How to be more prolific

Ever feel like you're just not following through on the things you know you WANT to do? Here's a quick tip for consistently being more prolific.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Creative Companion]( Hello my friend! You may have heard this quote about creatives: "Painters love to paint. Writers love having written." The joke is that writing is such a difficult, painful process that writers themselves don't even enjoy the act of writing itself. Whether it's writing, recording video, editing podcasts, etc...I've noticed that there is almost always some level of psychological hurdle to getting started. There is some level of friction. Friction is the enemy of momentum. Actually, there's probably some actual science in that...but I never took a physics class, so I can't say for sure. But when you WANT to create things, and you find yourself repeatedly not doing that, you're probably running into some kind of friction. And that friction doesn't even need to be that intense to stop you in your tracks...our brains already LOVE finding ways to procrastinate or negotiate out of doing things. So the number one way to increase your output and become more prolific is to identify and remove sources of friction. For a long time, I was using a Canon m50 for my DSLR camera. It was the original Canon m50 model, and without getting too into the weeds, it was not ideal for video calls or even recording video. It doesn't allow for clean HDMI output, it required me to use manual focus, and the lens wasn't great either. My video quality looked like this: ​ ​ Not too bad. But the issue was the friction that came with recording. I had to get the manual focus right, I had to get the lighting right, but I constantly had this shadow from my overhead lights...so not only was there friction in the camera, but in the lighting, and my own expectations of quality. If you follow me on [Twitter]() or [Instagram](=), you may have seen that I made some significant upgrades to my little video studio this month. I knew I wanted to focus on getting better lighting...but then I had this realization that the actual friction was coming from my camera. I hated the process of setting it up, I hated the finished result, and the whole thing just made me not even want to try. So I decided to invest in really good equipment. A Sony A7C, a 35mm f1.4 lens, an out-of-frame shotgun microphone, and great lighting equipment too. Here's the end result: ​ ​ Even better than the video quality itself, I removed so much friction. I went so far as to utilize some smart plugs so that I can say, "Alexa, turn on studio" and she turns on my lighting for me! Now when I want to record something for the [Creative Companion Club]() or anything else, I can record a super high-quality video that meets my internal standards within moments of wanting to. You can create the same environment for your creative work. If you want to do more video, set up the space to be camera ready. If you want to record a podcast, mount your microphone to your desk so it's ready to go. If you're writing, turn off your wifi and write in a Word doc instead. Lower friction leads to higher output. So whatever you're trying to do more of but can't quite seem to follow through...identify the source of friction. What is getting in the way? What are you allowing yourself to use as an excuse? And how can you eliminate that? When friction goes away, the process becomes more fun and playful, and the final product will feel better too. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Dream Studio Course](​ ​ Want your own great home video studio? I had no idea how to setup the shot you saw above. It was a priority for me, but camera and lighting equipment has always been scary to me. Luckily I got introduced to Kevin Shen, who has now become a good friend. Kevin started the [Dream Studio Course]( to help people like me make their dream studio a reality – without needing to have all the technical know-how. It's a cohort-based course that includes a lot of pre-recorded video content to help you make gear and lighting decisions. I made most of my improvements in the first couple weeks of the course based on those recorded videos, and then the groups helped give me feedback to dial things in! Anyway, I owe my entire new setup to Kevin. He's helped others like Tiago Forte and Charlie Hoehn with their setup too. Enrollment in his next cohort ends April 3. I'm an affiliate, but I'm sharing because my results really speak for themselves. [Enroll now]( --------------------------------------------------------------- #95: Josh Hall [Opportunity] – from freelance web design to professional creator earning $300K/year [Josh Hall on Creative Elements](​ ​ Josh Hall is a [YouTuber](, course creator, and web design coach specializing in WordPress and Divi. Josh helps people build and scale 6-figure, work-from-home web design businesses. He's created [nine web design courses]() as well as a membership, Josh's Web Design Club. On his YouTube channel, he posts videos about the business of web design, the tools he uses, the video interviews of his podcast, and live stream Q&A sessions. In this episode, we talk about Josh’s evolution from underpricing clients to selling his agency, why he began creating on YouTube, how his first course launch netted nearly $10,000, and how one Opportunity to guest post on a blog ultimately led him down the path to professional creator. [Listen to the episode]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Whew! Made it all the way to the bottom of this one? Great work – that's why you're my favorite! I'm just so obsessed with the [Creative Companion Club](). This week's member digest featured 5 new member introductions, 7 topics I felt compelled to highlight, and 5 events on the calendar for this week. I love hosting 1:1 member Hot Seats and people are really enjoying them – not just being ON the hot seat, but watching the replays too. And our next Shared Focus Sprint is starting soon! We just wrapped up a sprint on building a high-converting landing or sales page and next we'll soon be focusing on creating a Signature Lead Magnet. If you're interested in building your email list, this would be a great time to [join](). [Join the Club]() Cheers, Jay --------------------------------------------------------------- [Photo of Jay Clouse] Jay Clouse [Twitter]() / [Instagram](=) - Thanks for subscribing! You can reply to this email or [contact me]( anytime. - Want to make a change? → [Unsubscribe from all emails]( → [Unsubscribe from Creative Companion](=) → [Update your profile]() - Want to say thank you? [Buy Me A Coffee]() or send a note to P.O. BOX 797, Worthington, OH 43085.