Welcome to Gutter Thoughts, where I share insights into my creative process and philosophy each week. From exploring big ideas to finding inspiration in comics, books, shows, and movies, this space is all about staying creative and grounded.
Weekly Creative Focus
Whether diving into creative work or spending time learning and reflecting, here’s what’s been on the mind and plate this week.
5 steps to build a daily creative habit with Stoicism
Can you really build a consistent creative habit without relying on motivation?
If you’re like most creators, your workflow a times can be coin toss. Some days you’re in flow, others you ghost your work completely.
You may say things like “I’ll get back into it tomorrow.” And when tomorrow becomes today you say it again, and again, and again.
Here’s the thing, most creatives aren’t lazy. They’re overwhelmed, distracted, and relying on feelings to decide when to work. And that’s a recipe for inconsistency, burnout, and guilt.
But there’s an alternative: anchoring your creative process in Stoic principles—the same ones used for centuries to train minds to remain steady through chaos, failure, and fear.
So today, I’m going to show you how to build a repeatable, emotion-proof creative habit using 5 Stoic-inspired steps—and the common traps you’ll want to avoid.
Let’s dive in.
1. Start before you're ready.
Seneca wrote: “While we wait for life, life passes.”
Too many creators wait to feel ready, when they’re inspired, rested, or caught up on life. But real progress comes when you act before the ideal conditions show up.
The Routine: Choose a daily “start trigger,” a cue that tells your brain, “now we create.”
A timer
A playlist
A location
A specific notebook or app
Even if it’s just 5 minutes, the key is to start. Action creates momentum.
The Common Trap To Avoid: Believing your work must be “great” before it’s worth doing. You’re not here to impress anyone. Just show up ready to execute.
2. Set a minimum viable output.
Epictetus taught: “Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.”
Creativity loves constraints. When you give yourself a minimum daily goal, you eliminate decision fatigue and lower the barrier to entry.
The Routine:
100 words
1 panel sketched
10 minutes on one scene
One idea in your notes app
Make it so small that you can hit it even on your worst day. Because the real win is not volume but consistency.
Common Trap To Avoid: Making your daily goal too ambitious. High standards are great for editing. Not for starting.
3. Remove the noise.
Marcus Aurelius said, “If you seek tranquility, do less. Or more accurately, do what’s essential.”
Most creative routines fail because they overlook the possibility of distraction. Tabs open. Notifications buzzing. Phones vibrating. It’s impossible for you to create clearly in chaos.
The Routine:
Turn your phone to Do Not Disturb
Close all tabs except your creative tool
Create a “focus ritual” (tea, stretching, breath-work, a walk, journaling, etc.) before you begin
Reduce the noise around you.
Common Trap To Avoid: Mistaking research, scrolling, or “planning” as progress. Simplify to amplify.
4. Reflect without judging.
Stoics practiced evening journaling to reflect on their behavior, not to self-shame, but to gain clarity.
The best creativity thrives on iteration—not perfection. And the best way to iterate? Look back without beating yourself up.
The Routine:
At the end of each day, ask:
Did I show up today?
What blocked me?
What helped me get started?
Use these notes to fine-tune your system—not to question your talent.
Avoid The Common Trap: Skipping reflection because you didn’t hit your goal. Even the “off” days carry insights.
5. Keep showing up, especially when it’s boring.
Clean pages are romantic. Dirty pages build legacies.
In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote over and over that life is repetition. The same is true for creativity. The breakthrough doesn’t come from one epic session—it comes from doing the reps, even when it feels dull.
The Routine:
Keep a calendar or tracker.
Reward streaks (not volume).
Normalize boredom, it's part of mastery.
Your job isn’t to always feel inspired. Your job is to keep showing up until inspiration has no choice but to meet you there.
Avoid The Common Trap: Mistaking boredom for a sign you’re on the wrong path. It’s often the signal you’re getting better.
Final thought: Consistency is your superpower
Stoicism isn’t about suppressing emotions. It’s about not letting them control you. And having control over them allows you be a resilient creative.
When you build a daily creative habit rooted in Stoic principles, you don’t just get more done—you become the kind of creator who creates no matter what.
Not because you feel like it.
But because you said you would.
Keep showing up. Your future self is already thanking you.
This Week’s Creative Sparks
Here are the shows, books, movies, comics, and more that have sparked my creativity this week:
Show Spark: BET on Netflix
Years ago, when I had nothing better to do, I stumbled onto a Netflix original anime called Kakegurui. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed it. Fast forward to this month: a live-action adaptation of the manga and anime dropped—called BET.
I had low expectations. Most anime adaptations just don’t work. But this one held its own. Instead of copying the original, it took a different approach: influenced by the source material, but confident enough to be its own thing.
It’s wild, funny, and over-the-top—just like any good high school teen drama should be.
Movie Spark: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
I’ve always wanted to see a Mission: Impossible movie in theaters—so I recently watched the entire series just to catch the latest one on the big screen. (Let’s be honest, Tom Cruise is going to keep making these until he literally can’t.)
The Final Reckoning wasn’t my favorite of the bunch, but I loved how it cranked up everything these movies do best: suspense, anticipation, and payoff. They tell you exactly what’s going to happen—then take you on a wild ride to get there.
It’s a masterclass in tension and release, and a style of storytelling I’m studying to level up my comic-making process.
Sports Spark: The NBA Eastern Conference Finals
I love basketball, and I love the New York Knicks. This series against the Indiana Pacers has been one of the most entertaining in recent memory. These two teams have one of the longest-running rivalries in the NBA. We don’t like each other. Watching them battle it out to make history for their franchises has been intense, inspiring… and, for me, mostly frustrating.
Even if you’re not a fan of the sport, I highly recommend tuning in. As for me, it’s already sparking ideas for a new story.
The Stoic Quote of the Week
A Stoic quote to inspire and motivate, helping to stay grounded in the creative process.
“Work nourishes noble minds.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 31.5
This week was a bit of a mental struggle. But this simple quote reminded me: when in doubt, get to work. Not just on what pays the bills, but on what strengthens both the mind and the spirit. Action brings clarity, and sometimes, that’s all you need to move forward.
That’s a wrap for this week’s Gutter Thoughts. Thanks for joining me on this creative journey—hopefully, something here sparked an idea or inspired your own work. Until next time, stay grounded, stay creative, and keep pushing forward.
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