How I Survived (and Thrived) in a Week of Back-to-Back Writing Deadlines

Dear reader,

Pull up your seat at The Kitchen Table. This week I’m sharing how my self-care tools support my creative process when the pressure is on.

As the year unfolds, it’s becoming clear to me that a large part of my output, both creatively and in business has been and will be: writing! I first had this download at the end of 2024 when I was listening to Let It Out by Katie Dalebout—one episode with Melissa Broder, and another with Erika Veurink—two writers whose work I admire, sharing their unique insights into what it means to be a writer, and giving the listeners a glimpse into their creative process. I found it to be so fascinating, inspiring, and surprisingly to me, applicable!

Surprising because even though I have been writing this weekly newsletter for two and half years, I had not considered myself a writer. But I was mistaken: if I look back on my life through my interests, my paths of study, and my artistic output, writing has always played a big role. I just wasn’t ready to take ownership of it. As I began to set intentions for 2025, I placed my writing at the forefront: to take it more seriously as a creative practice and stream for income, and as a medium that helps to extend my reach, grow my community and support my people

A couple weeks later, I received a DM from a friendly face in my orbit asking if I would be interested in trading services: her writing coaching in exchange for my health coaching. Talk about synchronicity! I gleefully accepted, and we have been working together ever since. I feel so grateful for this divine invitation, because once I started to claim the title of writer, I began to realize that I needed support in realizing this role.

Since working with my coach Merray Michael Mina, I’ve drastically changed my relationship to the work of writing. I’ve been attuning to my process by unpacking and unblocking the many limiting beliefs standing in my way of getting the work done. It proved very timely, as the universe had another opportunity awaiting me: a monthly column in the lifestyle newspaper The Retreat by Carley. Not only have I been blessed with a coach to support me in this path, but also a new platform to share my work and rise to the occasion of setting myself up with the right conditions to write more frequently for different audiences.

Recently, I had two deadlines to meet in the same week, something that would have made me anxious and filled with dread before. But now I was able to approach and meet the deadline crunch from a place of ease, and even enjoyment!

Here’s how I did it:

• Cleared my calendar: I blocked out big chunks of my calendar so that aside from a few standing appointments with recurring clients, I had minimal commitments to others. That way I could dedicate the week’s focus to thinking in the background of walking, cooking, bathing (a big part of my process that I somehow just figured out?), and actively writing.

• Made a plan: I decided I would write the newsletter first. Since I’m already in the habit of writing it, and feel comfortably in community with all of you lovely readers, it felt easier to write first (which gave me a confidence boost!). I also reminded myself that I didn’t need to rush through this. I gave myself enough time so that I wouldn’t have to finish either piece in the same day, which took the pressure off.

• Subconscious work: such a massive part of the process for me is to undo blocks around what writing and work should look and feel like. I was carrying beliefs like: writing should be difficult, it doesn’t come naturally, it should feel like a punishment, it needs to take a long time to be good, etc. So now I like to gas myself up before writing sessions by putting on a To Be Magnetic self-hypnosis track, which they call “deep imaginings,” to reinforce that writing won’t be hell and will more likely feel like a sweet release. One of the mantras I use is: writing comes naturally to me: it’s a way to self-express and connect.