My 10 Rules for Creative Work

rules to create by, inspired by Sister Corita Kent

BIG NEWS ‼️ Next Thursday, May 21 at 4:30pm EST, I’m hosting a live video on Substack for paid subscribers. Think of it as an AMA where we can sort through creative blocks, big decisions, and advice on starting something new. We’ll test it out this month, and if it feels good, it might turn into a monthly hangout for us.

As a longtime creator, hard worker, and pleasure seeker, I’ve had to invent my own ways to survive — from full-time designer, to CEO/founder, to person starting a creative business all over again.

Getting older helps. You take it all a little less seriously, stop treating ideas as precious, and let go of the shame/fear that used to keep you stuck.

my family and me in 1980. rome, new york. the eldest daughter.

These are my rules for making things: artwork, design work, pieces of writing, Instagram slideshows, personal sites, offers for clients. They center pleasure and bench drudgery. Inspired by the icon Sister Corita Kent’s “Immaculate Heart College Art Department Rules.”

It’s our life, and if we’re lucky enough to have the chance, we get to decide how we work and what it feels like.

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My Rules for Creative Work

1. FIND A PLACE YOU CAN STAND, THEN TRUST IT FOR 60 MINUTES.
   It can be your desk, your bed, the park, the plane. If you can stay there for an hour, it is your studio. You make work there.

2. ASSUME YOU’RE A LITTLE BABY ABOUT YOUR WORK.
   You will want Mister Softee, TikTok, dog playdates, kale chips. Expect the urge to escape. Then commit to creation after you’re doing baby-ing around.

3. CONSIDER EVERYTHING A VERSION.
   Nothing is final, sacred, or precious. It’s all drafts, pilots, experiments, soft launches. Even after you press send. You can change your mind, direction at anytime. No shame.

4. THE ONLY RULE IS: NOTICE SOMETHING TODAY.

   Spend time looking at the happenings around you, the moments on Subway. What people are wearing on their feet, shades of lipsticks, trees blowing in the wind.

5. ALWAYS HAVE OPTION A AND OPTION B.
   Option A: the “good student” way (locked in at a laptop)
   Option B: the “be real” way (walk and talk, notebook on the floor, the away from the desk-way)

6. CHANGE THE METHOD BEFORE YOU CANCEL THE PROJECT.
   If you hate how you’re working, don’t decide the idea is bad. Change the format, the space, the tool, the time of day. New perspectives.

7. WORK IN TIME BASED CHUNKS, NOT FOREVER.
   Today: 60 minutes to make something, then stop.
   Tomorrow: read it once, tweak lightly, publish. Let time, not perfectionism, be your editor.

8. PUBLISH LIKE IT’S A ZINE, NOT A MONUMENT.
   Scan the notebook pages. Screenshot the Notes app. Post the rough version. The point is that it exists. It’s not that serious.

9. YOUR LIFE IS RESEARCH.
   Trash TV, subway overheards, vintage denim, your friends’ texts, the takeout menu — all of it is source material if you’re awake to it. Collect experiences.

10. STOP, DROP, AND ROLL INTO WHATEVER FEELS 10% LESS DREADFUL.
    Stop forcing the current method. Drop into another way of making. Roll with it until the resistance softens. Bravo. You’re a creator. Find your pleasure.

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Which rule speaks to you the most? What rule do you want to break first? I want to know.

✰ WORK WITH ME – 1:1 MENTORING: If you’re an experienced creative sitting on years of work, half‑built ideas, and a foggy “next chapter,” I’d love to help. I offer Clarity Sessions, Momentum Sessions, and Creative Time for people who want a thoughtful outside brain on their direction. Learn more / work with me →

𓏲° ✹ I’m also offering Substack launch kit for brands – this is a flat-rate for companies and entrepreneurs interested in building their own world on Substack. Learn more / work with me →