This is my Week Eleven check-in for The Artist’s Way, and we’re quickly approaching the course's finish line.
Week Eleven focused on recovering a sense of autonomy. And while the theme didn’t land as hard as some earlier weeks, it surfaced a few key reminders I needed to hear.
Mainly:
You’re not behind
You’re not broken
You’re allowed to go slow
Your worth is not dictated by the market/algorithm
Morning Pages
This week’s pages felt flat and scattered. Most of the entries were light in depth and reflection, and filled with lots of scribbles and to-do lists.
It felt like I was just going through the motions, repeating old thoughts and not really uncovering anything new.
On a few occasions, I had a weird sense of guilt when I didn’t have something big or painful to process. As if I should be doing more emotional digging.
But truthfully, life’s been pretty stable lately, and the output into my morning pages has been very different to some earlier weeks. And maybe that’s okay.
Because of that, I noticed myself shortcutting and writing fewer pages just to get them done faster, or even scribbling diagrams just to fill space.
It’s not that I don’t want to do them — it’s more that they don’t feel urgent in the same way they did in the first half of the course.
Perhaps the novelty’s worn off, but the habit is still important, and it is simply a reminder that growth is not linear.
Artist Date
For my Artist’s Date, I stayed home, grabbed my A5 sketchbook and messed around with pens and paints for about an hour.
I’m not trying to be a visual artist, and I don’t care if the stuff I make is good, bad or indifferent. But I do care about entering a state of play and having fun doing something that doesn’t need to be useful or polished.
Detaching from meaning and structure is the point.
The first 9 or 10 things I drew were objectively bad. And I felt that familiar self-talk creeping in, saying:
“This is dumb”
“What’s the point?”
“You’re wasting time”
But then the last piece came out kind of... good? Not impressive by any means, but good as in I surprised myself. And that was the moment it all clicked.
Surprise is the reward. That moment of “I didn’t know that was in me” is the goal.
Acceptance
The chapter opens with the reality that creative work doesn’t always (and most likely won’t) make money, and that’s not your fault.
“The market may be rotten even when the work is great... I must learn that as an artist, my credibility lies with me, with God, and with my work.”
That line was a reset.
In today’s world, “market value” often means algorithm performance — views, likes, shares, and followers. But your worth isn’t defined by that.
It’s easy to chase the feedback loop and instant gratification, but the work doesn’t become more or less worthy based on how it lands or is handled by an algorithm.
Create what wants to be created, not what will sell or go viral.
This resonated with me as someone who thrives on systems, metrics, and optimisation. But it’s not about ignoring strategy, it’s about separating your self-worth from outcomes.
You have to make the thing even if it fails. Especially then.
Success
The next section of the chapter talks about humility. The kind of humility required to start anew, to keep showing up, even if the last thing flopped.
“An artist cannot replicate a prior success indefinitely.”
That reminded me of a 50 Cent interview where he said you can’t rely on old formulas. What worked before won’t work forever. Everything changes, especially culture, platforms, and people.
To stay relevant creatively, you have to be willing to look foolish again. To start fresh and to risk not being good.
Even for me, making videos or writing newsletters, I can feel the tug to stick with what’s worked. But this was a good nudge to shake things up and not rest on my laurels.
Julia also mentions the importance of daily scheduling, by making small shifts in the day-to-day that support your creative path.
It reminded me of a tweet I posted ages ago: “Self-care starts with your calendar.”
If you don’t make time for what matters, it doesn’t happen. You have to schedule it, otherwise it’s just wishful thinking.
Weekly Tasks
10 Tiny Changes (Revisited)
I looked back at a Week 2 task where I listed 10 small changes I wanted to make. Of those 10, I’ve actually done 3:
Buy a new couch
Improve my communication skills
Publish my newsletter consistently
Five More Changes
This week, I added five more:
I will make art that feels true, not performative
I will invest more time in my home environment
I will share ideas without second-guessing myself
I will build my life around the values I claim to care about
I will continue to reflect on what I already have and be content
Ways to Nourish Myself
Another task asked for five nourishing things to do in the next 6 months. Here’s what I came up with:
Book a massage each month to unwind
Buy a better printer to print my photos
Learn new recipes and improve my cooking
Take a solo weekend retreat to write and reset
Finish upgrading the studio with joy-first items
Letter of Encouragement
Finally, we were asked to write an encouraging letter to your inner artist. This is what I wrote:
I know how hard you’ve been working these last few years.
You’ve come a long way. I know you’ll probably say it doesn’t always feel like it — but you have. I’m proud of you for constantly striving to show up for yourself. Even when it’s messy, when it’s quiet and when it feels like no one’s watching or cares.
Not just with the business — but with the way you’re learning to trust yourself again and for not being afraid of having the hard conversations with yourself.
You’ve been building the foundation of something real and honest that can never be taken from you.
You are always on the go so please make sure to continuously remind yourself that you’re not behind.
You’re exactly where you need to be and right on time.
The life you want isn’t waiting at the end of some huge achievement — it’s right here, in the small choices you keep making every day.
So take care of yourself. Make sure to rest often without guilt. Balance the structure and productivity by making and doing pointless things from time to time.
I’ll be back next week with another update. You can also follow along with video updates on YouTube.
Thanks for reading! If you've worked through The Artist's Way yourself or are thinking about starting, I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.
Keep going gang,
Drew Trott
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