; there’s no way I can leave the box out for two hours. So I adjusted my plans, went back inside, and attempted to get back into “work mode.” It’s moments like this...
Well, I was going to have a newsletter come out today after a solid chunk of time with me staying silent and not knowing what to say - but the National Guard might be called on my city as ICE raids are happening to the good people of Los Angeles. And my sensitive soul is over here crying that we even have to protest this nonsense. But what can we do in the face of all of this? Return to our standards and our joy, now more than ever. This country, this government, doesn’t care about its...