The Adaptive Creation System: How to Be Realistically Prolific and Enjoy Your Work

Six steps to design a custom content creation system that fits even the most hectic schedule.

Welcome to a paid-subscriber-only edition of The Unstoppable Creator. To get all the other paid resources for creators, click here.

---

Every creator needs a system.

Some lucky ones stumble into a a process that allows them to be prolific and enjoy their work without even realizing it. But most of us need to purposefully design our own system.

Without it, we don't achieve the results we want. We don't fulfill our potential as creators and solopreneurs (or even as individuals, I dare to say). That’s why I write extensively about systems and consult with freelancers and small businesses to improve theirs.

Too many creators never find their system, and that makes me sad. They struggle to achieve the impact they want because they don’t produce enough content, and what they do produce isn’t high-quality enough.

I’ve been a content creator for over 14 years (blogger and YouTuber). I’ve studied, talked with and helped enough creators to know why this happens and how to solve this problem. That’s why I wrote this mini book.

It will teach you:

• why every creator needs a system,

• why finding the right one is so damn hard,

• how to create a custom system that maximizes productivity AND enjoyment.

Why do creators need a system?

Creativity and systems are two words that don’t belong in the same sentence, right? At least, many creators think so.

They believe creativity must be free. Any attempt to structure it is too limiting. But the total absence of structure isn't freedom - it's chaos.

There’s a line of commitments, emergencies and interests constantly knocking at your door, trying to steal the time, energy, and focus you need to create:

• If you’re a part-time creator, your job takes most of your time and most of your energy.

• If you're a solopreneur like me, you have to grow your business, serve clients, create products, and so on.

• And regardless of your occupation, you simply have a life—hobbies, friends, family. If you don't create a moat around your content creation, they’ll break through.

I know, the metaphor is a bit violent. You like some of those distractions. You want to spend time with friends and family, for example (at least most of the time, I hope). But setting priorities does feel like a battle.

A system is like a trusted butler. When those distractions knock, it handsomely replies “Sorry, Alberto is creating something awesome. Leave your message and he’ll reply when he’s done changing the world!”

Because a system is a set of rules and tactics you choose to ensure you have enough quality time for content creation.

It’s not just a “professional creator problem”

You may think “this is just a hobby for me, I don’t want to build an audience or a business. No need to take it so seriously.” Are you really really sure?

Why are you writing, making videos or recording podcasts? In the remote chance, you don’t want anyone to consume your content (which would be veeery strange), you probably want to develop skills, express yourself and create something beautiful. Like a painter who doesn’t want to exhibit but still strives to create ever better paintings.

Only regular, deliberate practice develops skills, in every discipline. QUOTE Without it, you’ll keep repeating the same mistakes.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”– Aristotle

That’s why you alway need a system. Distractions will make deliberate practice impossible, if you don’t have a system protecting your creative time.

And, by the way, when you design a system for your “hobby”, you've laid the foundation to also build an audience and a business around your content if you decide to pursue that.

Why do so many creators fail at building their system?

Realizing and accepting you need a system is the first hurdle. But many creators keep struggling even after overcoming it. I've seen two main recurring reasons for this.

First, looking for a ready-made solution—a complete system that will make you prolific and successful at the push of a button. So you maybe buy a book or, worse, an expensive course and try to mold your situation to someone else's system.

Look, I've learned a lot from books and courses, but I've never found a single system I could use without modifications. Everyone's situation is unique, and in constant evolution. ****When you find a system, you can use only some parts of it. And the parts that work may change over time.

For example, when I started exploring productivity, I fell in love with GTD (Getting Things Done), maybe the most famous productivity system in history. I studied the book and spent hours trying to implement everything.

Its complexity is attractive. It seems to answer every productivity problem. But soon I realized it was too complex. It was more suitable for large teams and corporations.

So, I stopped using GTD, but I didn't trash it completely. A couple of its concepts and tools are still at the core of my productivity system after over 15 years.

The second mistake is that people conflate systems with tools. For example, I'm a Notion expert and constantly talk about it. Many creators are fascinated by Notion, it looks like the right tool to organize everything. But despite watching my tutorials and even downloading the templates, they never make it the pillar of their productivity.

The problem is they don't design a system and choose Notion to implement it. They dive into the tool, as if it was a magic potion to become prolific. But they end up quitting because Notion proves too complicated or the templates they find don't map correctly to their needs.

Remember, no one can give you the system exactly tailored to your needs. You'll have to do your own research, experiments, and adaptations. Only then, you’ll be in the position to choose the right tools.

I wrote this ebook to help you avoid these two mistakes. I’ll give you the minimal amount of information necessary to start designing a system that suits you, and the process to keep improving it, regardless of the tool.

A dynamic balance

Creators want to be creative, of course. That's why systems often feel too rigid. But this problem stems from a misconception and maybe historical issues.

We inherited an industrial view of productivity. It means just “maximizing our output”. So when creators here “system” or “productivity”, they think “publish more articles, videos, posts, comments, and sacrifice art, self-expression, even your health”.

It's time to let go of this outdated view of productivity. It applies only to the assembly line, and it's especially irrelevant, even harmful, for creators.

The right system is a living thing, constantly chasing the balance between:

• efficiency (producing enough content to improve your skills, build an audience and a business),

• enjoyment (taking pleasure from creating something you like, practicing the craft, working at your own pace).

Results without enjoyment make you miserable. But on the other hand, if your unique priority is “feeling good”, you avoid all the challenges and stagnate.

If you follow any established creator, you’ll stumble into a confession of how stressful and hard it is to create good content. But this isn't a consequence of algorithms or capitalism. Creativity has always been a struggle throughout history.

We want to be seen, but fear judgement. We want to be free of our jobs, but fear risk. We want to make something good, but we can’t spend forever on every piece of content, disappear, and let our audience forget about us.

Without a system, this constant internal battle consumes all our energies and attention. But if you fear rigidity, remember: no system is set in stone. Your situation will change, you will change, the content creation scene will change. You'll always be updating and modifying your system. If you stop liking it, you improve it.

Now let's finally move on to designing your system.

How to build your content creation system