1.0 = 10

I’m trying to figure out how to be more creative in 2023.

That means how to create more stuff.

And I just stumbled upon this idea:

1.0 = 10.

It’s a shortcut that I’ve developed for my own mind to instantly decide the answer to a question I often ask myself:

How long should this project be? What should I include?

From now on, the answer to myself is : “1.0 = 10”

“For the first version (1.0) – I’ll pick 10”.

• 10 chapters
• 10 Modules
• 10 Points to articulate in. ablog post
• 10 Videos in a series
• 10 Products To Review
• 10 Books To Include In Version 1.0 of The Nomad Book Club

It’s not perfect, but it’s a good mental “shortcut”

And that has helped me to “unblock” some creative hangups.

Instead of thinking about all the millions of modules a course should have (and very well might have eventually) – I’ll just pick the top 10.

…Instead of wondering how many bullet points I should highlight on a sales page for version 1.0, I should just pick 10.

It’s a handy shortcut that’s been helping me sift through overwhelm and get more things published.

The Bigger Problem of Overwhelm. And The Only Solution I’ve Found That Actually Works.

This really is one tool in a toolkit I’ve been developing for being more creative in general, and spending less mental energy beating myself up for not living up to the “standards” of discipline and productivity.

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Minimum Viable Creativity

In an AMAZING course I just took called “Unfuck Your Career” by Jake from Creative Hackers

In it, he talks about the concept of “Minimum Viable Creative” which is an adoption of the LEAN concept of “Minimum Viable Product”.

I really liked that concept.

However, it took me a little while to really hone in on HOW MINIMUM the minimum viable creative should actually be for me.

For me? It has to be probably the smallest “unit” of creativity imaginable.

I always start by dreaming of the BIG product:

• A Full Training Course
• An Ebook
• A Long Form Youtube Video

But then, if it’s not “flowing” and I find myself getting stuck and I’m not starting…

Then, I’ve realized…I have indeed set the bar too high.

So what do I have to do?

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The Incredible Power of Lowering The Bar

Lower it!

Tiago forte calls this “narrowing the scope”.

So if something like “create a Course” is too daunting for me…

Then I could lower it to “Create a youtube video” or “Write a blog post”

If THAT still doesn’t happen…

What I used to do was spend a lot of time feeling guilty and ashamed, and trying to punish myself mentally for not being “disciplined” enough.

But in fact, that was the WRONG approach.

The actual solution is simple: just lower the bar.

As low as it needs to go for me to actually create a unit of creative output.

If “youtube video” is too big still…I could try:

• Youtube short
• Blog post
• Tik Tok
• Email to my newsletter

And then just watch…and if I don’t actually DO any of them…

Instead of going into a cycle of guilt and shame like I have for most of my life…

I’m just going to tell myself: lower the bar. Again.

And I’ll keep going until something actually gets produced. That’s when I know I’ve lowered the bar far enough.

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How Far Down “The Bar” Can Be

What are some units of creativity lower than the above?

• A note about the topic in my Personal Knowledge Management system (PKM) / Second Brain
• A post to a short form platform like youtube posts
• A REALLY short post on my blog (more in the systle of a Digital Garden)
• A Conversation about the topic to a friend
• A message via whatsapp or text to someone who might find it interesting

And here’s the awesome thing – I realize now, that instead of feeling dissapointed that I didn’t complete the fully expressed unit of creativity that I envisioned – I should be thrilled that I pushed “publish” today and created SOMETHING.

Because it will be a building block to the full course. Or the book I finally write.

It is contributing to my own development and the growth of my knowledge, my creative skills, and my business. A small part of the bigger whole. And it’s helping me build momentum.

So if you’re fidning yourself stuck, not creating the thing you want to create – try just lowering the bar.

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