Growing Gills: How to Find Creative Focus When You’re Drowning in Your Daily Life

by Jessica Abel

Go from overwhelmed, anxious, and stuck, to consistent, clear, and in control of your creative life. If you feel like you’re floundering in the deep end (Not waving, drowning!), and anxiety over the complexity and enormousness of your creative projects overwhelms you, stop scrambling to fit everything in and feeling stretched thin. DIVE DEEP AND SWIM Sustain the energy you feel when thinking of how awesome your projects could be. Value your own creative work as highly as work you do for other people. Build a reusable structure and process that will consistently get you to the finish line. Blast through your stuck-ness. Focus. Finish. Move on to the next project. You’re a creative person. Even if you have a hard time calling yourself a “writer” or an “artist” in public, making your creative work is core to who you are and how you see the world. You may be harboring a big, ambitious idea for a project. Possibly a lot of them. And it’s killing you. You lie awake thinking about it…and hating yourself for not doing more to make it real. And then in the morning you’re exhausted, and you can’t believe you “wasted” more time on this stupid idea. Who ever told you you were creative anyway? You try to shove your idea away, to forget it. But your creative work is what keeps you sane. You can’t not do this. So you live with guilt and anxiety all the time. You’ve tried to carve out the time and attention you need to devote to your creative work. You’ve made ambitious goals, you’ve written lists, you’ve scheduled calendars…you’ve installed shackles on your desk chair. But chaining yourself to your work only seems to make you more distractible and more miserable. (And those unsightly leg sores!) Maybe you've even tried to borrow time-management tips from the business world. Get things done! Build seven habits! Eat that frog! But following business-minded productivity systems just doesn’t work for you. The issue isn’t simply getting “things” done, it’s allowing yourself to devote precious time and attention to the vital, self-generated creative work that builds toward your vision for the future. The problem is, the life you’re living is already full. You’ve made a lot of promises, to yourself, your family, your friends, and your community, that you’ll be there for them. You probably have a job; you may have kids. You may well have many competing ideas for your creative work. Where, exactly, can you find that mythical Creative Focus Unicorn? In Growing Gills, you’ll discover that the power is already within you to make your work. The biggest obstacles to your getting your important creative work done lie in the unknowns you’re facing. Growing Gills takes you step by step through the process of pinning down exactly what’s stopping you from finishing your beautiful, inventive, and potentially game-changing projects. Using the power of conscious decision, you’ll build your own unique system for fitting creative work into your existing life, taking into consideration how you work best.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Self Help, Art, Reference, Psychology, Crafts

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 10, 2017

About the author

Author and coach Jessica Abel is the author of Growing Gills, Out on the Wire, La Perdida, and two textbooks about making comics, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures and Mastering Comics. Abel’s latest work of fiction is the Eisner-nominated Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars.

Reviews

[Jennifer Louden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book ever about getting your scary stuff done!

[A.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Abel is a cartoonist, author, podcaster and creative who struggles with finishing her work.
She told a story early on about her being young and at uni that just made me laugh out loud. It was so like me… at that age.
She gives away the work book that accompanies this ebook. She also offers a free mini course on her blog. And she asks that you message her and tell her exactly what you struggle with, so that she can help, or use it for her courses.
The concept of an Idea Debt really struck a chord with me. All those dreams/things/projects you are going to do one day. The unfinished projects, the unmet aims. Learn French, or piano, or make your own clothes, or travel, or write that biography of your grandmother, or whatever. They start to weigh you down. And sometimes you need to ask yourself do you really want to travel the world when you’re in a different phase of your life?
At my current life stage, I’m all for staycations. A nice drink, a comfy chair and a good book will do me these days. I find travelling expensive, stressful and the opposite of relaxing.
Oh boy… going through and writing a physical list of all my unfinished projects was a chore, I tell you. Good lord, I found a fully knitted cardigan. I just hadn’t sewn it together. Wtf AM? I have a vague recollection of learning that the special wool it was knitted from wasn’t strong enough to hold seams so I needed to find a plain wool match to sew it up with. And I NEVER did.
Scrapbooks are unfinished, tapestries half done [I’m SORRY, William Morris], material cut out and the pattern pieces still pinned to them. [thank god for stainless steel pins - they hadn't rusted and ruined both material AND pattern.]
SO MANY UFO’s!
And that isn’t counting the literal two dozen half done writing projects, or the hundreds of other scraps of ideas.
Now, they are written down, I have to triage them. Let some go. Throw some away. Finish some others.
And then, in the last chapter, she says other books will stop here. They’ve told you what to do - off you go and do it. Simple, right?
Wrong. Not for a few creatives who struggle with what she calls the Dark Forest.

But as you get deeper into it, you start asking yourself… "is this the right way?” You find yourself at the edge of the woods. Questions and doubts start to creep up on you. Why does this character act this way? Does this setup make any sense? Why does this guy show up here? Wait, does any of this mean anything? You see a wall of words, just all this stuff. You’re not blocked, you’re the opposite of blank, but you’ve got no sense of what’s better than anything else. (p. 217).

I see people complain that they never get any ideas, and I’m like how do I make them STOP?
My WIP folder is overflowing with first drafts that I send off to people to read, then never edit, finish and publish. I convince myself the amount of work to tweak it, or make it better is too much, and I wander off to the shiny, new idea. And then it happens again.

This is not writer’s block. Or at least it’s not the Hollywood version of writer’s block, in which you don’t put a word on paper, and you loll by the pool, chain-smoking and drinking martinis while your agent tries to track you down. No, what I’m describing is much more akin to writing words and words and words and words and words until you’re swimming in words, and none of them make any sense to you. At that point, continuing feels futile because no idea feels any better than any other idea, and how would you know anyway, you’re such an idiot. (p. 221).

Yes YES! That’s it!

Try again, and forgive again. The biggest obstacle between you and full access to your creative productivity is that voice in your head that tells you this is all happening because you suck. (p. 242).

I know *groans*
I still have some work to do but I wanted to tell everyone, go read this now.
5 stars

[Ghia M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like this book was written for me.

As an artist with a game industry day job, who really just wants to make comics and tell stories, I've struggled so much with getting my personal projects done to the point that I was in a constant state of stress and self-loathing. When my art director pulled me aside to tell me that he could tell that the stress was starting to spill into my job-job, I knew there was something I needed to do about it.

I've spent a ton of my adult life trying to find good self help books and productivity systems that worked for my specific needs--the closest I got to something completely serviceable was with GTD, but there was still something missing, and I was still feeling stress about my personal creative work.

I heard about GTD on a podcast where they were interviewing Jessica, and out of curiosity bought the ebook. Just the fact that she's a creative was different: she understood more of the issues I was facing than other productivity books, which seemed focused on the corporate side of things. But reading further, I realized that it wasn't just that she was a creative, it was that she understood that productivity isn't just about time, it's about how we treat and feel about ourselves.

I've been working with this system for the past few months, and the change is staggering to the point of kind of being bewildering and weird for me. Its focus on mindset, and the practical but empathic way it lays out its mechanisms, along with having activities that immediately make you see the applicability of everything--all that really blew apart a mental wall that I'd been beating myself against for the past decade.

I'm already really really thankful that this book exists, and if you're a creative that's struggling with too many ideas and too little time, the fear of never finishing things, the low feelings that come when you feel like you wasted your time instead of got work done--give the book a shot. I can't guarantee that it'll be for you, but it's done so much for me, I feel like it's worth telling people to read it.

One of my essential reads, and already a favorite.

[Amelia]

First, the positive points. Everything the author says in this book is quite right and sensible. She sets out a clear and detailed program for setting and pursuing realistic and meaningful creative goals. But. She takes far too long about it. This book could easily have been done in 1/4 the length, but if you want a lot of chatty hand-holding and examples, it's probably fine. The second problem I have with it is that it is perhaps a little too timid. Unlike the ra-ra advice books that claim that everyone has the same 24 hours in a day and you can work 'round the clock, this book errs in the other direction, encouraging the blocked creative to set very modest goals. It's a good counterbalance to all the "you can write a book in a day!!!" nonsense, but IMO goals that are too small are just plain uninspiring.

I also can't leave this one without passing comment on the formatting of the ebook. Each chapter heading featured a charming illustration by the author. That was great. What was not so great is that she didn't set up the table of contents correctly, so there's no easy way to hop around from one chapter to another. It should be an easy fix. Someone go fix it, please!

[Cathy Patton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first third-or-so of this book, it gave me some good insights into how to prioritize my creativity and motivation to do it, but then the "System" to support your creative habits is very left-brained and it made my energy drop. I'll need to give some thought into how to create a system in a more right-brained way with more creative energy, so I'll actually use it and keep the motivation going.

[Rosemary Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read productivity books and blog posts before. In fact, I have a slew of articles on my Feedly account that I'd stopped reading because of information overload. But I'd never come across a nonfiction book that spoke to me and my particular dilemma. What is my dilemma? I want to create books--Romances--but I get stuck after I've completed a whole book. It's hard for me to get started again on the next book. And I'm constantly distracted by bright, shiny stories that sound alluring at the time, then I start them, and stop them mid-way. I have a Romantic Suspense series that I thought of in 2016 and let it marinate for years. I wrote book one, released, feelings of failure crept up, then I started Book Two. I wrote 60K words on book two and stopped. For 10 mo. I let that project sit. Why did I give up, when I was so close to my 100K wordcount goal? Because, as Jessica Abel, so eloquently put it in Growing Gills, I'd felt a huge disappointment in writing Book One when I didn't get reads and reviews. I'd been so gungho about writing it and releasing without really considering my goal/purpose for that book. My mindset had changed from writing and publishing before 40 years of age to churning out books to hope to make money. But I wasn't churning out books, and the ones I did create didn't make money.
I needed a productivity book to work within my frame of mind, my need to create, and my need to also get out of my own head and keep working on my craft. Growing Gills came along as I searched Amazon for something that would help me analyze my process and give me some tips on how to "start over" or "begin where I had left off". There are so many books on the market, so I downloaded a sample of Growing Gills. Within five pages of the sample, I bought the book. I knew from Ms. Abel's voice that she was speaking my particular language and knew my core issues. When I continued on from activity to mindset to activity, I knew this was a special book that delved into writer's/Creator's pain/fear/anxiety. It wasn't a BLOCK as we're told. We know what we want to make or write. Sometimes we have to talk it out, but we KNOW what we want to do and there's this immense fear and pressure that makes us lose our way. I had intense fears. Fear of failure after investing so much money and time in writing and the expense of self-publishing. Fear of comparing myself to other writers in my genre, who came up alongside me and had doubled their publication numbers and increased their name recognition. I was lucky if I could get a review or a few hundred downloads on a free day. I wasn't succeeding. And the risks that I took to write and share my imagination and creativity was proving to have been a failure.
Growing Gills reminded me of my initial purpose and encouraged a creative focus. Why did I start writing? Because I'd always had these scenes in my head and I knew I was a good storyteller. But why write a book? Because Toni Morrison said if a book you want to read hasn't be written, you must write it. What if no one reads it? You only need one reader to care. And I had found one or two or twenty readers who cared about my stories in the past. So I pushed myself for them in the past. But I'd felt abandoned. However, I'd abandoned my own goals.
Growing Gills put a vocabulary to the feelings I was having about my work and gave me great tips on how to push past that fear/anxiety/pain. While still reading the book, I cleared my desk, closed all the extra tabs and files on my laptop, and made a plan to return to a book I'd neglected since June of 2019--and I WROTE my wordcount goal. I've been writing all this week, taking productivity hacks I'd learned previously (Pomodoro method to reach wordcount), new goals, new deadline, and a new perspective on what I want to accomplish with this book. What had confirmed that I was doing the right thing was a reader purchased a paperback copy of book-one a day ago. That book had been in the market for one year and no one had ever bought a paperback. I don't know how that reader found me. I don't know if they'd ever read my work before and trusted me to deliver a good story. Yet, I returned to my initial goal of writing for that one reader who cares about my voice. This may not necessarily be the best of goal, but it is for me because I've done it before with nine previous publications; well, at least 6 out of the 9.
My future goal with Growing Gills is to schedule a reread when I'm not so busy with writing this second book in a series, do the workbook activities, join the Growing Gills virtual book club when offered again, and constantly remind myself that I can finish writing a book.
I'd like to thank the author, Jessica Abel, for compiling and sharing such a necessary craft book. I'd love for all authors/illustrators/painters/podcasters/journalists/creatives to read this book and find a way to continue their beloved craft.

[Willow (Taylor's version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took a creative writing class with Growing Gills assigned, but we only ever read two chapters, neither of which we discussed in class due to the professor cancelling class both days after the homework... But that wasn't such a loss, since we would've had little to discuss anyway.

While this book does not have bad intentions, I just found very little of this advice to be groundbreaking enough to warrant an entire book. The book's disorganization also only hurt when I read the other, non-homework chapters, because so many points kept repeating while also jumping around the creative process.

I would recommend many other writing advice books over this one.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four stars for the quality of writing and overall content value. My three-star rating (wish there was a 3.5 option) is for the organization of the book. With this much information, and much of it overlapping, I felt the book needed a simpler, easier to follow format. Very overwhelming and confusing in the amount of information and number of “worksheet” items to keep up with. I gleaned some useful concepts and practices, but I simplified the process a whole lot for myself.

[Emma Sea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean . . . yeah? This was OK. Nothing groundbreaking. I am a sucker for books that come with a downloadable workbook, though, so 2.5 stars

[Natalie Fetzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get Your Creative Work Done

Jessica Abel helps you take practical steps to make your personal creative life happen. From identifying what’s hindering you, to helping you find and focus on the right project, to guiding you into setting up your life for success this book is an amazing resource for anyone who wants to do creative work.

[Alison Gresik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for all of us writers and artists who know too well the suffocating, desperate feeling when we are deprived of the oxygen of our creative work. Jessica Abel approaches the problem from both sides: with compassion and emotional wisdom about what stops us from creating, and with practical and comprehensive instructions for getting the work done.

There's a wealth of productivity self-help out there, but "Growing Gills" occupies a unique place — it's specific to writers, artists, and creators, whose work and psyche have particular demands, and it's procedural but flexible in its teaching about time and energy management. If you've ever wondered how to choose which project to work on, how to make progress on the micro and macro level, if you've ever tried and failed to create systems to support your practice, this book will guide you well.

[Britney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more accurate rating would probably be around 3.75. This was a book I started earlier this year when I was struggling to finish my thesis project. There are helpful ideas and exercises for navigating creative interests when time is being eaten up by either external pressures or internal resistance (procrastination or self-blame for example).

I was still working on my project while I was reading through the first half, and I found the thoughts interesting and applicable. I finally picked the book back up to finish it, but I'm not working on any projects currently so I found it difficult to connect with the information. So I think the reactions and usefulness of this book depends on what individual readers are currently going through as they read.

This would be a good book to flip-through again when I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed. There are some nice reassurances and ideas for how to gain a better perspective or create a plan for managing time and energy in better ways. But this isn't a book I'd pick up if I'm feeling on top of things or need energetic pep talks. This book has a comforting tone, but it takes an analytical approach to problem solving which may not appeal to everyone (especially creatives) except for certain times or low points.

For anyone who IS going through a difficult time with creativity or struggling through a project, this book is definitely a helpful read.

[Carlin Trammel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book had existed 20 years ago because I could have used it to navigate the topics in the first half or more of this book. However, I am glad it exists now because there are things that I'm still trying to figure out with my own creative process. Abel seems to have found a way to document every struggle that exists with being creative and put together this guide to share how you can overcome those struggles. Ultimately, it's up to you to execute the ideas she presents, but like a dedicated and experienced coach, she guides you along the way. ANYONE looking to be more efficient, focused, or purposeful in their creative endeavors should take the time to read this book...AND work through the activities she suggests.

[Ashley Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're in the market for a practical, actionable book that will help you make space for your creative work right now, regardless of your life circumstances, this is it. You actually have to do the exercises Abel assigns rather than just reading about it. If you do, I can almost guarantee you'll have a breakthrough about how you could approach your creative work differently. I do feel like the book was a little longer than it needed to be, but the activities are so worthwhile it didn't take away from my view of the book.

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super helpful, esp the first half. The author obviously understands the struggles of creating while also juggling Life and many of the exercises were insightful and motivating. She tends to have a more linear approach to things which is different from how I operate best, so I floundered about a little in the second half. Still, the worksheets are great for honing in on what's working/what isn't, and I'm going to keep playing around with finding a way of scheduling that doesn't make me feel trapped.

[Nela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of useful tips on how to get better at completing self-initiated creative projects throughout all of the phases in the process. Most real world examples in the book come from writing and journalism. I haven't done any of the exercises yet as I was reading it on vacation, but I've done some things along the similar lines before. There's a good mix of already familiar productivity and mindset techniques applied specifically to creative pursuits, and new stuff I haven't tried before. We'll see how this flies once I get back to work...

[Marrije · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical, irreverent, oh so recognizable. I expect I will be re-reading this a lot, in my (inevitable) German Forest moments.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an indispensable resource for anyone aspiring to creative work: whether visual art, performing art, writing, crafting, or hobbyist creators. Abel helps readers break down nebulous creative visions into workable action plans. She helps them design the tools which will see them through to the end of their projects. She tackles creative block and procrastination, paralysis and fear, organization, focus, and direction by showing readers how to build reliable processes which support creative work and minimize indecision. The text includes links to two dozen worksheets. This should be a requirement in any art school or writing curriculum.

The book isn't perfect. The introduction is agonizingly long. Some of the writing in later chapters rambles. The last section needs a bit of tightening and reediting. But overall this subject is so neglected, and the workable advice so needed, that any flaws pale next to the value of the end product.

Literally a game changer. Thanks, Jessica.

[Tracy Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Enticing book title and engaging content for those with creative aspirations

Bravo to Jessica Abel for both an enticing book title and engaging content - designed to help the reader to work on those creative projects that matter most. I was and motivated to learn how I could find time for my creative activities.

Jessica has an engaging style of chatting with the reader, although I was perplexed by the changing fonts and over use of BOLD. That to one side, there were a lot of great takeaways.

Some of the bits I’ve highlighted…

We have permission to call ourselves creatives. We have given ourselves the job of revealing what we really think and feel all the time through our work and this is a very risky thing to do.

Society does not tell us to spend time with ourselves – and we need to.

Dive into your most individual thoughts and feelings as creation is essential to your mental and physical well-being.

In order to achieve an important goal, you need to give up the fantasy that all your creative projects can happen at the same time. You need to focus on the most important project until it is finished.

It’s valuable to imagine yourself in 10 years having built your body of work.

Be kind to yourself when you’re procrastinating. Speak kindly to yourself in the third person because when you do this you distance yourself from your yourself and this helps you to perform better.

Whatever time we have available to be creative, this time is precious and we need to make the smartest and most conscious choices available as to how we use it.

Good strategies suggested for overcoming resistance to making our creative work.

Great discussion about our demons and how to control them. As a fellow writer I’m sometimes plagued by thoughts such as ‘Who am I to write this book’? There was great discussion by Jessica around the power of self-talk in addressing these naysayers.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read, full of good (and hard) activities to get on track with creative projects of any type.

The author's philosophy is that we need both a concrete path to take to fulfill our creative dreams and self-compassion to keep us on that path.

I got off track with the activities because the first one is time tracking for two weeks, and I thought I should finish that before delving into the other activity. Giving myself two weeks for one activity before starting another makes me feel like I might put the book away and not come back to it, so I kept reading while doing that activity. Silly me, I eventually realized I can keep doing the time tracking while keeping up with the other activities. As a result, I've finished reading the book, am up to chapter 4 in the workbook, and am still doing the time tracking. I kind of wish she had pointed out that I could do that activity while still moving forward with the others because, let's face it, I'm a beginner and sometimes I need to have the obvious pointed out to me. I can't really blame her for that because, well, it's obvious.

The emails I got from signing up on her website are a pretty hard core sales pitch for her course and membership in her creative community, but this book is not. It's a good hands-on guide that seems to be helping even while I'm doing the work.

I should come back and re-review this after completing the workbook.

[Andrea Huelsenbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Abel is a prolific comic book author, a writer, a cartoonist, and the chair of the illustration program at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. I became aware of her through her excellent blog. When I discovered she wrote a book about creative focus, I knew I wanted to learn from her.

Abel conducts workshops in creative focus, so her approach is very hands-on. The book is very hands-on, too. Each chapter has homework that applies the skills she talks about in the text, practical activities that will help you implement a different way of preparing, thinking, and working. I confess I haven’t done the exercises—yet—but I see how readers don’t fully benefit from just reading the book (you’ll just forget and work the way you always have); if you want to increase your focus (and productivity), you have to change the way you operate. The exercises enable you to implement successful creative strategies.

Growing Gills

Growing Gills is subtitled How to Find Creative Focus When You’re Drowning in Your Daily Life. It’s not a quick read. Transforming your creative life takes time.

The 19 chapters cover topics such as identifying passions and obstacles, idea debt, open loops, self-compassion, prioritizing, and breaking down a project into manageable tasks.

The book is divided into four parts.

In Part 1, So, What’s Stopping You, Abel identifies and defines what prevents creatives from finishing projects.

Part 2, Build your Custom-Powered Exoskeleton, covers goal-setting and creating a system to schedule your tasks and track your progress.

Part 3, Aligning your Today with your Tomorrow, helps you build a creative routine with enough flexibility that you don’t ignore your other life responsibilities.

Part 4, Falling Down & Getting Up, tells how to get going again when you get stuck.

Growing Gills is well-written by an established artist and writer, who understands the challenges of a being a creative, and has helped others overcome hurdles to productivity. It is well worth your time to read it, but do the associated activities to actually grow your own gills.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book. Jessica Abel is very relatable, and inspirational. But more importantly for the reader looking to manage a creative life, she helps you cut through the mind fog that keeps you going in circles. That really helps you get clear on next steps. I read the book once straight through and highlighted all the passages that spoke to my personal struggles. Then I went back and reread all the highlighted stuff (which included all her exercises and activities) and actually did them! I have been doing daily reviews and getting more work done, but best of all for me personally is that I feel calmer. I was always feeling behind, but I didn't really know what I was behind on. I know I will reread this book again when life knocks my plans off the rails (because it always will), but it will be a shorter hop back onto the rails now that I've done a lot of the work on understanding what I want/need from a creative practice.
And for the record, I have read many many books on writing and creativity. I would put this one up with Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert as far as inspiration, and with Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel for practical advice that will move you forward.

[David Rickert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided me a much needed jump start, that’s for sure. And while I didn’t do all of the exercises because I wanted to finish the book first, I’ll be going back and adding a few strategies in here to get things done. I love what she says about how creativity is self-care, and for creative types it’s probably more helpful to do that work that any other task you might do to stay healthy.

This book is best experienced with the wealth of stuff Abel has provided to keep you on track - worksheets, videos, and the like. My only gripe with the book was the text was too small- it should have been a larger book.

[Loretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, and will do a re-read while working through the actual activities. I think it is clear, practical, and helpful guidance for anyone struggling to get their creative stuff done. I also think, as with most of these kinds of books, that just reading it will not make a difference. You gotta do the things she says to do and actually put it into practice, in order to avoid having a book about creating become just another way to procrastinate from your own creating. But my own experience so far matches up with how she presents things.

[Hope Irvin Marston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book caught my eye because although I've been retired for nearly thirty years, I sometimes feel I'm drowning as I try to keep up with all the things that pique my interest. The book is about discovering and accepting who I am, acknowledging my creativity, and exploring how to work it into my so-called retired life. In that sense, it's a nuts and bolts approach that I needed.
I found lots of meat on the bones of this book, but the author's frequent use of coarse, street language was a major distraction.

[James Traxler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great advice on how to focus on your creative work, whatever that might be.
For me that is writing, playing and recording music.
I always struggle to put this kind of advice into action, and the same thing happened again here with me - not sure that's the book's fault though!
There are points in here which are golden and which I am trying to do.
Ideas on how to overcome procrastination and the despair of not finishing.
I think this is one to buy (I got it from the library) and to keep referring back to as you try to improve your processes. It will go on my 'to buy' list now.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great practical ideas complete with worksheets. I believe the real value is being able to follow through with the lessons. My time constraints filled with the many demands on my time pushed me to simply read through and capture the concept. My three-star rating reflects my shortcoming, not the book itself. Because I can't testify on a difference it has made in me, I held back on giving the four or five stars I'm betting it deserves.

[Faith aka Suckerforcoffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished reading Growing Gills today, a short easy read. I'd say, it's a guide for creatives. It has really great pointers about imposter syndrome, authenticity, idea debt and so much more! Jessica's way of writing is admirable and really engaging. I also loved that at the end of each chapter she gives an activity which you can practice on.
I highly recommend, especially to the creatives out there.
My first nonfiction read of the year and I award it 4.5 ⭐

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be exceptionally helpful and motivating. So much of the writing on the topic of creative focus basically just boils down to, "if you ACTUALLY want to do this creative thing, you'll buckle down and get to work!" but for anyone who chronically procrastinates—even on the things that interest and matter to them—Growing Gills is a really great resource for working on overcoming these types of issues by getting to the root of why we put off or avoid our own work.

[rin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great refresher, having read Getting Things Done over a decade ago, Growing Gills has a specificity for creative individuals that makes it more relatable and more relevant. It's packed full of manageable strategies for organising your life and facing those hard decisions when prioritising, and above all, conveys the message to forgive yourself rather than beat yourself up if you're not as "productive" as you think you "should" be. (The carrot is better than the stick in the long run!)