Hello from Valencia! I’m writing this from a sun-soaked terrace, sipping horchata, and watching people amble through narrow streets with nowhere urgent to be. And for the first time in what feels like ages, I feel truly able to go slow.
That acceptance of a slower pace is exactly what I’ve been fighting all year with my photography. It’s been stuck in a proper rut. The creative mojo nowhere to be found. And naturally, I’ve been doing what any frustrated creative does: trying to force my way out of it.
Things like impulse-buying equipment (or almost selling everything and buying a Leica) or setting artificial constraints (“I’ll only shoot black and white this month”) worked briefly and gave me something to focus on, but it felt like I was tricking myself into caring and actually draining me of more energy than I was gaining.
A classic mistake. I’d walked right into Rut’s Law: “creative energy is inversely proportional to the effort spent forcing it.”
The more you try to force yourself out of a rut, the quicker the little energy you do have vanishes.
For me, travel usually comes with a huge boost of energy and excitement, especially when it comes to photography. And Valencia so far has been good to me, but the spark is still not quite as strong as it would have been a few years ago. I’m weirdly fine with that.
Like Paul Millerd recently shared, a lot of what you consume online can push you to do more, want more, be more. But expecting 100% enthusiasm and energy all the time is unrealistic. It’s okay to be at 60%. Or 5%. Or 30%.
That also puts the good side of Rut’s Law in action: the less you try to force it, the more space you leave for creativity to sneak back in.
🎤 On the pod
If you missed it, last week I posted a conversation I had with
about her wonderful newsletter .Elena’s work makes art feel like something that belongs in your everyday life, not locked away in stuffy galleries or academic journals. Being that I’ve always been intimidated by the “art scene”, that’s exactly why I wanted to chat with her!
We explore how she went from reading heavy art magazines that she’d forget immediately to creating something warmer and more human, Elena’s experience building a newsletter community based on genuine connection and engagement vs vanity metrics, and how we may all benefit from being more curious and inviting a little more art into our lives.
Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
💎 Worth your time
Listeners Can’t Remember the Names of Their Favorite Songs and Artists by
— This spoke straight to my soul. Honestly, it’s why I’ve been intentionally trying to listen to full albums again and actually stop and explore an artist when I find something I like, rather than being a victim to Spotify-Shuffle-Syndrome.Some unhinged creativity (sorry): “Did you know your MacBook has a sensor that knows the exact angle of the screen hinge? I figured out a way to read it and make it sound like an old wooden door.”
A great note: