Creative guilt trips
pausing for a week, book + inspiration red
I knew I wanted this week off. And still, I guilt-tripped myself.
Every time I started something—an essay, a list, a useful little idea—I made myself stop. I told myself this was a week of doing nothing. So why was I trying to force it out of habit? Instead, I picked up my new embroidery hoop (I’m learning), asked my partner to play video games with me (it makes me feel like a kid again), and devoured my most recent reads.
Taking time off isn’t passive. It’s an active decision to not be productive. An exercise in restraint.
Which brings me to sharing my most popular piece of 2025:
Are You Creating or Just Producing?
It’s a reflection on volume, output, and the pressure to always be doing—rather than thinking in longer timelines. Years, not days.
You have time. We don’t talk about that enough.
If this season has you feeling guilty for slowing down, consider this permission to rest. To be unproductive. To simply be.
Personal Work
Currently Reading:
Three library books arrived within days of one another. So I have been doing a lot of reading this past week. I devoured Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor—beautiful prose, unique story, and a fantasy I could escape into during my winter break.
But now I’m clutching a book I’ve waited ages for.
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.
McConaghy has a way of weaving thriller, relationships, inner lives, and environmentalism into a neat package that keeps me awake. A couple years ago, I stayed up until 2am finishing Once There Were Wolves. So yes, I’m very excited to have cracked open this novel. And as a big library fan, I made myself wait in line.
Recommended Inspiration
Grab a warm bevy and prepare to scroll and learn. Explore the UNESCO virtual stolen objects museum which was “was established in response to strong appeals from Member States for coordinated international action to raise public awareness about the illicit trafficking of cultural property”. Personally I find the interactive website immersive and calming. You can scroll, rotate objects, filter by region, even colours.
“The idea is to create a digital museum and innovative platform, where every object, digitised in 2D or 3D from existing images, is enriched by narratives and testimonies from its communities that allow to restore its original context. The objective is to deepen awareness-raising on the illicit trafficking of cultural property and to provide an immersive experience accessible to all, with a particular focus on the younger generations, who play a central role in building a fresh ethos of heritage protection.”
Hey, you made it to the end. A little secret for you!
I’m toying with the idea of doing another book club this year. This time with The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life. The seed was planted after I listened to an interview with Suleika on Armchair Expert.
The premise is simple: 100 essay prompts.
The hesitation is also simple: I’m not sure I want to commit to 100 days—or to sharing all of it publicly.
I’m still journalling, but how much of that process wants/needs to be witnessed?
For now, I’m letting the decision reveal itself by listening to the book. And honestly, so far, it feels… possible. The very first prompt is:
What would you write if you weren’t afraid?
Not a bad place to start.
Have you read or tried this one?
"Are you creating or just producing?" made my jaw drop. I've got some thinking to do.