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In total, this survey received 50 responses from Aug 28 → Sept 3, 2026.
The biggest takeaway : this community (our community) has no shortage of ideas, ambition, and creative desire. The struggle shows up when we’re trying to keep our creative practices going alongside work, caregiving, changing circumstances, exhaustion, self-doubt, and a whole bunch of other life roadblocks.
Also interesting : what the community most wants isn’t as simple as “finish more projects.” The strongest desires were actually for a steady creative rhythm and meaningful progress over time… alongside life and everything that means. Ideally that creative rhythm comes with more focus, ease, joy, and connection.
The charts below show the results of the survey. They are interactive, and you’ll find the anonymous response database at the bottom if you want to see the responses for yourself.
Enjoy!
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Heads up: The interactive graphs will look best on desktop, but you can still see some of it on mobile.
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We aren’t short on ideas or creative desire (no surprises there!). Rather, this is a group that’s trying to keep their creative practices going amid full and changing lives.
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As a group, we care more about building a creative life than completing single masterpieces - love that!
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Even though “craving structure, company, and accountability” was a top choice, only 25% selected community itself as the desired outcome. Instead, 65% of that group wanted a steady, creative rhythm. This tells us that people may not want community for its own sake… rather, they want the structure that community gives them to keep creating.
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Your longer answers in the survey show how some of the creative struggles and desires actually show up in your day-to-day. We saw a few themes on what people mentioned. Let’s look at some of what came through! 👇
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We created these categories based on long-form responses in the survey.
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Example Quotes:
“I had rebuilt steady momentum that got totally knocked down by a busy few months at work. Some of my priorities shifted and it's been hard to find/create time for my creative practice again.”
“I have a lot of different projects and ideas going on all at once and feel like my energy, time and attention is really diffused across them all so that i can't give anything the attention it needs to actually grow”
“Too many projects that are at 85% done and I don’t want to finish them bc I’m pulled towards new and shiny ideas (a familiar pattern, the ADHD in me).”
“I can feel the creativity inside of me but it gets blocked when I try to surface it. Things come out in fits and starts and because I'm not a trained artist in any way, I don't know where to begin and it feels lonely.”
“I recently realized that my fear of failure (particularly related to money + my creative career) is a persistent block to my following through on the things I want to make and do.”
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We created these categories based on long-form responses in the survey.
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Example Quotes:
“I want to get back to writing again, and journaling, and discovering, and playing. This year has really taken the piss outta me. I'd like it to feel more easeful as we go into winter.”
“I want to feel like I'm spending my time in a way that enriches me instead of pouring that resource into the drain of the Almighty Algorithm.”
“I want to feel spacious and expansive in my creativity—not stressed and lacking.”
“I want to birth these projects!”
“I want to feel re-connected to my identity as Artist and want to have a collection of work that i feel proud of”
“I want to find the joy in creating again, and I know I'm almost there.”
“I want my life and schedule to reflect what feels most heart of the matter. I want to feel connected to myself and my life, even in a heavy season of life.”
“I want to feel accomplished.”
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Your responses to this survey are helping me plan some new workshops this fall! I’m thinking: a place to gather, decide what work most deserves your attention right now, and make progress on that project… alongside other people who are also trying to build steady rhythms in their creative lives.
If that sounds interesting… **join the waitlist for the first of those workshops.**
You’ll be the first to hear what I’m making and when registration opens.