Sustainably Creative by Michael Nobbs

One Thing Today #460: Chocolate tea and Jen Lee

Michael — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:07:15 +0000

Below is today’s One Thing Today podcast. Every couple of weeks the podcast, which is sent out to Sustainably Creative members every weekday, is also available here on the site.

In which Michael is delighted to have found a box of chocolate tea in his tea cupboard and talks a little about Jen Lee’s book, The Care and Keeping of Creative Souls: A Manual.

Listen to Jen and Michael chatting on Jen’s podcast, Retrospective.

Early bird registration for two new courses

Michael — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:02:06 +0000

If you’re reading this post off-site please click here to watch the introductory video.

Get One Thing Done

Monday 10th June – Sunday 23rd June

There is very little better, if we want to learn to trust in the creative process, than actually finishing a project. This new course will focus on making use of a little time and a little energy to get one project finished and under your belt.

Early Bird Registration
$10.00 (Members click here to register for $5.00)

Drawing Our Lives

Monday 1st July – Sunday 28th July

Bring along a copy of my new book, Drawing Your Life, and join me on a four week journey in which together we’ll explore the small joys that make up our lives and draw them!

Early Bird Registration
$20.00 (Members click here to register for $10.00)

Register for both courses

$25.00 (Members click here to register for $12.50)

How the courses will run

Each course will be taught via a private email group and both will include regular audio and video prompts. The courses take into account that some participants will be limited in terms of time or energy (or both!) and everyone is encouraged to work comfortably within their own personal limits.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about either course you can contact me via this page and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Holding a Portrait Party in Oslo as part of Awesome April!

Michael — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:09:11 +0000

As you may know, as part of what I’m calling Awesome April, I recently travelled to Oslo to attend Chris Guillebeau’s End of the World Party.

An impromptu Portrait Party

Here’s a little video of some fun we had at the party holding an impromptu Portrait Party (if you’re reading this off-site, click here to watch the video)!

More about Oslo, slow travel and cakes!

You can hear more about my Awesome April trip, the lovely people I spent time with, the cakes we ate and how we took our time to enjoy Oslo, in episode three of The Mountain Shores podcast.

You can read Chris’s own round up of the party, here.
Find out how to organise your own Portrait Party here.

I shall be writing more about Awesome April and expanding our comfort zones in the next issue of The Important Work Letter. Scroll to the very bottom of the page and subscribe for free.

Awesome April!

Michael — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:02:18 +0000

If you’re reading this post off-site, click here to watch the introductory video.

Choose something AWESOME to do this month

Since the beginning of the year I’ve been feeling momentum growing.

January’s month of Reflection and Planning was a very gentle start to the year, February’s month of Tiny Steps started to oil our creative wheels a little and March’s Month of Celebrating reminded us to mark all our creative achievements, both large and small.

Now it’s time for Awesome April! It’s time to move a little, time to start to put into effect some of the ideas and plans we explored back in January.

Don’t forget the Tiny Steps

Picking something awesome to do this month isn’t about over extending ourselves, though it might well be about expanding ourselves. Rather, it’s about picking something we wouldn’t normally do but would love to do. Something that might push just a little at the edges of what feels comfortable, but stays within what feels safe. As with all we do creatively and carefully, it’s about taking Tiny Steps to get us where we want to go.

I’m off to Norway!

My Awesome April project is trip to Norway. I’m off to Chris Guillebeau’s End of the World party.

Travel does scare me a little—I worry about how my energy will hold up, I feel nervous about the unknown.

Feeling safe

However, I’ve been planning this trip in Tiny Steps, helping myself feel safe (if a little uncomfortable) by keeping things a simple as possible. My accommodation was booked a couple of months ago (thank you, Milo), I’ve chosen a direct flight from an airport I’m familiar with, I’ve planned my route there and booked parking in advance. I have a list of things I need to pack and now just need to pack them and drive to the airport!

Don’t compare yourself to other people. Pick something that feels awesome to you

Maybe my trip feels like something you could manage in your sleep, or maybe it’s just too far outside your comfort zone to contemplate. Maybe it just isn’t something you’d be interested in.

Awesome April is about choosing something to do that feels awesome to you. Don’t worry about how it will appear to other people.

What will you do for Awesome April?

Tell me about your plans

I’d love to here about your Awesome April plans. Let me know on Twitter by posting using the hashtag #AwesomeAprilProject and, if you’re a member of Sustainably Creative, you can also join in with this discussion thread.

One Thing Today #430: Awesome April!

Michael — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:46:34 +0000

Below is today’s One Thing Today podcast. Every couple of weeks the podcast, which is sent out to Sustainably Creative members every weekday, is also available here on the site.

In which Michael encourages you to pick something special to aim for this month and announces his own Awesome April project!

Members can join in with the Awesome April discussion here.

Holding a Portrait Party!

Michael — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:20:35 +0000

If you’re reading this post off-site, click here to watch the accompanying video.

Hold your own Portrait Party

Do you think drawing is something other people do? Does the idea of drawing in public scare you? Why not hold a Portrait Party and find out that there’s nothing to be scared of and that everyone can draw?!

In my new book, Drawing Your Life, I hope to encourage you to pick up a pen or pencil and start to draw the everyday and ordinary things around you. The book is full of encouraging prompts to help you make drawing a regular part of your life.

Have fun (and don’t look at the paper!)

One of my favourite things in the book is the section on holding a Portrait Party. A Portrait Party is a gathering of friends (or strangers!) where everyone draws portraits of everyone else at the party. The one and only rule, the thing that will help break the ice and show everyone that they can draw, is that no one looks at their paper whilst they’re drawing!

Drawing in this way is a very freeing experience as everyone will start to relax because no one can produce the “perfect” drawing.

Portrait Party drawings always look fun!

From Drawing Your Life:

Help me organise a Portrait Party near you!

Over the next twelve months I’m planning to hold Portrait Parties around the UK, North America and hopefully further afield. If you would like to help me organise one near you, get in touch by filling in this form.

A Month of Celebrating

Michael — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:44:08 +0000

If you’re reading this post off-site, click here to watch the accompanying video.

You can read the Important Work Letter that I mention in the video here (subscribe to future issues of the letter at the bottom of the page).

Celebrating our large AND small creative achievements

I’m a great believer in celebrating our creative achievements, both large and small.

This month I’m celebrating the largest creative achievement of my life so far—the publication of my new book, Drawing Your Life. In the midst of these celebrations I want to remember to both keep my celebrations sustainable and to continue celebrating the Tiny Steps I take each day.

How to celebrate

Just as we need to keep our creative lives as sustainable as possible, it’s important to know that we can learn to celebrate sustainably too. Yes, it’s lovely to celebrate our creative milestones with a big party, but we can also mark our accomplishments in small ways too.

Moreover, if we learn to celebrate sustainably, we can celebrate often. It is these small, regularly celebrations, marking our daily creative steps, that encourage to keep going and will allow us to eventually celebrate our larger creative accomplishment.

My celebrations this month (large and small)

So this month I’m celebrating both the launch of Drawing Your Life AND my continuing small daily creative steps. Here are some of the ways, both large and small, that I’ve chosen to celebrate:

Ordered myself a gift wrapped copy of Drawing Your Life
Held a Portrait Party
Ordered myself a box of cupcakes
Taken many afternoon naps
Drank tea out of my celebration mug
Offered people who order the book a free month’s Sustainably Creative membership
Met friends for tea and cake to celebrate
Drank Champagne with my family
Planned a trip to Oslo to help celebrate Chris Guillebeau’s massive achievement of visiting every country in the world!

I hope you’ll join me this month to celebrate your own small and large achievements in ways both micro and macro.

Marking the launch of Drawing Your Life with my own gift wrapped copy of the book vine.co/v/bH2ejJ1TbxO
— Michael Nobbs (@michaelnobbs) March 7, 2013

My new book Drawing Your Life was published by Perigee/Penguin on 5th March. The book was made in Tiny Steps, a page at a time and I hope you’ll enjoy exploring it in a similar way. It is available from your favourite real world book shop, from these online retailers or I have a limited number of signed copies available.

If you order the book from anywhere before 28th March you’ll be entitled to a free month’s Sustainably Creative membership. Details of how to claim your free month are here.

One Thing Today #420: Micro-celebrating

Michael — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:45:14 +0000

Below is today’s One Thing Today podcast. Every couple of weeks the podcast, which is sent out to Sustainably Creative members every weekday, is also available here on the site.

In which Michael talks about the importance of micro-celebrating and encourages you to declare a “micro-celebration cup”.

Order Drawing Your Life and receive a free month’s membership of Sustainably Creative

Michael — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:23:28 +0000

Order a copy of my new book, Drawing Your Life and you’ll be entitled to a free month’s membership of Sustainably Creative.

Members receive:

My daily podcast, One Thing Today.
Free access to my online courses.
Free downloads of all my available ebooks.
Access to the Sustainably Creative members’ forum.

How to get your free month’s membership

To get your free month’s membership, order the book from your favourite real world or online bookshop (or order one of the limited number of signed copies I have available), email me a copy of your receipt or order confirmation to and I’ll send you instructions for how to activate your month’s membership.

This is a completely free month, no credit card is required to sign up. At the end of the month I’ll send you details of how you can continue your membership if you’d like to, but there is absolutely no obligation to remain a member beyond the free month.

The small print

This offer is open to readers worldwide who orders a copy of Drawing Your Life from any real world or online retailer (or via this site).
The offer is limited to one free month’s membership per person.
Email a copy of your receipt or order confirmation to michael (at) sustainablycreative (dot) com and use the subject line Free Month.

One Thing Today #410: Announcing the winner of the 400th OTT comp

Michael — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:23:47 +0000

Below is today’s One Thing Today podcast. Every couple of weeks the podcast, which is sent out to Sustainably Creative members every weekday, is also available here on the site.

In which Michael plans a quiet day to put some energy in the bank to help with what looks like will be a challenging week and announces the winner of the 400th OTT competition.

Have you won a copy of Drawing Your Life?