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Hold That Thought, from Kim Witten, PhD

Helping overwhelmed creatives turn overthinking into expert thinking. 3 useful things every Thursday to gain clarity, get more done, and feel great about it.

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Quitting over a dead bug

Hello again! How are you getting on this December so far? I hope well and warmly. Without further ado, here are this Thursday's picks to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking: 1. Hard is not glamorous. More often than not, Hard arrives like a dead bug in your bag of frozen blueberries: a seemingly small, off-putting nuisance that shouldn’t make a difference but turns everything icky.” An excellent piece by one of my dearest friends Marta Szreder, PhD, on what to remember when...
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2 days ago • 1 min read
A close-up of frozen blueberries with the quote by Marta, “Everything is easy when you feel like it.”
A paper card sits among garland and a crochet penguin. It reads “December to-do: 1. Avoid Burnout”

What is your one thing this December?

Hi there! Nobody needed yet another email last week, so I didn't send one. But it's Thursday again, so I'm back on it to share three useful things to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking. Here are this week’s picks: How does it feel in your body to know that you only have one thing to do in December?​ Want to journal out the year and write your way into the new one? The 2023/2024 YearCompass is out!​​ Yesterday's update to the Medium platform now enables me to share great content...
9 days ago • 1 min read
A knitting swatch against a wood table

Mashup

Interpretation of a writing swatch. Or is it a knit prototype? Imagined by me, generated by Bing Image Creator. Hello! It's Thursday again, so time to share three useful things to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking. Here are this week’s picks:​ One thing I love about being a multi-passionate creative is taking an idea from one area and seeing how I might quickly apply it to another. I did this recently by making a writing swatch​​​How might you apply this concept to save valuable...
23 days ago • 1 min read
Knolling of various colours, shapes, and textiles.

Flexible mind, repeatable process

Hello Reader, Diving right into the good stuff, here are this week's picks to help turn overthinking into expert thinking: Having a style collapses hundreds of future decisions into one, and gives you focus.” — More on style as consistent constraint by Steph Ango​ 20 new ways to measure success, from minimalist Joshua Becker​ Fuelled by my desire to provide a great experience + my disgust with media misrepresentations, I made a short video to explain what coaching (actually) is and how it...
30 days ago • 1 min read
Two people in a business chat. The woman is looking questioningly at the man.

Explaining vs. thinking

Image by SDI Productions from Getty Images Signature. Whoa, we're in November! And it's Thursday again, so here are this week's three useful things to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking: Better conversations await when you can spot the difference between explaining versus thinking aloud. Here's what that looks like​​ How do I communicate with more tact? Muriel Wilkins' Coaching Real Leaders (HBR) podcast episode has the answer.​ A pithy and powerful newsletter post from Rachel...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
An AI-generated image of professionals pointing at a large tablet with illegible writing on it.

They're coming from inside the house!

Professionals Pointing at the Tablet of Values, by Bing Image Creator. Hello Reader! I'm back from two fun-but-full-on weeks in the States and am ready to share this Thursday's three useful things. Here are this week's picks to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking: Your values are calling you from inside the house! Here's a better way to discover what's truly important to you​​ Imposter syndrome is a lagging indicator of cultural gaslighting.” And nine other latent signs, by...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
A blank map with the words “When not knowing is better.”

Listening, lollipops, and letting go

Every Thursday I share three useful things to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking. Here are this week’s picks: Sometimes our knowledge of a subject area gets in the way of seeing what's really going on. More on that from a fantastic coaching session I had last week: letting go of the need to know​​ A clever story about lollipops, moonshots, and how to use that kind of thinking to reframe any problem — from Frontera blog​ As a creator, you will never feel that your work is...
2 months ago • 2 min read
A mixed audience of spectators is facing the viewer. People of various expressions and interest. A woman in the center looks ahead intently, engaged.

Keep going

Photo of audience members by JBryson from Getty Images Pro Every Thursday I share three useful things to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking. Here are this week’s picks: Nobody can waste your time…and how to make that true — by me​ If you want to see the difference in your work, you need to stay on the bus — by James Clear, author of Atomic Habits​ Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” — Gustave Flaubert, quoted from a...
2 months ago • 1 min read
A gorgeous piece of honeycomb oozes honey. Two pink-purple flowers sit on top.

Structure and Delight

Every Thursday I share three useful things to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking. Here are this week’s picks: How to start working​ The irresistible structure of lists​ Delight is a 3-legged stool​ Extra thought… One of my favorite things about writing something that resonates with others is seeing all the great comments and clever reframing of ideas that people offer. In my ‘how to start working’ article above, Medium writer Vince Capocci commented, “Structure the task, support...
3 months ago • 1 min read
A close up of the top half of a woman's head with a background of squiggly lines

Overthinkers vs. deep thinkers

Every Thursday I share three useful things to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking. Here are this week’s picks: Did you know that overthinking and deep thinking are the exact same skillset? More on that, plus, how to shift from one to the other​ What if you approached your next problem like a teacher? Or an accountant? Or a plumber? 25 Professional Thinking Tools​ The Life Changing Impact of Camel-Mode is a podcast episode with a concept that will be a game-changer for parents. But...
3 months ago • 1 min read
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