🔌 The Artist's Way: Week 1
It turns out that sometimes the things we resist are the things we need the most.
The Artist’s Way1 has been on my bookshelf for years. I mean, YEARS.
I’ve lost count of how many people have recommended it, raved about it, and sworn by it.
But for some reason, I’ve resisted starting it.
Every time I’ve (seriously) considered tackling it, it’s felt like a should, not a want— an obligation I don’t have the bandwidth for. I kept making excuses not to start. Finding reasons not to try. Adding it to the list of things I know are good for me and yet somehow keep avoiding: drinking enough water (apparently iced coffee doesn’t count…), eating more vegetables, reducing my screen time.
But a few weeks ago, my friend
—who writes a wonderful Substack called —mentioned that she and were about to kick off an Artist’s Way accountability group. This time around, it seemed like a sign from the universe—a forcing function of sorts. It felt like the push I needed to finally give this thing a try.(Speaking of which, want in? It’s not too late! Sharing Vivian and Samantha’s original post below with the details. 👇)
Wait, wait… back up. What is The Artist’s Way?
Oh, you mean besides a book you're basically required to post a photo of the moment you start reading it? 😉
For more than 30 years, The Artist’s Way has been—as the inside flap reads—”the seminal book on the subject of creativity.” Not even a week into the experience, I can safely say it lives up to the hype.
Essentially, the book is a roadmap for “creative recovery,” as the author, Julia Cameron, calls it. It’s a 12-week course in “discovering and recovering your creative self,” designed based on years spent teaching others how to tap into their creativity. Through daily (and weekly) exercises, activities, and journaling prompts, you embark on a journey to overcome your limiting beliefs and fears and unlock a more creative and spiritual self. It sounds a little woo-woo, but everyone swears it works.
And the best part: anyone can do it. As Cameron reminds us:
“No matter what your age or your life path, whether making art is your career or your hobby or your dream, it is not too late or too egotistical or too selfish or too silly to work on your creativity.”
It’s supposed to be transformative—and that sounds like exactly what I need right now.
So what does The Artist’s Way entail?
I don’t want to spoil it or paraphrase (poorly) for anyone who’s considering reading the book and going on the journey—but at a high level:
📚 Reading the book (duh)
Each of the 12 weeks of the program is dedicated to discovering and recovering a different part of yourself: a sense of safety, identity, power, possibility, abundance, and so on. But before you dive in, you read about the principles of what Cameron calls “spiritual electricity” and the core tools you’ll use throughout the 12 weeks.
✍️ Morning Pages
These are three pages of free-form, stream-of-consciousness writing, hand-written first thing every morning—and the “primary tool of creative recovery.” They’re non-negotiable. Apparently, there’s no "wrong way” to do Morning Pages (a tough concept to understand as someone who’s been a rule follower her whole life…); it’s literally about the act of moving your hand across the paper to clear the cobwebs. There’s an official Morning Pages journal sold separately, but you can use any ol’ notebook or loose-leaf paper.
🎨 Artist Dates
This is a block of time (Cameron suggests ~2 hours per week, but it’s flexible!) dedicated to nurturing your inner artist. It doesn’t have to be an artistic endeavor—just time you carve out for yourself to be unencumbered by expectations or obligations. Time to play—to be alone with your inner artist child to self-nurture and refill your creative well.
I love how Cameron explains it: “If you think this sounds stupid or that you will never be able to afford the time, identify that reaction as resistance. You cannot afford not to find time for Artist Dates.”
The TL;DR:
“Think of this combination of tools in terms of a radio receiver and transmitter. It is a two-step, two-directional process: out and then in. Doing your Morning Pages, you are sending—notifying yourself and the universe of your dreams, dissatisfactions, hopes. Doing your Artist Date, you are receiving—opening yourself to insight, inspiration, guidance.”
“The Morning Pages acquaint us with what we think and what we think we need. We identify problem areas and concerns… In the course of the release engendered by our Artist Date… we begin to hear solutions. Perhaps equally important, we begin to fund the creative reserves we will draw on in fulfilling our artistry.”
Week 1 takeaways
Ok, fine, I’m technically not even a whole week in. But close enough. Some thoughts and reflections so far:
“We often resist what we most need.”
It’s like Julia Cameron was/is reading my mind. I underlined this sentence twice… and then added a star in the margin. It pulled into focus exactly what I mentioned earlier—all the things I resist that I know are good for me. True self-care—not the surface-level stuff or the dopamine hits. This line is one I’ll be repeating to myself over and over. Every time I feel myself resisting the process (today, for example), I remind myself that I need it.
“Often, the students most resistant to Morning Pages come to love them the best. In fact, hating the Morning Pages is a very good sign.”
“In choosing which half of the tasks to do, use two guidelines. Pick those that appeal to you and those you strongly resist. Leave the more neutral ones for later. Just remember, in choosing, that we often resist what we most need.”
Jealousy can be a clue.
Years ago, when we were working together at Scholastic and would talk about our long-term goals and dreams, my friend Brittany and I used to refer to what we called “the pang”—the feeling we’d get from watching friends’ (or strangers’) accomplishments and wishing they were ours. “Pangs of envy” is probably where we coined the term, but over time, I’ve come to recognize that sensation as just “the pang.”
I feel it with friends who are authors and had books published—proud of them but slightly jealous. Needless to say, this passage resonates big time:
“How do you know if you are creatively blocked? Jealousy is an excellent clue. Are there artists whom you resent? Do you tell yourself, ‘I could do that, if only…’ Do you tell yourself that if only you took your creative potential seriously, you might:
Stop telling yourself, ‘It’s too late.’
Stop waiting until you make enough money to do something you really love.
Stop telling yourself, ‘It’s just my ego’ whenever you yearn for a more creative life.
Stop telling yourself that dreams don’t matter, that they are only dreams and that you should be more sensible.
Stop fearing that your family and friends would think you crazy.
Stop telling yourself that creativity is a luxury and that you should be grateful for what you’ve got.”
It’s harder than it sounds to fill your own cup.
I have a confession to make: I’ve been resisting Morning Pages more than I thought I would… which probably means I need them (and, hopefully, that I’ll come to love them the best!). Historically, journaling always helps me—especially in times of stress or when I’m working through something. But despite my love of writing, I’m not a regular journaler; I do it in fits and spurts. Too often it feels like homework, pressure, or yet another thing on my to-do list (one of those things that I know is good for me—but that doesn’t come easily).
I’m realizing it’s not so much the journaling that doesn’t come easily (though yes, my hand keeps cramping and smudging the ink); it’s spending this much dedicated time looking inward that’s the bigger challenge.
“Many of us find that we have squandered our own creative energies by investing disproportionately in the lives, hopes, dreams, and plans of others. Their lives have obscured and detoured our own. As we consolidate a core through our withdrawal process, we become more able to articulate our own boundaries, dreams, and authentic goals…
We ourselves are the substance we withdraw to, not from, as we pull our overextended and misplaced creative energy back into our own core.
The Artist Date is SO freeing.
I crave alone time. Always have, always will. (And one of the (many) things I love about my husband is that he understands my need for occasional solitude and isn’t offended by it.) Spending time by myself isn’t new to me, but somehow it felt different to venture out on a solo Artist Date.
I set out to poke around Sundance Antiques in Walnut Creek. There’s something I love about antique shops—the countless untold stories that are hiding in there, waiting to be uncovered. But they were still closed when I got there, so I pivoted and went to two nearby spots to window shop: Wish (tons of kitschy stuff but so much fun to browse and wander through room after room) and Florali, a family-owned boutique flower shop that I’m now absolutely in love with. (They even sell eggs fresh from their farm! 🥹) It was so freeing to browse, to move slowly, to touch and feel fabrics and pottery, to flip through the books on display and sniff the candles. I can’t even remember the last time I window-shopped just to get in touch with my senses… maybe never? I popped into the antique shop quickly, but want to go back another time for a longer adventure.
“In filling the well, think magic. Think delight. Think fun. Do not think duty. Do not do what you should do—spiritual sit-ups like reading a dull but recommended critical text. Do what intrigues you, explore what interests you; think mystery, not mastery. … Our focused attention is critical to filling the well. We need to encounter our life experiences, not ignore them.”
(Bottom right: A little dish I treated myself to to commemorate my first Artist Date! Planning to use it for hot red pepper next to our salt bowl!)
This was a perfectly timed swap for social media.
On Monday, I deleted the Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Substack apps from my phone in an attempt to spend less time doom-scrolling and more time being present. (My screen time notifications were… not good.)
It turns out I’m quick to swap one digital distraction for another. Instead of phone time, I found myself browsing LinkedIn and Substack on my laptop (whoops). Baby steps—but I think know a social media detox (or mini-detox, at the very least) is a necessary part of quieting the noise and tending to my creativity. It’s hard to get clarity on my own thoughts when the first thing I do each day is absorb everyone else’s.
Stay tuned for more on this in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.
🔋 The Past 2 Weeks…
📚 Reading: More YA from
, who’s quickly become one of my favorite authors. On deck these past two weeks: Leah on the Offbeat; Love, Creekwood; and The Upside of Unrequited. Currently onto Imogen, Obviously.🎞️ Watching: Finished Paradise (which started off strong for me and then tapered off reallll quick), began season 3 of White Lotus (no spoilers, please!), and binged Adolescence, which was extraordinary. Heavy, but 100% recommend. And on the live theater front, we just saw Fat Ham (which my friend Carly has been raving about for AGES) and was absolutely fantastic.
🤓 Learning: What to do when your dog KILLS A BIRD. Except it turns out it wasn’t full-on murder—just an attempted murder. Botched job. I was horrified… and then equally relieved to learn the bird was still alive and able to walk/fly. Whew. I’ll spare you all the photos.
🍴 Eating: Smash burgers from Lovely’s in Oakland, which shares a space with Two Pitchers Brewing Company—a perfect outdoor dining combo. (Says the non-beer drinker…)
🍸 Drinking: Martinis from a literal martini cart (yes, dreams do come true, check out Holbrook House in SF) with my friend Mark. 🫒
👩🍳 Cooking: Literally 800 lentil dishes because I accidentally made 3 dry cups, which translates to… well, a lot of lentils. Two favorites: this lemony lentil salad with feta and this pomegranate feta lentil salad. We added grilled chicken to both (obviously).
🎧 Listening to:
’s on Substack.🛠️ Doing: Attending the Hands Off protest in Walnut Creek to speak out against, well… *gestures around wildly at the current administration.* To join the next protest/national day of action on April 19, check out the 50501 website. Some of my favorite signs from the march:
💛 Simple pleasures: Taking walks in this perfect spring weather we’ve been having. My allergies hate it but my soul does not.
💭 Obsessed with: Rockridge, a little neighborhood in Oakland that we explored yesterday and will now never stop talking about. Highlights included Boichik Bagels, Cole Coffee (not all shops were heavy on the alliteration, swear!), La Farine Boulangerie Patisserie, Ver Brugge Foods for fresh meat and fish, Wisteria (a gorgeous floral shop), and wine and chocolate shops that we didn’t try (but will next time). We also poked into Talisman Antiques, Planterday (a mission-driven plant shop), and Transports (a running and swim store). Also on my list for next time: East Bay Booksellers.
👀 Looking forward to: A little surprise getaway for Ben’s birthday next weekend! (I’ll preschedule Sunday’s newsletter!)
💻 Favorite Substack reads: I can no longer limit this category to just one… and since it’s my little corner of the internet, I get to do what I want. So here are my top three! (And I recommend subscribing to all of them!)
1️⃣ You know a piece resonates when you share it on LinkedIn, Substack Notes, and the group chat. Such was the case with this piece from
in her newsletter , where she looks at the fine line between boundaries and ambition.
2️⃣ Obsessed with
’s reflections on taking a sabbatical. She writes so much that resonates in , especially as someone who’s worked at a fast-paced, high-growth tech company for years.
3️⃣
’s learnings on leaving the tech world resonated deeply. Check out for more.
Thank you, as always, for being here and reading. See you next weekend for a Q&A with marketer Amber Rhodes! (If you want to share your burnout story, I’d love to hear it!)
My first Bookshop.org affiliate link! No pressure to purchase, but if you do, I’ll earn a 10% commission.
Pangs!!!!
Couple of things:
1. I keep hearing about The Artist’s Way but never really knew what it was. This breakdown finally piqued my interest—and now I’m going to look into it. Anything to help me tap into that inner creative kid sounds good right now, especially since I've been living in a near-constant state of edge. I need something more intentional to help me spend my time better.
2. I’ve tried doing a social detox and failed every time. Miserably. But I still daydream about the day I no longer work in social and can finally trade in my iPhone for a flippy.
3. I love the way you closed this with a list of everything you’ve been doing, like little memory notes (attempted murder aside, obviously).
Thank you for the shoutout. You’re a wonderful writer, and I’m so glad we’ve gone from LinkedIn pals to this.