Meaningful Creations

EDITION 13 / 2026

Hey there Reader!

If you've been here a while this will come as no surprise, 😜 but I can be a little... anxious. It's just part of how I'm wired, and while I often try to make light of it, lately I've been noticing something that's been bothering me. I'm tired. Like, brain & body reeeeeeally tired. And the frustrating bit is that - like so many other small business owners I've spoken too - I feel busy all day, but when I sit down at the end of it I feel like haven't quite achieved the things I actually wanted to get done.

So I've been doing a bit of reflecting on where the time is actually going.

Here's what I noticed: The day is full of small pulls in different directions. A scroll through Instagram here (with good intentions, looking for work that inspires me); then answer a quick email; then look up that thing I suddenly remembered; then a quick coffee before I start the other thing... None of it feels like much in the moment, but somewhere in the middle of all of it the focus just... goes. And getting it back is harder than it should be.

Turns out there's a name for this, and it's not a willpower problem. It's called context switching. Every time we move between tasks, our brains don't cleanly make the switch - they leave behind what researchers call "attention residue." Bits of the last thing cling on whilst we're trying to focus on the next, and studies suggest it can cost us up to 40% of our productive time. It takes an average of 23 minutes to fully refocus after a single switch.

Twenty-three minutes. After one switch. 😳

So my time isn't being eaten by any one thing. The day (and my energy) is being slowly drained by the accumulation of all of it. And what makes it worse is that I get anxious about not getting through stuff, and then the anxiety makes me more likely to get distracted and tired! (Y'know, brains can be real d*cks sometimes! 🤣)

And the bit that really gets me? Most of us were taught that multitasking is a skill - something to be good at, even proud of. But for creative people, I think it's kind of the opposite of what we need. Our work needs space and focused time, and everything pulling us in different directions is pretty much built to fragment that. We're priming our brains for novelty and quick hits, and then asking those same brains to be still and make something meaningful.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by any of this, but no wonder it feels hard sometimes. And short of entering a monastery (a Zen monastery for me obviously 📿 ) you can't eliminate distractions - you have to learn how to deal with them in a way that works for you, and doesn't drain you. So that's what I'm working on - and I just wanted to share this so that if any of it sounds familiar, maybe it's something that could help you too.

This is how it's done

Did you know Canva has a built-in screen recorder? In this week's YouTube tutorial, I'll walk you through exactly how to use Canva's screen recording feature - from finding it and setting up your recording options, to editing your footage and exporting a polished final video, all without ever leaving Canva.

We also talk about a few ways to use screen recording to enhance your brand experience. So whether you're a coach, a course creator, or even a product-based business looking for a simpler way to make screen videos - this is one of Canva's most genuinely useful (and overlooked) features.

Check out the new video live on my channel now.

This week I want to share someone whose work I find really exciting - Nichola Theakston, a UK sculptor who works in ceramic and bronze, and whose creations are just such a brilliant take on 'animal' art.

What makes her work so special is the intention behind it. She's not just sculpting animals (beautifully FYI!) - she's exploring what she calls their "otherness," this idea that a creature might experience something beyond its instinctive behaviours. Something we can sense, but not quite name. And I do think you feel that in her works. They have real expression, and a stillness that somehow also has movement in the sculpt - like you've caught something mid-thought.

She also sculpts beautiful cats. But that is not why I'm sharing her work. (It's also not NOT why I'm sharing her work.😜)

Her approach makes me think: you don't need novelty to make something feel alive or stand out. Nichola works within a well-trodden genre and makes work that feels genuinely original cos she's asking questions about her subjects, not just depicting them. That intention always shows in the finished piece - and I think that's true of any creative work or design, not just sculpture.🖤

Anyway, check out her Instagram, and tell her I sent ya.😉