Are You Creating or Just Consuming – Building a Creator Mindset!

Building a Creator Mindset!

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee

One of the things that we spend the most time on, everyday is in researching.

We research by watching YouTube videos, reading success stories, blog posts, scrolling through Instagram and browsing from one window to another.

But here’s a hard truth to swallow:

You’re not “researching.” You’re avoiding.

Yes. That’s true.

Every day we trick ourself. We lie to ourself and we dodge work by cheating!

And it is likely that you did just that a few hours back or, maybe yesterday.

You open Instagram “just for a quick check,” then 30 minutes vanish.

You convince yourself it’s part of your creative process – staying on top of trends, scoping out what other creators are doing.

But let’s call it what it is.

It’s a trap.

And the difference between staying stuck in this loop and becoming a prolific content creator boils down to one word: intent.

So read on:

If you find yourself endlessly consuming instead of creating.

If your phone is the first thing you touch each morning, and your notebook stays empty till noon.

If you want to build a business, not just scroll through others building theirs.

This essay is all about breaking that pattern.

Let’s look at how to build a creator mindset and how to actually shift into creator mode every day.

Shall we?

The Silent Productivity Killer: Disguised Procrastination

Back when I was leading large teams in my corporate job, we had a running joke:

“When in doubt, make another deck.”

It felt productive. It looked good.

But most of the time, it was just a way to delay real decisions.

Now that I run my own business, I see the same pattern in the content world.

We consume under the illusion of preparation.

We watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts, read blog posts – all in the name of “learning.”

But here’s what I’ve learned: You don’t need more input. You need more output.

The problem isn’t information.

The problem is action.

You Can’t Create If You’re Always Consuming

Your brain can only be in one of two modes: Consumption mode or Creation mode.

You might think you can toggle between them.

But in practice, one always wins.

And for most of us, consumption is winning.

Not because we’re lazy. But because the digital world is designed that way.

The endless scroll?

That’s not a bug. That’s the feature.

Social platforms have engineered your behavior, rewarding your attention, hijacking your focus, and slowly eroding your ability to sit with your own thoughts.

Which is exactly what you need to create.

My Own Wake-Up Call

When I was first building my affiliate business on the side, I told myself I was “studying the industry.”

Reading blogs. Watching competitors. Analyzing strategies.

But here’s what I wasn’t doing: Writing a single piece of content.

I had notebooks full of ideas, Google Docs titled “Video Concepts,” audio files of podcast intros…

But no published work.

Until I built one simple rule – Create before you consume.

Sounds small, right?

But it changed everything.

Now, every morning, I create something

It can be a post, a newsletter draft, a podcast outline.

Before I check my phone, inbox, or socials.

That one rule turned me from a chronic consumer into a consistent creator.

And it will work for you, too.

5 Habits to Shift into Creator Mode Daily

I am fan of habits.. And thanks to “Atomic Habits”, I got into the habit of creating habits for things that I felt might not stick for long.

If you have been in the creator world and you have been creating content, you will surely have felt the stress of staying relevant, always creating and showing up.

And the only way to get rid of that stress?

Build habits.

So here are 5 simple and atomic habits that can help your shift into the creator mode.

Create First, Scroll Later

This one has worked the best for me.. It actually follows one of the tips from “Atomic Habits”, of rewarding yourself.

The only negative to it – I am considering scrolling as an incentive.

Make this your golden rule.

You don’t open Twitter before you’ve written 200 words.

You don’t open YouTube until you’ve recorded your daily thoughts.

You don’t scroll on Instagram unless you have recorded a video of your own.

Even 15 minutes of focused creation before consumption makes a difference.

Input becomes a reward, not a default.

Design a “Digital Do Not Disturb” Zone

The biggest problem all of us face is that we can’t say “No” – neither to others, nor to yourselves.

But unless you learn to say “No”, you will keep wasting your precious time on things that don’t matter.

Learn to say “No” to your browsing habit as well.

And to distractions.

Carve out a daily slot – one hour, two if you can, where notifications are OFF.

No Slack.

No WhatsApp.

No tabs with social feeds.

You’ll be shocked how much you can produce in just 45 distraction-free minutes.

Recommended read: “Deep Work” by Cal Newport : If you want a crash course in building focus in a noisy world, this is your handbook.

Make Output Visible

Track what you create, not just what you plan.

I started with a simple tracker, one row per day, logging what I produced.

Not what I intended to do, but what I actually shipped.

This makes it real.

It also makes it measurable.

You can’t improve what you don’t track.

I now graduated into a full fledged Notion OS which helps me do all of that. I also write a bullet journal which too helps me declutter and stay focused.

Pick whatever method you are comfortable with and set it up.

The only thing to keep in mind – don’t add another tool or, tracker to the already existing trackers and tools. Use something you have already been using.

Limit “Research” Time

Give yourself a hard cap.

30 minutes max, 3x a week, for intentional consumption.

Set a timer.

Close all tabs when it dings.

No more pretending it’s work.

If you’re reading without applying, you’re procrastinating.

Recommended read: “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield : A powerful punch-in-the-gut reminder that the enemy is resistance and resistance looks a lot like research.

Fix Your Social Media Habits

This can be difficult.

More so, because of the scrolling habit that we have all gotten into.

Ask yourself this:

Is your content calendar inside the same app that’s destroying your focus?

If your creative work starts inside Instagram, you’ve already lost.

Create outside the platforms first – Notion, Google Docs, handwritten journal. Then publish to social.

That gap is critical.

It creates a separation between you the creator, and them the platforms.

Never, ever write inside a social media platform’s editor.. That is an easiest way to get into the scrolling mode.

This Is a Mindset Shift – Not a Hack

I’m not giving you productivity tricks.

I’m offering a new identity.

Because becoming a creator isn’t about doing more.

It’s about being someone different.

You’re not someone who waits to feel inspired.

You’re someone who creates, consistently, even when it’s messy, even when it’s uncertain.

You’re not trying to perfect the first draft.

You’re trying to build a habit that changes your life.

Quote to reflect on:

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” – James Clear, Atomic Habits

And this system, this creator-first, consumer-later rhythm is how you start winning.

Before You Go…

Here’s what I want you to do this week:

• Block 45 minutes in your calendar, daily, for pure creation.
• Choose one platform where you’ll publish something every week.
• Track your output, not your plans.
• Consume only after you’ve created.

And if you’re looking to double down on this mindset, here’s a book you should read.

Book recommendation: “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon : Short, practical, and guaranteed to make you want to publish today, not someday.

You have everything you need.

Now go make something.

Recommended Newsletters

Here are few newsletters that I would recommend that you sign up to if you are interested in learning the art of running a side-hustle:

• Write, Build, Scale
• Why we buy
• The Book Bub
• The Stacked Marketer
• The Growth Bulletin
• Unconventional Productivity for Online Business Owners
• Side Hustle Weekly
• The Affiliate Guy
• I will teach you to be rich
• How Brands win
• For the Interested
• Send and Grow

Sign up to these and follow them. You will get a lot of information and content for your blog posts, podcasts and even social media posts.

I will share more such ideas in my future newsletters.

I put in about 18 hours every month to create this newsletter, starting from researching to writing and editing it.

So, If you enjoyed reading this Newsletter, I would sincerely appreciate it if you could recommend it to others. You can send them to https://thegrowthcreator.com to subscribe to it for FREE!

What am I reading?

I absolutely love books and I read a lot.

In fact, I don’t just read a lot, but I also take notes on every book that I read.

I have pages and pages of information in my Notion Second Brain, so that I can find them and use them when ever I need.

I have added some of the newest books that I have been reading, to the Amazon store, so you might want to check it out.

Want to know more about the books I read. You can check it out here!

That’s it for this week!

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