On slowing down to protect my creativity

Thought No. 8

Hello. A little post reflecting on a change to how I’m approaching recipe publishing on Substack. Routine publishing has never sat right with me although it is something I felt was important to deliver. I want to give, even more prominent when you choose give to me. The pressure to produce on a set schedule, to meet weekly deadlines, to feed the algorithm, to monetise every moment of creativity chips away at the reason I create in the first place. When time becomes a metric and creativity a commodity, the work starts to feel less like an offering and more like a task.

This is why I still operate on a small scale. I close my books to bake cakes when my creative energy starts to slow down. In an odd way, I can say I have been a creative my whole life? It’s taking different forms through my life. I’ve understood it at time and there are times, I don’t know what is going on. I truly feel like a lost puppy in an ocean. I know, panting and breathless.

Any way, I’ve learned about what happens when I push through the quiet. When I ignore the signals that something needs more time. When I keep producing long after the spark has dimmed. It doesn’t just lead to burnout, it leads to a full stop. A block. A silence so heavy I can’t hear myself anymore. The creativity doesn’t just slow down, it disappears. And once it’s gone, clawing it back feels impossible.

That’s why I’ve decided to share two recipes a month, which is a change to my current schedule. Not because I’m creating less, but because I want to give more.

More thought. More intention. More care.

This slower rhythm allows me the freedom to make something I’m proud of and engulfed in. I close my books to draw inspiration. My substack is a reflection of me. It feels right. It means I can spend time refining the method, layering flavour, and writing detailed instructions that feel generous instead of rushed. It gives me space to test, to play, to be surprised and to let a recipe evolve, rather than force it into being. Exactly what I do, in real life (if this is not real life?)

Weekly publishing, for me, became tedious. And if something begins to feel tedious, I know it’s time to shift. I’d rather offer fewer things that hold weight, than more that simply fill space.

So I’ll be publishing twice a month: thoughtfully, intuitively, and only when it feels honest. I trust that what’s made with care and not urgency. This will always resonate with me more deeply and hopefully resonate with you too?

I hope to do this for a long time. I hope to write more. I hope to create more. I want to be here. Exist more. Love more. I have been here up to now, although there is a wave of more that’s rushing through me. It’s hard to explain. I’m content now. It’s just this feeling for more of if all. To soak more in life?

Thank you for reading. Thank you for being here.

Christiana