Thank you Dawn, I really hope they help. It's always really worthwhile to come back to ourselves, to come back to what we need and want to create, and tune out all of the external noise from time to time. I might have said so before, but I love the name of your Substack! Brilliant 🎇 What do you write about?
I'm happy to hear that you appreciate the name, Tamzin. The focus of my writing is on the insights gained from 'Aha' moments and the lessons I've learned as a Highly Sensitive Person going through burnout. I also intend to share more of my artwork here on Substack. It feels liberating to be able to express my true self and share it with others.
Thanks John for your feedback on my Substack. I agree it’s a balance as a being an HSP and managing social media of any form, I’m still working on this!
Great tips Tamsin! I realised I def have to write before I read on Substack. Otherwise I end up down so many rabbit holes and lost in amazing writing, then I forgot to do my own! So yes to that especially. 🙌🏻✨
Oh it can happen so easily - I could easily spend hours every day just reading other substacks, but it can be way too much and not good for my brain-saturation! I wrote a Note months ago about keeping days separate, some days are for writing and creating, other days can be for reading and consuming. That Note got so many comments and restacks that I was like, Ohhhh, this is really an issue for many of us! What do you think you need to do to prioritize your writing first?
Oh that's a good one! I know people try to hit a certain word count, but timing it is good too. I try to write first too, but I admit it doesn't always work if urgent emails are waiting 😂
Hi Tamzin. These last few weeks i have been thinking about what / how I have learned since becoming a Stacker, and how I'd mark my first anniversary with a post that gives it back. Just about every thing you write here fits the bill, so I'll give you my endorsement (restack) instead. Until my day in May I'll be figuring out a different thrust. BTW, I hold that good writers have a duty to help each other broadcast ideas on solving the terrors of climate change.... i.e:- https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/an-essay-contest-its-january-1-2050 Peace, Maurice
Thank you Maurice for commenting, restacking, and sharing. I'll be interested to hear if what I share in next week's post Part Two will also already be on your list! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for May.
New kid on the Substack block here who very much appreciates this article’s wisdom. In ways, it feels as though the keys to making Substack different from social media are the ways in which we manage the overwhelm. The ways you outline beautifully in this post. Thank you for sharing this, Tamzin. Deeply helpful. 💙
Oh I'm so glad it's helpful, thank you. How are you finding the Substack world? It's true, our longevity and sustainability here will certainly depend on how we manage that overwhelm and don't burn ourselves out.
Enjoying it so far. (I'm Tony, btw) I came over from vocal.media and am still getting my feet beneath me in terms of platform settings comfort, etc.; but so far I'm enjoying the change and this feels like the right environment for the kind of content I have in my heart to share.
The reminder to stay true to that polestar (heart) is well-received and will be good to bear in mind as things progress. Again - Thank You for being that reminder today :) 🙏
Thanks Tamzin. Great stuff here. I had some initial rapid subscriber growth and then for the last few weeks it plateaued. It started to get under my skin, especially comparing myself to others and wondering if I was doing something "wrong." I had to step back and remind myself why I am here in the first place which was to leave all the social media drama behind and join a creative community. It is hard to not get sucked in at times and I appreciate the reminder to focus on what is important and the "why" behind me being here.
Thanks for your comment Matthew, I hope next week's post will go deeper for you too. It's completely understandable to wonder why the subscriber growth plateaus and wonder if we're at fault, but we're really not. Just go to keep doing our thing, and there will be peaks and troughs.
Oh I'd love to have you as a part of it Mary! Will I forward you the details? Or did you add your name to the wait-list? Also, thank you, so glad you enjoyed the post :)
Great tips here Tamzin! Regarding Notes: I had to take a step back from being on there all the time and this past Autumn, I turned off my notifications and some days I wasn’t on Notes at all. I enjoy Notes and I am not saying it’s a bad thing but at times it can feel very social media-ish and before you know it, a huge amount of time has gone by and you haven’t gotten anything done (like writing a post). I just remind myself, write first, “talk” on Notes later! 😊
Oh Mackenzie I entirely agree, and you're talking to an old-fashioned grump who doesn't even have apps on her phone because I just can't take the noise! I didn't open Substack for six weeks over December/January, and it hasn't been the first time I've done that! I also deleted other social media nearly a year ago... It makes such a difference!
The Substack overwhelm is real! There are so many amazing writers & artists on here that it’s easy to oversubscribe & then feel like you can never keep up with all the lovely art and writing coming your way.
Exactly! And some guilt comes in too, we want to support, to subscribe, people have taken their time to create beautiful content, but it's impossible to have time for it all!
Please don’t come into susbtack thinking you can earn a living here. I’ve seen so many people arrive with great visions and end up bitter and depressed.
You must do it because you enjoy it first and foremost.
I've seen this too and I agree. Bitter and depressed is not good for creativity! Keeping the focus of the joy of creating, writing, podcasting, whatever it is someone wants to do on here, is key. If they manage that, then sure, they might just make a living on here, but nothing is guaranteed. Also, even some people who have become so successful so fast are now wondering where to go with it, how to sustain it, etc.
Caroline I don't know if you knew me before this or my work, but literally my entire job and raison d'etre is to make people feel see and heard, so thank you so much for this comment. Mission accomplished!
I think people are figuring this out, that they can follow but not subscribe, slowly but surely. And yes, coming back to the quality of our work over chasing the metrics is vital, which is why I've designed a course focused entirely on that. The irony is, if we focus on the quality then that outer success will come faster than if we stress about numbers...
This post is coming at the right time for me! I was slowly starting to feel overwhelmed by all the tips and Tricks and dos and don'ts that this post is a true calm bald for my nervous system 💕
Thank you so much Nika, my entire mentoring work is focussed on calming ourselves, slowing down, finding our own true centre and clarity and tuning out that noise and pressure. So glad it resonated...
Thanks so much for this! I am new and definitely overwhelmed. Sometimes I’m not sure which advice to take or which advice is genuine. I’m doing my best to just stick to my vision so I appreciate this encouragement! Also, anyone know how common it is to get bot followers? I think I got my first lol.
For which advice to take, just try one thing and ignore the rest. Put on blinkers to the rest! I love the sound of your Substack! Stay true to yourself, to what inspires you, and ignore the rest...
Thanks Tamzin, great tips! It’s so easy to get overwhelmed and loose sight of vision. Look forward to reading more 🤍
Thank you Dawn, I really hope they help. It's always really worthwhile to come back to ourselves, to come back to what we need and want to create, and tune out all of the external noise from time to time. I might have said so before, but I love the name of your Substack! Brilliant 🎇 What do you write about?
I'm happy to hear that you appreciate the name, Tamzin. The focus of my writing is on the insights gained from 'Aha' moments and the lessons I've learned as a Highly Sensitive Person going through burnout. I also intend to share more of my artwork here on Substack. It feels liberating to be able to express my true self and share it with others.
Love that name too. Substack is great for us post-burnout HSPs, as long as we avoid the opportunities for burnout that the platform itself offers!
Thanks John for your feedback on my Substack. I agree it’s a balance as a being an HSP and managing social media of any form, I’m still working on this!
Great tips Tamsin! I realised I def have to write before I read on Substack. Otherwise I end up down so many rabbit holes and lost in amazing writing, then I forgot to do my own! So yes to that especially. 🙌🏻✨
Oh it can happen so easily - I could easily spend hours every day just reading other substacks, but it can be way too much and not good for my brain-saturation! I wrote a Note months ago about keeping days separate, some days are for writing and creating, other days can be for reading and consuming. That Note got so many comments and restacks that I was like, Ohhhh, this is really an issue for many of us! What do you think you need to do to prioritize your writing first?
I like to get on with writing first thing and don’t open anything else until my daily hour is done! 💛✨
Oh that's a good one! I know people try to hit a certain word count, but timing it is good too. I try to write first too, but I admit it doesn't always work if urgent emails are waiting 😂
Hi Tamzin. These last few weeks i have been thinking about what / how I have learned since becoming a Stacker, and how I'd mark my first anniversary with a post that gives it back. Just about every thing you write here fits the bill, so I'll give you my endorsement (restack) instead. Until my day in May I'll be figuring out a different thrust. BTW, I hold that good writers have a duty to help each other broadcast ideas on solving the terrors of climate change.... i.e:- https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/an-essay-contest-its-january-1-2050 Peace, Maurice
Thank you Maurice for commenting, restacking, and sharing. I'll be interested to hear if what I share in next week's post Part Two will also already be on your list! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for May.
New kid on the Substack block here who very much appreciates this article’s wisdom. In ways, it feels as though the keys to making Substack different from social media are the ways in which we manage the overwhelm. The ways you outline beautifully in this post. Thank you for sharing this, Tamzin. Deeply helpful. 💙
Oh I'm so glad it's helpful, thank you. How are you finding the Substack world? It's true, our longevity and sustainability here will certainly depend on how we manage that overwhelm and don't burn ourselves out.
Enjoying it so far. (I'm Tony, btw) I came over from vocal.media and am still getting my feet beneath me in terms of platform settings comfort, etc.; but so far I'm enjoying the change and this feels like the right environment for the kind of content I have in my heart to share.
The reminder to stay true to that polestar (heart) is well-received and will be good to bear in mind as things progress. Again - Thank You for being that reminder today :) 🙏
You're very welcome, keep that heart front and centre and you'll be fine!
Thanks Tamzin. Great stuff here. I had some initial rapid subscriber growth and then for the last few weeks it plateaued. It started to get under my skin, especially comparing myself to others and wondering if I was doing something "wrong." I had to step back and remind myself why I am here in the first place which was to leave all the social media drama behind and join a creative community. It is hard to not get sucked in at times and I appreciate the reminder to focus on what is important and the "why" behind me being here.
Thanks for your comment Matthew, I hope next week's post will go deeper for you too. It's completely understandable to wonder why the subscriber growth plateaus and wonder if we're at fault, but we're really not. Just go to keep doing our thing, and there will be peaks and troughs.
I LOVE this and I needed this, and I want to hear more about the creative community you are creating. 🤗
Oh I'd love to have you as a part of it Mary! Will I forward you the details? Or did you add your name to the wait-list? Also, thank you, so glad you enjoyed the post :)
I joined the wait-list. Thanks Tamzin
Great tips here Tamzin! Regarding Notes: I had to take a step back from being on there all the time and this past Autumn, I turned off my notifications and some days I wasn’t on Notes at all. I enjoy Notes and I am not saying it’s a bad thing but at times it can feel very social media-ish and before you know it, a huge amount of time has gone by and you haven’t gotten anything done (like writing a post). I just remind myself, write first, “talk” on Notes later! 😊
Oh Mackenzie I entirely agree, and you're talking to an old-fashioned grump who doesn't even have apps on her phone because I just can't take the noise! I didn't open Substack for six weeks over December/January, and it hasn't been the first time I've done that! I also deleted other social media nearly a year ago... It makes such a difference!
The Substack overwhelm is real! There are so many amazing writers & artists on here that it’s easy to oversubscribe & then feel like you can never keep up with all the lovely art and writing coming your way.
Exactly! And some guilt comes in too, we want to support, to subscribe, people have taken their time to create beautiful content, but it's impossible to have time for it all!
Yes!! And somehow it feels more difficult to unsubscribe from substacks compared to newsletters. So much guilt!!
Please don’t come into susbtack thinking you can earn a living here. I’ve seen so many people arrive with great visions and end up bitter and depressed.
You must do it because you enjoy it first and foremost.
I've seen this too and I agree. Bitter and depressed is not good for creativity! Keeping the focus of the joy of creating, writing, podcasting, whatever it is someone wants to do on here, is key. If they manage that, then sure, they might just make a living on here, but nothing is guaranteed. Also, even some people who have become so successful so fast are now wondering where to go with it, how to sustain it, etc.
I’m so happy that you wrote this piece. I cannot tell you how much this has been on my mind this week! You’ve made me feel seen 🤍
Caroline I don't know if you knew me before this or my work, but literally my entire job and raison d'etre is to make people feel see and heard, so thank you so much for this comment. Mission accomplished!
Fabulous post! Can’t wait for the next installment
Thank you Marco!
Love the “Comparison-itis” discussion but also the “joy of missing out” twist on fomo.
Thank you Amy! I hope you'll enjoy next week's instalment too :)
Quality over endless number seeking is an excellent reminder.
There should be a tutorial on how to follow but not subscribe immediately.
I think people are figuring this out, that they can follow but not subscribe, slowly but surely. And yes, coming back to the quality of our work over chasing the metrics is vital, which is why I've designed a course focused entirely on that. The irony is, if we focus on the quality then that outer success will come faster than if we stress about numbers...
Awesome advice! Thanks for sharing Tamzin!
You're welcome Leanna, I hope you'll enjoy Part Two!
This post is coming at the right time for me! I was slowly starting to feel overwhelmed by all the tips and Tricks and dos and don'ts that this post is a true calm bald for my nervous system 💕
Thank you so much Nika, my entire mentoring work is focussed on calming ourselves, slowing down, finding our own true centre and clarity and tuning out that noise and pressure. So glad it resonated...
Thanks so much for this! I am new and definitely overwhelmed. Sometimes I’m not sure which advice to take or which advice is genuine. I’m doing my best to just stick to my vision so I appreciate this encouragement! Also, anyone know how common it is to get bot followers? I think I got my first lol.
For which advice to take, just try one thing and ignore the rest. Put on blinkers to the rest! I love the sound of your Substack! Stay true to yourself, to what inspires you, and ignore the rest...