The Power of Constraints
The Power of Constraints
Notion Creators Weekly #26
👋🏼 Hey there!
Welcome to Issue #26 of Notion Creators Weekly, where I share 1 Big Idea & ~3 Resources to help you work with more focus and intention. And thank you all for bringing us past 2k subscribers! 🚀
![Victor Pasmore, [no title] 1971](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f3a0b40-3a03-40a4-9f58-b151a14cd055_600x864.png "Victor Pasmore, [no title] 1971")
✍🏼 The Power of Constraints
“Finding the constraints and embracing them is a common thread in successful creative work.”
Seth Godin, from The Practice
I’m not sure I’ve shared this with you all, but I was actually teaching high school computer science (full time) up until this past June.
This was while managing Notion projects for 100+ person companies and Series B startups.
My schedule was frantic, but somehow, the time constraints of teaching were the forcing function I needed to manage clients and create content regularly.
Why?
It forced me to separate the must-do’s from the want-to-dos.
Fast forward a few months, and the time constraint that accompanies having a three-year old and a one-month old are not too different (but very real!).
There’s no more, “I can tackle this tonight” or “I just need to power through this project.” Times for deep, focused work are few and far between (especially working from home), so every block counts.
Constraints fuel creativity.
We often think of structure as stifling to creativity, but it often has the opposite effect.
I’ve noticed more and more, that when I close my computer leaving a blog post, YouTube script, or client assignment unfinished, the project lingers, allowing for more or different approached to creep up. New ideas will pop up while exercising or hanging out with my family…developments that don’t happen as often when we binge-work.
Scheduling blocks of time for projects or areas also helps build the skill of “planned inspiration,” where the ideas come from habit, rather than from an undependable muse.
Now that I’m coaching, consulting, and planning a cohort-based course, the same constraints are not only allowing me to balance different projects, but fueling creative connections between the three areas.
Coaching conversations fuel course content.
Course content provides resources for clients.
All three provide useful content for video and social.
What are your constraints, and how can you design them to ramp up your focus?
📚 Resources
📕 Read Up: The Practice from Seth Godin
“The practice is not the means to the output, the practice is the output, because the practice is all we can control.”
There are SO many great takeaways from this short book. Godin fills the book with tons of high-impact statements, making the case for you to pursue your most creative work. Read The Practice
📃 From the Blogs: Slow Productivity: How to Do More Real Work in Less Time, from Thomas Oppong
“In the age of modern work, there is no shortage of opportunities to do busy work.”
Love this post from Thomas Oppong. He goes into great detail on not only how to avoid busy work, but how to determine the most high-value tasks. Read More
🎥 Building a “Today” Dashboard in Notion
This was a fun video exploring the key question: what is the essential information I need to see do make progress every day? Yours will (and should) look different, but hopefully this gets some wheels turning! Watch YouTube Video
🗞 Other News
A Huge Thank You
It’s been a frenzied summer for The Notion Coach! Here are a few recent milestones (just from the past 2 weeks!)
📧 2k newsletter subscribers!
📸 33k on Instagram
🎥 Officially a YouTube Partner (passed 4k hours watched)
👩🏻🏫 Notion Creators Bootcamp Launches in One Week ‼️
🎬 Behind the Scenes: Building Notion Creators Bootcamp
We skipped last week’s NCB newsletter largely because I joined Maven‘s Course Accelerator for our upcoming Notion Creators Bootcamp.
One week in, and the team at Maven are exceptional; we’ve covered course mechanics, curriculum, and instructional strategies in only a few days. I’m excited at how this is going to supercharge the two week course.
If you’re interested in staying up to date on the course, or joining the waitlist, sign up here!
🔥 Notion’s on Fire with Their Latest Updates
You’ve probably noticed; there’s been more updates than we can keep track of. Sourabh captured everything in this awesome Twitter thread!
That’s it for this week!
I’d love to hear what you think. What content resonates? What do you want to see more or less of? Just hit reply to let me know!
And if you’re loving Notion Creators Weekly, tell your friends to subscribe. 😀
Until next time,
Dave