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Your obligation is keeping you from your art. Sometimes as creators, we get a little bit of success in a topic. Maybe we have a team we have to adhere to. Maybe we have to provide for our families. And we have these things that we think we need to do every week to keep the creative business going and that those obligations prevent us from striking when the iron's hot, when we get a amazing idea.
And so that feeling of stress between my energy wants me to follow this creative impulse and the reality of my life. The obligations require that I continue doing the things that I've been doing. I. Day in and day out to provide for my team, my family, and others, and that's a very noble goal. But it can be very frustrating when you're getting further and further away from the things you create because this is really a fear of I'm going to [00:01:00] lose that spark.
The enthusiasm, the motivation to act on my ideas when I have to deal with the things that I'm required to do. But. What if you could increase your bandwidth to handle more each day? Or what if you felt more aligned with your daily tasks, so your energy followed where the time required you or the obligations required you to show up?
That's why creators that crush focus on managing their energy so they can produce at a higher level and follow the thing that started them on their creations. Anyways, so in today's episode, we're going to talk about the struggle between. Obligation and art. We're gonna talk about an insight on what makes creators productive in a way that aligns with themselves.
We're gonna talk about what to do when your, obligations pull you from your creative interests, and then stay tuned to the end of the video for special opportunity to help you [00:02:00] crush it as a creator. Welcome to the Creators That Crush Podcast, the show that helps you move from crush to crushing it as a creator.
I am your certified high performance coach and host, Sean Butner. Now, today's episode came up. From a struggle trying to figure out what I wanted to talk about today. And I've been iterating and shifting things in my creative business and how I do these episodes. And this is also a video podcast, so I'm recording this.
So I had the realization this week that the audio audience and the YouTube audience are fundamentally different. And I had the first time where I'm like, you know what? I need to do these as two separate things, right? The things that I want to do on the audio podcast to make it engaging and great for the folks that are listening wherever you are, and I totally thank you for that, is going to be different from a YouTube video [00:03:00] and you feel this urge to follow that creative impulse.
But effectively what I'm saying to myself right now is you need to do double the work, right? You're going to do. An audio podcast in a way that is for the audio format, and then you're gonna have to completely reinvent that, topic and information for YouTube. So I'm talking about doubling my work, which is frustrating.
It's a little bit of fear, like I'm already struggling with doing what I need to do to grow the show, to grow my audience, to stay engaged with, clients take strategy calls and the like. there's this fear that I'm gonna double my work and feel stressed as we go along, and that's what we're talking about today.
But I was also earlier today listening to Jay Klaus's Creator Science podcast, and he had a quote direct from his diary. he already shared this on the internet, so I'm not. Just exposing anything. I'm not like secretly in [00:04:00] his house, reading his diary. 'cause that would be creepy. And he lives in Ohio and I'm in California.
Makes it even more weird. But anyways, what he wrote in his journal was. I'm feeling internal stress because there's a misalignment between where my energy is required and where my time is pulled. And it's this thing where like he had, he's working on a book and so he is got his book meetings like every Monday and he gets really fired up to write.
'cause he considers himself a writer first. And like most creators then has this content machine that he has to feed his family. He's got his community, he's got a newsletter, he is got the podcast, all these things that he creates every week to, as a professional to sustain his life.
And so keeping that going and then following this new endeavor that requires a lot of time and focus and resources [00:05:00] is tough. I feel for that. and so where do you go from there? And what is the struggle between obligation and art? a lot of times, obligation is caused by success and character, right?
In Jay's case, he wants to be responsible parent and spouse, and he also wants to follow this creative passion. And so that's what's causing the stress is I have to do this, but I want to do this. And the thing that I want to do is highly energizing. And we all know as creators too, that art can be fickle and fleeting.
So sometimes you need to act on that, that feeling of I need to get this out of my body. Something's channeling through me right now. And so creators that crush face the issue of maintaining their current success, the content rhythm, the topics, the, promise to show up for their audience and growth, which is.
Following their creative instincts or learning new [00:06:00] things as they go along. And it's a very human thing to not want to do the same thing over and over again forever. So what do we do? We need to follow our art to feel novelty, to learn to grow, and in order to keep the status quo with it, maintaining what we gotta maintain and grow.
We need to sharpen our productivity as creators. So what makes creators productive? I think it's two things, right? It's increasing your bandwidth or capacity, right? You either have more energy to do more things. you either hire team to take things off your plate, right? So that could be outsourcing it to a functionality.
using relying more on AI in your content production process. And I have a bunch of ideas that I'll be sharing with you guys in the future, but not today. or it could be hiring people to actually do research, to do the implementation, to do editing, [00:07:00] stuff like that. Or you become more efficient in these processes yourself.
Meaning instead of taking a whole week to do a podcast episode, you're able to crank it out in two hours every week. And so now you have two hours for the podcast, recording and editing and all that. And then the rest of the time to do the other things, to write your book, to explore new topics, that type of thing.
That's efficiency, right? Or so we either are increasing bandwidth using one of those three methods, or we find alignment in our obligations and art. And this is where my work as a certified high performance coach helps, at least for me, right? and a lot of the work I've done with clients that were either creators or professionals is this alignment work of.
my personal life is not aligned with my work, which is not aligned with my health goals. and when parts [00:08:00] of your life are not aligned, that generates stress. So that's what Jay was feeling before. That's what I was feeling, realizing I have maybe to do double the work and I want to, but I'm a little bit afraid.
that's gonna mess up my life. What do you do when your obligations pull you from your creative interests? And I'm gonna do something new in today's episode. So I put this question into chat, GPT 'cause I figure that AI will be really great at probably getting you to, at least a basic level of understanding on a topic.
And then after this section that I'll go through really quick about what chat GPT said about this question. I'll share my perspective as a certified high performance coach, that helps creators, right? So you follow me. So these steps are gonna be from chat GPT, and I'll talk about what I like about 'em or not, and then I'll give you the certified high performance coaching version of that.
Okay? Cool. So when obligations hijack your [00:09:00] creative flow, this is what chat GPT says is your five steps to reclaim it. first step is to acknowledge without judgment. So don't spiral into guilt. Acknowledge your obligations are real and tied to values like responsibility, family, or survival. This seems pretty solid, right?
So what important values do the obligations represent? How do you honor and value and find space for creating amongst those, right? That's pretty solid. two, micro your creative work. So when the time is tight. Shrink the creative task, right? If you can't record a full video, write a hook. If you can't outline a whole chapter, brainstorm five bullet points for that chapter.
And so the question you're essentially asking yourself is, what is the smallest possible creative win you can get today? Pretty solid advice too. Third thing is to schedule creative sprints. Treat your creative interest like a client, so block out time on your calendar, 15 to 30 minutes [00:10:00] to. Sprint on it
So don't wait for time to just magically open in your day. Make it and you gotta show up. You gotta be motivated. it recommends using the power hour. So 20 minutes to create, five minutes to review, five minutes to reset. That's something I've talked about before. So this is probably, 'cause, this is my chat, GPT.
It's probably like pulling stuff that I've talked about with it before. fourth thing from chat, BT, is to use constraints as creative fuel. it postulates that creative breakthroughs often come from limitations. let the lack of time, energy resources guide you towards simplicity, clarity, and boldness, right?
So the challenge here is what's raw, real. Or the basic component of what you want to say and express today. And then the fifth thing, Chad, GPT recommends is to reevaluate your commitments regularly. So every season takes stock. What's energizing you? What's draining you? What obligations are self-imposed [00:11:00] and no longer align with your purpose?
So what are you saying yes to by default that you could say no to with a little bit of intention? it recommends your one action for the week is to block 30 minutes. To do a creative audit, to list every recurring obligation and ask, does it need to be done by you?
Is it aligned with your creative goals, or can this be automated, delegated or deleted, which is again, super solid, right? from a certified high performance coaches perspective, these are the five questions I would ask if you were struggling with obligations hijacking your creative flow, right? these.
Are touched by chat GBT, which is heartening, right? so first thing is to clarify what you actually need to do, We trick ourselves into thinking we're the only people that can, schedule emails or schedule social media posts, or do the editing on, videos or audio or whatnot. [00:12:00] So having a clear idea of everything you do.
In a week. And it could just be having a notebook next to you and recording every time you do an action. so it's oh, edit the podcast. This, I'm setting up these posts, I'm doing this type of research. a lot of these things might overlap day to day or maybe not, but that's why you record it for a week.
And then seeing are there ways for you, is this something I'm doing that doesn't. Really matter at all and get rid of it. Is it something that just eats up a lot of time and is important, but like you're not super thrilled with it? Or is something that somebody else could do just as well without a lot of training, so maybe you delegate that or then like this is a core thing, like with Jay, he loves writing, so anything to do with writing he might want to own in his creative business.
And it's just good to know. Those activities, right? And to be clear, this lights me up. This makes me happy, this doesn't, [00:13:00] so that'd be the first thing I would do as a certified high performance coach, talking with a client. the second thing would be to add in energy generators, right? And I use the phrase energy generators, because this could be all the physical things that you need to be doing to be happy and healthy.
eating right, moving, sleeping, drinking water, seeing the sun. Stuff like that, socializing with people. it could be that you're doing the things that you love earlier in the day. So like with Jay, he was talking about maybe I need to write or he has to do his workouts before the family wakes up.
Anyways, I'll just leave that in there. somebody was talking about how the only time they can do their workouts is before the family gets up because there are no obligations. And if they kick the can down the road, then they don't end up doing the workout because at the end of day they're just wrecked.
They've been reacting to the day happening to him. The energy [00:14:00] generator is the workout and it's done before anyone else is woke up in the family, like waking up at six 30 in the morning, which is crazy. So it could be handling that in the morning, it could be waking up doing your workout. And then doing the most passionate task you have for the day.
if today that you need to write, you need to edit a YouTube video, you need to reach out to some sponsor opportunities and be an email or back and forth on Slack or something. If you're like, the thing that lights me up is writing, I should do writing at least a half hour at the beginning of the day before anything else happens, right?
It is extremely powerful when you're able to do that with discipline. the times in my life when I've been able to accomplish this, when I wake up and just go into the first thing that's the most important. Not even dealing with coffee, not even dealing with exercise unless that is the number one thing, but like the number one thing I have to do is [00:15:00] research for this episode.
I'm up, I'm in it. The rest of the day ends up being way more focused than the times when I wake up. I drink coffee. I. Read the internet, do the portal, and then on Apple with my wife, and then before I know it, it's two o'clock in the afternoon. I'm like, crap, I gotta get much more done today. And I'm, I feel like I'm trying to catch up, right?
And you wanna avoid that. so that's the second thing. Add in more energy generators. I went on a rant there, but that's cool. third thing, what would you stop doing if you were more bold? Sometimes. Like I highlighted at the head of the, or at the top of the episode, I had this creative idea of, oh, maybe I need to do something completely different for the YouTube version of this topic today.
And then I'm like, oh, but that's gonna be twice the amount of work. Am I gonna have to get up earlier or. Spend less time with my wife in the afternoon in order to get this [00:16:00] accomplished or, this scarcity mindset where really I wanna feel abundant.
oh, if I were more bold, I would just do the extra thing knowing that it would be a little bit longer take me, and there'd be ways that I could find deficiencies as I went through. I'm going to fear doing it more than it, it's probably worse in my head than actually doing it.
And if I actually do it and I follow that creative impulse and it works out great, I'm going to feel a huge release of dopamine and be like, this is awesome, and I'll be more likely to do it again. So I need to step up into this and do this differently for the YouTube video, in that video format.
In particular, it'll be great, right? that's what I would start doing. If I was more bold, I would stop hemming and honking about it if I was a little bit more decisive, brought a little bit more courage to this idea. okay, so I have. So far from a coaching perspective, clarify what you actually need to do.
Add in energy [00:17:00] generators. think what would you start or stop doing if you were more bold. Fourth thing is what would your day look like if it were easier or more efficient? Sometimes, and I am speaking definitely for a friend and not for myself. We overcomplicate and overthink things, and we think we have to have the 30,000 ducks in a row.
We have to have the stars and planets aligned just right for the creativity to flow through us. And when the creativity flows through us, then we are our, best selves as creators. And the magic happens and really. So much of it is getting out of our own way. If I showed up and turned off all the distractions on my computer, on my phone and just sat in front of the computer with a blank page to do the script or research for my next episode, it would get done in much less time than.
Me just [00:18:00] waiting to feel motivated and to feel super excited about a topic. the amount of times as a podcaster, I started out with an idea that I was not excited about, and then through writing and working it and being like, you know what? This is terrible, but I like this little part of it, and this little part of it becomes the next version of the idea.
That's really great. it all starts with, getting outta my head and making it easier to sit down and do the work. it's maybe not the most efficient. And so that's why the last couple episodes for the YouTube channel, you'd see me with slides, right? 'cause if I had to distill my notes into slides, it flows better, it makes more sense, and it improves how,
Much more quickly I'm able to produce. So that's how my day would look easier. I'd probably just focus on the slides and also be more efficient.
So the [00:19:00] fifth thing. I would suggest or explore with a client who's dealing with obligation versus following their art, is to think, how could you best role model the change best for others, right? Sometimes we get so focused on what we're doing that we forget that other people are watching, and I love this question to get out of ourselves and to think about if there's someone on my team or if.
My kids were watching me, or if my spouse was watching me, how can I best role model handling obligations and following my passion, following my art, following that thing that is providing me a lot of energy. And so many times it's a lot simpler than you think. And it's a lot more when you have that oh aha.
this is amazing. So this episode. It was created to role model the way to talk through the way how to, follow your [00:20:00] passion, your art, and the head of obligation because, like Jay was struggling with wanting to write, but having the business to run or the video, audio thing that I keep coming back to for this episode.
Yeah, I think acknowledging this is a problem that creators have, that I have had as a creator and I'm currently working through as a creator, really helps you show up as your best self and so much of My best self handles obligations, but has capacity for the art too.
And that's the idea I'm hoping you're getting from this very long winded episode. with that, so those are the five questions. I would approach it from a coaching standpoint. There's the five things that chat Shipt would say to just get us up to the base level of knowledge there. So the special opportunity I have for you to crush it as a creator is when you feel like your [00:21:00] obligations are beating your artistic impulses. It can be incredibly frustrating, and sometimes we need an extra set of eyes to help us align better to our goals. Sometimes we need a sounding board to sound out potential changes with someone who's cheering us on in the process.
And. all of these reasons, alignment with our goals, brainstorming and accountability and support are why talking to a coach is helpful. And what we did in today's episode with Chat GPT, you can get pretty far on your own. There's a lot of base level knowledge you can get from just using chat GPT, but there's a whole different level of experience when you're sitting shoulder to shoulder with a certified high performance coach.
Doing the work on yourself to help you align more in your life, to help you identify those areas where maybe they're false obligations and you don't need to do it, or maybe there's a way that you can be a little bit more effective [00:22:00] or approach it in a way that makes it simpler and. That experience is really magical, and that's why I'm offering a free 30 minute creator strategy session for listeners of creators that crush.
So before the call on the strategy session, you share something you're struggling with as a content creator. When we get on the call, then we work through that struggle for 30 minutes on a 30 minute call, and we give you a plan. To implement going forward, right? And right now this is free and is not a sales call.
I really just want to get to know my audience more and to help and add value. And that's it. So if you are interested and you're like, Hey, I'm struggling with. These obligations, like we talked about in this episode, or I'm struggling with imposter syndrome where I don't feel like I should be here as a creator, or you're like, Hey, I have self-doubt all the time and I just need someone to talk to give me a little bit more [00:23:00] assurance and I'm doing the right things, or I'm progressing.
I know this certified high performance process can help you. I can be your guide. I'd love to be your guide even for just 30 minutes. To help you move forward and to help us connect. If you're interested in the show notes, you can click the link to schedule your 30 minute session, or you can go to sean button.com.
Again, that'll be in the show notes to get scheduled. With that said, my friends, my fellow creators. That concludes this episode of Creators at Crush. we talked about 10 points honestly, on what to do when obligations hijack your creative flow. again, from chat GBT, the high level is to acknowledge without judgment, to micro your creative work, to schedule creative sprints, to use constraints as creative fuel and to reevaluate your commitments regularly.
and from the certified high performance coaching perspective, [00:24:00] it's to clarify what you actually need to do, it's to add in your energy generators. Think about what you'd start or stop doing if you could act a little bit more boldly. It's to ask yourself what your day would look like if it was easier, and it's to role model change is best for your situation.
So that concludes this episode of creators That Crush. If you loved this episode, you'll love the episode over here talking about creator burnout. So if you are just always exhausted, if you. Are dreading doing the work, you're not proud of the work you're doing. That episode is for you. Definitely check it out.
And with that, I know that Blake will be in the show notes. I have to remember that this is also an audio. This is supposed to be the audio version of this. but check out that link in the notes or go to Apple Podcasts wherever you listen to podcasts to subscribe and like the show. We'll see you in the next episode.
This is Sean Bot [00:25:00] nurse signing out.
