Blog

Resources For Modern Workers

New content weekly to help you build your personal digital systems for productivity, self-improvement, knowledge, creativity & team work.

Browse By The Personal Systems You Want To Build...

A Three Step Guide To Organising Your Roam Research 'Brain’

When I first started using Roam Research I didn't get. I had come from a very rigid system that required a lot of processing and maintenance. And suddenly I was staring at a blank page wondering how on earth is this going to be better at organising my brain?
Read post

You're Thinking About Your Notes Inbox All Wrong

I currently have over 600 notes in my writing inbox. It's not because I neglect to process them (it's the first thing I do every day). It's because my outcome is not about getting to zero. Just like the number of pages left at the bottom of my kindle books I wish I could simply turn off the constant nagging that I'm trying to get to the end of everything.
Read post

The Insanely Easy Way To Turn Every Moment Into Content

There are so many different ways to come up with ideas for content as a creator.Depending on who you follow, you'll find so many good frameworks, templates & tools for brainstorming content. Leverage your expertise, learn & document, have content buckets, answer questions, curate content, use AI to brainstorm your content.
Read post

Four Ways To Find The Time To Be A Prolific Creator

A lot of people ask me how I can fit everything I do as a creator into my life while holding down a full-time job. But when I look at my schedule it's an easy fit. I wake up early, I don't have kid commitments, I don't commute to an office, I watch very little Netflix.
Read post

The Non-Experts Guide To Getting Started As A Creator

I held myself back for so many years from jumping into the creator economy because I didn’t feel like an ‘expert.’ Even though anyone can turn on a camera or put words on a page we still have this mindsset that we must have something expert to say before we do.
Read post

Social Media Is Not Your Enemy

Social media can make us crazy as creators or writers. On the one hand, it's the perfect conduit to get our message out there and build an audience. On the other hand, we're constantly wrestling with algorithms, and the shortest shelf life for all of our content.
Read post

The Simple Way To Deal With Email If You Hate Email (like I do)

I have 10k unread emails in my inbox & I couldn't be less stressed or anxious about it. I was a strict inbox-zero girl for over 10 years until a conversation with a friend made me completely abandon it. One day I looked at his phone and saw 500 unread messages. So I asked the inevitable question. How could you have so many unread messages without having an anxiety attack?
Read post

How AI Can Write A Blog Post For You In Less Than 10 Minutes

AI is the future of content apparently. A few weeks ago I had an employee who submitted some email copy to me that just seemed off. The assignment was simple, take a podcast that was already produced and repurpose it into written email copy. She’s an experience content writer so I asked her about it.
Read post

Why You Should Actually Forget Most Of The Things You Capture

Should you really capture everything that comes into your head? We’ve come to take it as gospel that our knowledge management system or our ‘second brain’ should act like our first brain - only better. Our first brain for some odd reason can’t hold a lot of stuff that this modern world throws at us.
Read post

I Cracked The Creator Content Funnel To Sell My Products On Auto-Pilot

I spent a ridiculous amount of time last year launching products. I think all up it was about 11 products from templates to courses to workshops to guides. I tried it all. And I made a fair amount of money doing it as a second income. Launches are fun (when they work) and they provide a nice windfall of cash for that month that you are launching. But they are also exhausting work and when you are not launching… no one is buying.
Read post

Never Suffer From Writers Block Again... Guaranteed

When you've been writing for any amount of time you'll be guaranteed to come up against the 'I have nothing to write' days.I've got a pretty good pile of ideas that I keep on the go, but even then I experience these days like everyone else where I just can't seem to get the words out in the way I want to get them out.
Read post

The Evergreen Creator Funnel That Makes $2k Every Month

I spent a ridiculous amount of time last year launching products. I think there were 11 in total. Launches are fun (when they work). And they provide a nice windfall of cash. But when I wasn't launching... no one was buying.
Read post
View All →

The 'First Moves' Framework That Will Kill Your Procrastination Forever

3 min 11 seconds
The science-backed method that helps solopreneurs start (and finish) their hardest tasks
Read post

The Simple Task Method I Used To Eliminate Procrastination For Good.

They say it takes about 20 minutes to refocus every time you switch tasks.I don’t know about you, but I don’t have 20 minutes to waste every time I switch between the tasks on my list. My time is limited. So I created a way to skip that 20 minute hazy moment where you’re faffing around…
Read post

How to Stop Being the Bottleneck in Your Team’s Progress

The life-changing method I created to manage work that was waiting on me, get back to people faster, and create more space to do my best work.
Read post

Master Your Schedule with My 10-Minute Weekly Planning Process (using Tana)

My foolproof weekly planning routine that takes me about 10 minutes every week and keeps me organised across my work, my creator business & my whole life.
Read post

How To Make Steady Progress On Your Big Creative Projects

Lately I’ve been struggling with my process for getting big creative projects done. They feel like they are taking forever to finish. Each step feels big so I put it off thinking I need a bigger chunk of time to deal with it.
Read post

An Essay About Boring SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)

2 min read
I am a master procrastinator. Not because I don't know what I should do or because I'm not motivated - but because most of the time I just don't have the headspace to get stuff done.
Read post

What Goal Setting Looks Like For Infinite Game Players

2 min read
I was listening to an Instagram reel the other day from Sahil Bloom talking about finite v infinite games. If you're not familiar with the concept...
Read post

Three Questions About Rest The Internet Couldn't Answer

2 min read
Yesterday I searched Google for the phrase 'How To Stop'I couldn't exactly articulate what I was trying to find, but basically, I wanted some advice on what it looks like to slow down, stop, & rest. I assumed I'd find some advice on this exact thing. Except I didn't.
Read post

Five Weird Things I Do To Prepare For A New Year

2 min read
I love this time between Christmas and New Year. It's always so full of hope. It's quiet and gives me time to think, plan & dream for the new year. And like everyone I'm thinking about goals I want to accomplish, creating concrete plans of reaching those goals.
Read post

How To Level Up 🆙 Your Life One Day At A Time

1 min read
Daily planners are not a new thing. It's literally the simplest & most powerful way to plan the day. Take a sheet of paper (or screen), put the date at the top & start organising your day. I remember getting my first Filofax and then going on to design my first paper (then digital) planner pages.
Read post

A Simple Yearly Planning Ritual That Takes Less Than An Hour

2 min read
Despite what it looks like, I'm not one for complicated systems.And while I admire all the people who can put their head down for days and go through long yearly reviews & planning rituals, that is not for me.
Read post

All The Things I’m Putting Of Till Tomorrow

2 min read
Unpopular Opinion: Procrastination has nothing to do with your motivation (or discipline) levels. I constantly defer tasks on my list to tomorrow. So much so that I created a list in my daily planner called 'All The Thing I'm Putting Off Till Tomorrow.' At first, it was a joke, but it's become a key way of noticing patterns in my behaviour.
Read post
View All →

The High School Highlighting Habit That Is Holding You Back and How to Fix It

Most of us learned how to study books & highlight in high school. And we're still doing it the same way.
Read post

How to Generate Better Ideas by Trying Less

The fastest way to solve an idea is to leave it unfinished.
Read post

Ditch Brainstorming: Here’s How to Build an Endless Idea Ecosystem Instead

Why You'll Never Run Out of Ideas Again Once You Set Up This System
Read post

Why Your Notes Aren’t Working for You (And the One Shift You Need to Make)

Traditional note-taking methods mostly feel like information storage. You spend so much time organising, categorising, and filing rather than the real work of exploring & working with ideas.
Read post

4 Simple Strategies to Finally Review Your Notes Consistently

How to Turn Reviewing Your Notes into a Habit You Actually Enjoy
Read post

How to Find and Share Ideas No One Else Is Talking About

Three beliefs held me back from getting started sharing my ideas online. (And the simple shift I made to overcome them) ↓
Read post

Talk It Out: 3 Effective Ways to Capture Ideas with Your Voice

Capturing ideas might be one of the most important practices we can develop as humans. But is writing or typing the only way to capture those ideas? Think again...
Read post

The Unexpected Way to Gain Deep Insights from Social Media

Social media gets a bad wrap these days. And for some good reasons. It's easy to get caught up with the doomscrolling, letting it distract us, getting into arguments we shouldn't, helping us procrastinate, not doing good things for our mental health. And yet. It's still my biggest category of saved items in my knowledge library & serves me up a wealth of new ideas every single day.
Read post

3 Weird Things I Do to Stay Inspired Every Day

One weird habit has kept me consistently writing for the past four years.Before I was known as Ev Chapman, Prolific Creator. I was Ev Chapman, Wannabe creator.
Read post

4 Simple Steps to Make Your Notes More Useful In Real Life Projects

What if you didn't have to start each project with a blank page?
Read post
View All →

Your Ultimate Guide to Time Blocking in Tana | Step By Step Tutorial

3 easy timeblocking approaches to fit any work style using Tana.
Read post

Supercharge Your Tana Day Page with Related Content - 10 Must-Have Sections

I've always loved how Tana keeps everything at my fingertips. But with the new Related Content feature, it's like having a supercharged dashboard right on my day page!
Read post

Create Your Ultimate Digital Bullet Journal with Tana: Step-by-Step Guide

I have always loved the Bullet Journal system. It's simple & yet a profound way to get things out of your head and stay focused throughout the day.
Read post

Unlock the Power of Tana's New AI Chat: A Step-by-Step Guide

Can AI really make your note-taking more powerful?
Read post

Simplifying My Day Page With Tana's New Core Features: Full Walkthrough

How I'm using my Daily Page now with the release of Tana's Core features like Related Content & Google Calendar integration.
Read post

Unlock the Power of Hybrid Note-Taking: Integrating GoodNotes with Tana

I very rarely miss my paper notebooks now that I use Tana. But every now and then when my brain needs to arrange my thoughts visually & find myself longing for a simple workflow where I can go from notes → drawing → back to my notes.
Read post

My Set & Forget Tana Weekly Review System

Confession: I've never been very good at a consistent weekly review habit.
Read post

My Tana 5 Minute Daily Planning Routine (Inspired by Sunsama)

I am notorious for creating day plans that are unrealistic and have WAY too much packed into them. Which is why when I saw Sunsama's daily planning routine it really got my attention
Read post

I Replaced A Full Time Admin Assistant With AI

How I Use Tana To Get Admin Jobs Done Faster & More Efficiently Than A Human Asisstant
Read post

How To Use Tana's Random Node Feature: 5 Ways

In this video I show you 5 ways you can use Tana's Random Node Field to review past notes, mix up your journalling practice, and have a little fun.
Read post

Easy Mode Unlocked: The Ultimate Tana Starter Guide

Tana is one of the most powerful knowledge management tools I have used. But sometimes all those powerful features can overshadow just how simple it can be to get started. And I guarantee that most people are overthinking it from the very start.
Read post

Create A Custom Affirmations App In Tana: Step By Step Tutorial

Throw away your Affirmations apps & subscriptions and build your very own custom one in Tana
Read post
View All →

How to Use AI to Kickstart Your Writing—Without Getting Generic Content

4 min 32
How to Turn a Messy Brain Dump Into an Outline Using AI in 10 Minutes (and while chilling on the couch)
Read post

How To Create New Ideas From Old Content With A Simple GPT Prompt called 'Pretend Podcast'

4 mins 8
Breath fresh life into old content with a simple chatGPT prompt that will get you thinking in ways you never thought of before
Read post

How to Turn Your 1:1 Calls into a Goldmine of Content: Step By Step Guide

2 min 37
What if every time you jumped on a call with a client you could generate a bunch of content ideas at the same time?
Read post

Turn Your Morning into a Creative Powerhouse with This Simple 3 Step Writing Routine

3 min 39
How I Went from Sporadic Blogging to Consistent Content Creation with One Simple Routine
Read post

The Quirky Method I Use to Mine My Newsletter for Social Media Content

2 min 39
Ever feel like content creation is consuming your life? This method will save you.
Read post

3 Cheat Codes For Non Experts To Start Sharing Your Ideas Online

We live in a world where it has never been easier to share your ideas & build an audience (& a business) around your ideas.Think about how hard that would have been 100 years ago or even 50 years ago?So why then do we struggle so much to get started?
Read post

Less Creation, More Communication: Why Your Best Ideas Deserve a Replay

When I post about sharing ideas in multiple ways the most commented thing ends up being:'Only a portion of your audience sees every post, so sharing it multiple times means everyone sees it.'But that comment misses the whole point of WHY we should share our ideas repeatedly.
Read post

How To Build A Creative Practice Like The Great Artists

I struggled for a decade to be a creator without a creative practice Instead of practising daily, the only time I switched on my creativity was when I needed to produce something. No wonder I struggled for so long!
Read post

How To Build Atomic Ideas (That You Can Turn Into Endless Content)

Three years ago I was desperate to build a consistent writing practice.
Read post

How I Structure My Daily Writing Sessions To Unlock My Ideas

One daily habit pulled me out of years of inconsistency as a creator... Establishing a Daily Spark Writing Practice.
Read post

8 Of My Go-To Frameworks For Turning Ideas Into Content

Content is simply the communication of ideas.Lots of people have ideas, but if you can't communicate them well all those amazing ideas are going to get lost in translation.So communication is the real game of content creation.
Read post

How To Break Down Content Creation Into Easy To Manage Phases

If weekly content planning always feels like a big lift to you, try breaking down your planning into phases instead.
Read post
View All →

Exactly How I Grew My Twitter Audience From 500-1600 in 100 Days

I grew my Twitter following from 500 to 1600 in 100 days 🤯. No hacks, no tricks. Just genuine human connection. This is how I manage it all while working a full-time job, creating daily content on the internet & trying to have a life 🤪
Read post

Four Mindful Habits That Will Transform Your Twitter Experience

I've been glued to my phone for weeks. Sometimes I even trick myself into thinking I'm not addicted. I turned off my Twitter notifications from showing up on my screen a long time ago. But sneakily, left them on in the notification center, just so I could swipe down anytime in case something 'important' was happening.
Read post

Why Over-sharers Are Building A Bigger Audience Than You

I'm naturally a sharer. I love to share what I'm doing and what I'm learning. I'll easily take a screenshot, record a quick loom video or write out a process if I think it is interesting. I love taking a peek 'behind the scenes' of others processes too.
Read post

How I Use Notion + Tweetdeck to Grow My Twitter Audience Without Going Crazy!

Everyone wants to grow on Twitter right? But what no one tells you is that as you grow it becomes pretty hard to keep up with everyone.
Read post

So, you feel like an imposter do you?

45 days ago most of my tweets went unnoticed. It's amazing how quickly showing up daily compounds. Now the engagement on Twitter is literally crazy some days! And I'm running to keep up. I can't remember the last time a tweet had 0 engagement. But something else has happened beyond just likes and comments.
Read post

3 Ways To Use Twitter Without Losing Your Mind 🤯

I joined Twitter in July 2008. It's been a love/hate ever since. I came back in December last year after about a year off and have been having the best time. But Twitter can itself be a HUGE rabbit hole and consume a lot of time.
Read post

3 Reasons I Gave Up Youtube For Writing

I've been creating online since I was 18. A few years ago I started a Youtube channel. Everyone was vlogging at the time and it was THE platform to be on. Over a year I filmed and published over 60 vlogs, including a 30 day period of vlogging every day.
Read post
View All →

How To Sell Digital Products On Auto-Pilot (Without Relying On Constant Launches)

You don't need a million-dollar launch to have a successful digital product.
Read post

I'm Back From Creative Sabbatical & I Have Thoughts 😁

I've been on a creative sabbatical for the last 4 weeks and it's been the best thing I've ever done as a creator.
Read post

How To Launch Your First Digital Product (& Survive 🫣)

So many creators I speak to are scared to launch their first product.I suspect there are a lot of reasons but the main one I hear is "Don't I have to have a big audience or following to launch a product?"I launched my first product with 500 followers, no email list & I made $3k in 4 weeks.
Read post

When To Say Yes (& No) To New Opportunities As A Creator

Over the last couple of years, I've said yes to a million things as a creator. New projects, platforms, launches, content, newsletters, communities and more.
Read post

My 2022 Creator Revenue Story: How I Almost Didn’t 2x My Revenue This Year

I almost wasn’t able to write such a glowing review of 2022. It was October and I was nowhere near reaching the (very reasonable) goals I had set for myself.
Read post

I Cracked The Creator Content Funnel To Sell My Products On Auto-Pilot

I spent a ridiculous amount of time last year launching products. I think all up it was about 11 products from templates to courses to workshops to guides. I tried it all. And I made a fair amount of money doing it as a second income. Launches are fun (when they work) and they provide a nice windfall of cash for that month that you are launching. But they are also exhausting work and when you are not launching… no one is buying.
Read post

The Evergreen Creator Funnel That Makes $2k Every Month

I spent a ridiculous amount of time last year launching products. I think there were 11 in total. Launches are fun (when they work). And they provide a nice windfall of cash. But when I wasn't launching... no one was buying.
Read post

The Burnout Free Guide To Being A Creator In The Year 2022

Here's what no one is telling you about being a creator... it's relentless. Being a creator seems fun at first as you proudly hit publish on your first blog post, or write a Twitter thread that gets more than a few likes and suddenly you start to build a bit of an audience.
Read post

Why You Should Always Launch Your Free Notion Template On Gumroad

I love it when I see people launching their first Notion template. After all, it's where I got started. I launched my first free Notion template in December 2020 and countless more after that. And by far the best advice I ever received from seasoned template creators was to put it on Gumroad.
Read post

The New Way To Pre-Launch A Product On Gumroad

Don't despair over Gumroad removing the pre-launch feature. Recently Gumroad removed their pre-launch feature. If you've been using it to pre-launch your products you might be wondering how the heck to do you do a pre-launch now?
Read post

Why You Shouldn’t Quit Your Day Job To Become A Full-Time Creator

Here’s an Unpopular Opinion For You: Having a day job and being a creator are not mutually exclusive.You can do both well & enjoy them. I do. Most people assume I’m a full-time creator. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Read post
View All →

How To Break Bad Habits When You Don't Have Willpower

I don't break bad habits. I focus on building good habits. If you do a search on Quora for habits, you'll come across many questions about how to break bad habits. It seems that we're more obsessed with breaking bad habits than we are about building good ones.
Read post

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SPARK Newsletter

Join 1500+ professionals who get my FREE newsletter with systems, frameworks & strategies that help you turn your expertise into income.