What if the perfect workflow you're building is just another way to avoid making the hard decisions?

I screwed up a camera review this week. Made a factual error, took it down, and my first thought wasn't to slow down and check my work. It was to build a better system. A friend called me out: "You're not rushing because you lack a system. You're rushing because you're afraid of being irrelevant." This episode is what happened when I had to face that truth.

This is a solo episode where I break down how my ADHD brain turns anxiety into projects, why analyzing my thought patterns became another layer of avoidance, and what I'm actually cutting from my content for the next six months. If you've ever told yourself you need a better workflow before you can start, this one's for you.

What You'll Learn

• Why turning anxiety into a "system to build" feels productive but keeps you from actually solving the problem
• How ADHD brains need constraints, not more sophisticated systems, to work with scattered creative energy
• What happens when you try to make three different types of content simultaneously and why nothing gets the attention it deserves
• The difference between speed and direction, and why chaos looks like productivity when you're moving fast enough
• Why trying to do everything at 60% quality serves no one, especially not the people you're trying to help
• How the fear of running out of time creates panic that looks like action but leads nowhere
• What it means to stop using analysis as a way to avoid commitment and actually make decisions
• Why the only system that matters is asking yourself each day: did I help someone, and did I make something that matters
• The real reason creatives build elaborate workflows instead of doing the work they're afraid to commit to
• How to recognize when you're using complexity as an excuse not to choose a direction

Listen & Subscribe

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Website: generatorpodcast.com

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Host: Matt Stagliano - Stonetree Creative, Maine

Generator is a podcast about the creative process, personal growth, and what it means to build something meaningful. Hosted by portrait photographer Matt Stagliano.

Here's what I use to make Generator a reality: 

SOFTWARE

ECamm - What I use to live stream, record my video, and conduct interviews (Only for Mac)

https://www.ecamm.com/mac/ecammlive/?fp_ref=generator

Captivate.fm - The software I use to publish every audio episode and distribute it everywhere

https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=yjuymdqo

17Hats - Get 50% off your first year of the best CRM for entrepreneurs

https://referrals.17hats.com/card/stonetree

BorisFX Crumplepop- Clean up audio faster than ever before 

https://borisfx.com/?a_aid=68bb347aa27d1

Cloudways - Solid, affordable Hosting for my wordpress websites

https://vrlps.co/f83e6os/cp

Pixieset - Get $20 off my favorite way to show clients their galleries

https://pixieset.com/ref/djDARTY4pa

WisprFlow - My typing gets slow, so being able to dictate anything in any app makes Life a lot easier. 

https://wisprflow.ai/r?MATT1716

HARDWARE

My Entire Studio Setup - This is an ongoing list of all the equipment I use in my home studio

https://www.amazon.com/shop/stonetreecreative/list/UI27EORM80W1?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_91ERYXJ9ZAQ1E4C0Q1VT

Small print: Some of these are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I get a small commission at no cost to you. I only recommend stuff I actually use.

Keywords: ADHD and creativity, creative workflow, content creation strategy, photography podcast, creative business, overcoming creative blocks, productivity for creatives, photographer mindset, content strategy for photographers, creative entrepreneur, Maine photographer, finding your voice as a creator

I screwed up a video this week.

I posted a camera review and it had a major error in it.

So I took it down.

And my first thought wasn't, I should slow down and check my work.

The actual thought was, I need a better system so this never happens again.

And that's the lie I keep telling myself.

See, lately I've been recording voice notes into my Plod device with the goal of analyzing my thought patterns, building what I call a database of how my brain works, so I can create the perfect workflow built just for me.

And a friend of mine called me out on it. They said, you're not rushing because you lack a system. You're rushing because you're afraid of being irrelevant.

And they were right.

Here's what actually happened with that camera video.

Yeah.

I saw a lot of other creators covering it.

Big names, people with way more reach than I have.

And I panicked.

I thought, if I don't get this out now, no one will care what I have to say about it later.

So I rushed it.

I didn't really check the basic facts.

I could do everything off the top of my head.

I said the camera had a microphone when it doesn't.

And that, in turn, made me look really careless.

So after all the work to put the video together, I took it down.

And then I told myself that the problem was my workflow.

I mean, how can I let something that easy happen?

But the real problem was that I let fear make my decisions.

Fear of missing out or being late or fear that if I'm not first, I'm forgotten.

Fear that the window for me succeeding at this content creation thing is closing and I'm running out of time to matter.

And instead of dealing with that fear, I did what I always do.

I intellectualized it.

Okay.

Here's how my brain works, and maybe you'll recognize parts of this in yourself.

When I feel anxiety about something, my first instinct isn't to act.

It's to analyze.

I turn my anxiety into a problem to solve, and solving problems feels productive.

It feels like progress.

So instead of just admitting I'm scared of being irrelevant, I reframe it as I need to optimize my content creation process.

See the difference?

One makes me feel just really uncomfortable.

The other is a project and projects.

They feel safe.

They have steps and research and this illusion of control.

So, like I said at the beginning, I started recording all these different voice notes, pages and pages of transcripts about how I think and what I rush and what patterns keep showing up and what I thought were really important insights to my own psyche.

And I told myself that this was productive, that this was self-awareness, that this was doing the work.

But really, I was just creating another layer of distance between me and the actual problem.

because, and pay attention here because this one really hurt.

As long as I'm analyzing the problem, I don't have to fix it.

As long as I'm building the perfect system, I don't have to use an imperfect one.

And as long as I'm studying how my brain works,

I don't have to make hard decisions about what I'm actually going to do.

So,

Like a lot of you watching, I have ADHD, diagnosed and medicated, the whole shebang.

And one of the ways it shows up for me is this.

I can hold about 17 different creative ideas in my head, all at the same time, all of them feeling equally urgent, all of them equally important, which sounds great until you realize that it means I never finish everything.

I'll be editing a philosophical video about creativity, and then I'll see an announcement for a new gadget and immediately shift to planning that video.

And then remember something weird and funny that I wanted to do and get an idea for a podcast episode and a guest.

And then I'll start writing that script.

And at the end of the day, I have seven things started and absolutely nothing done to show for it.

So I tell myself, I really just need a system that works with my ADHD brain. I need a workflow that accounts for how scattered I feel all the time. But here's the truth that I didn't want to admit. My brain doesn't need a more sophisticated system. It actually needs constraints.

It needs someone to say, no, you're doing this today.

Not that other thing.

Not that other thing.

This.

This is the thing you're doing today.

But the word constraints feels limiting to me.

And I've spent my whole creative life resisting any sorts of limits.

So instead, I just keep looking for some magical system that will let me do everything without having to choose anything.

And that system just doesn't exist.

Right?

The truth is actually a lot simpler and a lot harder.

I've been trying to make three different types of content.

I make these philosophical and analytical discussions about what it means to be a creator, about finding your voice or the parts of the industry that no one talks about.

I also do creative weird stuff that just makes me laugh. Absurd little concepts that have nothing to do with photography, but everything to do with just being playful. And practical steps for people that are really trying to solve real problems. How they use gear in a way that actually matters.

I try to pull from my business experience from corporate as well as photography.

I want to explain tech in a way that helps you think like an artist and not feel like you're studying a spec sheet.

And here's the thing, those those.

Two types, the philosophy and the practical stuff, those are my brand.

That's what Stone Tree and Generator have always been about,

helping people think like artists, find their voice, build something that matters.

Not chasing the latest and greatest tech or camera,

or not being the first with the news, not competing on speed.

But I keep getting pulled into making content that just doesn't fit.

Yeah, the weird stuff is fun. It makes me laugh, but it doesn't serve anyone. It's just me amusing myself. And the tech reviews trying to beat other creators to the punch. Well, that's just not my voice either. That's me trying to be someone that I'm not. That's me chasing clout.

And when I try to do all of it, nothing gets the attention that it deserves.

The philosophical stuff gets rushed because I'm distracted by the weird stuff.

The practical stuff gets sloppy because I'm trying to do it on someone else's timeline.

And the weird stuff doesn't even get finished because deep down, I know it just doesn't matter.

The system isn't the problem, the strategy is.

Or if I'm being really honest, the lack of strategy.

So here's what I think is actually happening, right?

Okay.

I'm 52.

I've been doing this for well over a decade.

And there's this constant loud voice in my head that says, you're running out of time.

It flashes like a neon sign constantly.

I'm running out of time to build the business that I want.

I'm running out of time to make the impact that I want to make.

I'm running out of time to matter.

And when that voice gets loud, I panic.

Okay.

I start throwing all sorts of stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

I'm making everything and trying everything and learning everything.

And if I'm moving fast enough, maybe I won't notice that I'm not actually getting anywhere.

because speed without direction is chaos.

And I know this.

I've known this.

I teach this to my students.

I teach it to my clients.

Like when someone comes to me panicked about their headshots

and they're worried that they're not looking professional enough

or polished enough or they're just not ready.

I tell them, listen, stop trying to be everything to everyone.

Figure out exactly who you are.

And let's say that clearly.

And here I am not taking a word of my own advice.

Clearly.

So here's what I'm actually going to do.

And I'm telling you this because saying out loud makes it harder for me to back out.

So for the next six months, I'm cutting out the stuff that just doesn't align with the brand.

All the weird creative stuff, all the experiments that are just me amusing myself, gone, gone.

doesn't mean that I won't ever make that stuff.

It's just right now, it's got to be put on the side.

The gear reviews trying to compete with bigger channels, gone.

Out.

Just not going to happen.

What I want to stay around is helping people think differently about photography, about the business of photography, and being a creative in this ever-changing world.

I want to solve real problems that people are facing with their gear, with their business, finding their voice.

That's it.

That's all I want to do.

because I can't do everything really well.

And me trying to is making everything worse.

and

So for the practical stuff and the gear and the tech conversations,

I'm setting a new rule.

If I can't add something beyond specs and features,

something that actually helps people think like artists,

I don't make it.

No exceptions.

I don't care if every other creator is covering it and they're doing it better.

Thank you.

No.

It doesn't matter.

The philosophical stuff, the conversations that actually mean something, those are going to get real time, real attention, and I'm not going to rush it.

Because I don't need a better system.

I need to stop lying to myself about what actually serves the people I'm trying to help.

And I need to stop using analysis as a way to avoid commitment.

You know what's really scary about this?

It means...

I'm going to be letting opportunities pass, or I'm going to watch other creators do things that I know I can do.

This is going to mean saying no to ideas that might be good.

And let me tell you, my ADHD brain hates that.

I want to chase everything so I can keep all my options open, but that's exactly why I need to do this. Because the alternative is what I've been doing for years. I'm spreading myself so thin that nothing I make actually matters. Making everything at 60% instead of making fewer things at 100%.

And I didn't get into this to make mediocre content at high volume. I got into this to help people see themselves clearly and to help them find their voice. To have conversations that matter. And you can't do any of that when you're rushing.

So if you're watching this and you've been telling yourself that you need a better workflow, a better system, a better understanding of how your brain works before you can make the thing that you want to make, maybe that's not the real problem.

Maybe the real problem is you're trying to do too much.

Maybe you're using complexity as an excuse not to choose.

Maybe you're building systems to avoid making decisions.

Maybe.

I know I am, and I'm really, really tired of it.

Here's what I'm actually going to track for the next six months.

It's not my thought patterns or my workflow or trying to figure out how my brain works.

I just want to do this.

I want to say, did I help somebody today?

did I make something that matters?

And if the answer is yes, it was a good day.

Okay.

If the answer is no,

I need to look at what I'm spending my time on

and make changes.

That's the only system that I need.

So I'm going to let you know how it goes.

And if you feel any sort of similarity,

I'd love to hear your story too.

I'll see you soon.