Write Your Own Rules for Creative Work
here is how + my own Popular Standards
Fridays letter is for sharing more of my process—how I work, for you and as a weekly reflection for me.
I’m truly a type B. I struggle with planning, especially on Substack. If this is a real creative business, it needs to be treated as such. I keep trying to get 1% better daily, in all the bits it takes to run a solo operation.
[Behind the scenes] Writing Wednesdays letter was a slog. I wrote a full draft, hated it, tried something else, then something else again. Nothing worked. I went back to the original. That’s what I published.
I can’t keep doing that—too wibbly-wobbly, too much time lost. Especially if this is also where I shape a book. Maybe. Substack is my playground, but even a playground needs structure. Some cement.
I need a system that guides me but keeps it loose. Something sustainable. I can’t keep spending eight hours on one post.
What mattered was that I stopped and noticed I didn’t like how it felt—the experience of creating. I reflected on how I could improve, then moved forward with a new plan and a new concept, making the work better.
Fridays letter is more about what I did this week, what I saw, learned and passing on any tips that flitted by. Wednesdays: deeper ideas, frameworks, exercises.
After Tuesdays crash out, I grabbed my yellow legal pad and wrote my standards for Popular. Not a manifesto but internal rules to keep me grounded.
Write your own rules
If you’re struggling, like me, to find a system—or even just some grounding—I’d start by writing rules. Guardrails, boundaries, limitations. That’s the only way I feel safe and pushed enough to access my creativity.
Last week I published My 10 Rules for Creative Work which genuinely help me stay in the zone when there are too many options and distractions.
Today, I’m sharing my personal rules for writing Popular—and I’d encourage you to develop your own set of rules or standards for your work. (see above image.)
A Short Exercise: Writing Your Own Rules
Notice the prick, the ick
Think of a recent piece of work that gave you the ick—a prickly, off feeling. Something didn’t sit right. Write down what happened and why it didn’t feel good. Where did you over-give, over-edit, overthink, or ignore yourself?Turn the prick, the ick into a rule.
Ask: “What would I need to do differently next time to never feel that way again?”
Write one clear rule from that moment. Example: “I don’t spend more than two hours on a draft before taking a break,” or “I don’t publish anything I wouldn’t show a friend.”Remember when it did feel good.
Now think of a time you felt proud and energized by your work. You were excited to put it into the world. What was happening around you? How did you start? What were you doing—or not doing?Turn the good into a rule.
Ask: “What was I unconsciously doing there that I can do on purpose next time?”
Write 1–3 rules from that memory. Example: “I start on paper or audio before I type,” or “I finish a messy draft before I let myself tweak a sentence.”Make it a living list.
Put all these rules in one place: a note on your phone, a page in your notebook, a document called “Rules for My Work.” This is for you, not for the internet. You can change them anytime. Add a rule every time you feel that prick again—or when something goes so right you want to remember it.Use them in real time.
Before you start your next piece, read your rules once. After you finish, check in: “Did I follow these? Do I need to update anything?” Let the rules evolve as you evolve.
Summer reading list
Here’s a list of books I found on display (and also interesting) at c/o Harvard’s Carpenter Center (basically the art school inside of Harvard) display of books which I admired during my visit to Boston last weekend.
To Photograph Is to Learn How to Die – Tim Carpenter
The RSVP Cycles: Creative Processes in the Human Environment – Lawrence Halprin
An Introduction to Supermodernity: Non-Places – Marc Augé
A Thousand Mornings – Mary Oliver
On Seeing & Noticing – Alain de Botton
A Short History of Photography – Walter Benjamin
Art as Experience – John Dewey
Create Dangerously – Albert Camus
Eleanor Roosevelt – You Learn by Living
Have you read any of these? Any others to recommend?
My diary. This week in NYC.
I worked at AIR HQ for the day, I did Rolfing with Jenny Hall, I made another pizza. I committed to waking at 6am, read, write, exercise around Prospect Park with or without my dog and at work, showered, by 9am. I’m watching The Low Down. I’m reading Diana Vreeland’s DV. I’m listening to Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. I met with devika to work on our taste workshop (coming soon!).
I hosted my first ever LIVE on Substack with paid subscribers. It was fun! We decided to do it once a month, Thursdays at 4:30pm EST. This is a perk for paid subs, ask me questions, chat about systems, processes and getting unstuck!
This is my first ‘audio embed’, a BTS of how this letter was made. Fast and loose, playing around. Nothing to stress about here!
Press play to listen, press 1 in the comments if you like this.
☺︎ When you’re ready, here are 2 ways to work with me:
✰ 1:1 Mentoring for Creative Turning Points: private sessions for successful solopreneurs, founders, and creative leaders who are “good on paper” but between chapters. We make space to pressure‑test ideas, play with new directions, and decide what you’re really building next—so your work, time, and energy are pointed at something that actually feels like you.
Learn more / work with me.
“Kel cut through the noise and gave me clarity and confidence, plus new ideas for how to break out of my own echo chamber. Her mix of big‑picture thinking and specific advice has made me better equipped and more assured in my decision‑making, and I’m excited to build what’s next.” — Lila
read more client results here
✰ Substack Launch Kit for Brands: a flat‑rate engagement for founders and companies who want to build their own world on Substack, not just “start a newsletter.” We’ll define your voice and positioning, map the editorial shape of the publication, and design a thoughtful launch so it lands with the right people. Learn more / work with me.
like the “turn the prick, the ick” into a rule! I need to follow this myself. and yay for our workshop 🪄🪶
One for the audio! And yeees to the workshop!!!