<![CDATA[The Creative Lead Workshop: Lunchbox Notes]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/s/lunchbox-noteshttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oY2i!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F45452b5a-e115-4f10-8956-61af81730ffa_1280x1280.pngThe Creative Lead Workshop: Lunchbox Noteshttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/s/lunchbox-notesSubstackFri, 29 May 2026 22:31:12 GMT<![CDATA[Slow down, you move too fast]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/slow-down-you-move-too-fasthttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/slow-down-you-move-too-fastMon, 25 May 2026 17:09:45 GMTWe took the kids bowling last night.

My older one’s been bowling a couple of times. He was consistently able to hit pins. But my youngest, Leo, was starting almost from scratch.

Kids, like adults, are often in such a hurry to be good at things right away. He ran eagerly up to the lane and chucked the ball forwards.

THUNK. It clammered to the floor violently because he’d thrown it too high, and then promptly swerved left into the gutter. When the ball returned, I tried to help him but he was already tilted. He did the same exact thing, again.

Leo started to cry. He said he “hated this” and that he “wasn’t having fun”. He was heading for a full meltdown. I sat across from my sad-faced, tear-streaked little guy, wondering how I could calm his emotions and get him to slow down.

“Leo, you need to have a calm body. Focus on your aim. As long as you aim it right, it doesn’t matter how fast you go.”

I let him use my turns to practice and showed him how to point his hand at the dots on the floor to make sure his aim was correct. Finally, he “got it”. He slowed down his swing and released the ball.

The ball moved so gradually that it was almost in slow motion, but yet it maintained a fairly straight path all the way down to the the pins. When it reached them, it gently knocked down all but one. Leo was so happy that he danced all around the lane.

Was this the “by the book” method? I don’t know, and I don’t care.

It’s just what I know to be true; rushing makes you careless. Careful, intentional movements may not look flashy, but they get you where you want to go - every single time.

Why’d I tell you this story?

I remember this young man I hired many years ago as a junior designer. He was talented, but he was always in such an incredible hurry. Before you got the words out of your mouth he’d be galloping forward to do the assignment: I’d get 10 options sent back to me within minutes of my request - all of them wrong - because he’d not thought them through or listened to the directions carefully. I kept watching him run himself ragged doing work no one asked him to do. Honestly, I never did get him to slow down and listen. He advanced his skills over the years - but he did it in such a bumpy and uncomfortable way that was truly unnecessary. It was also probably slower than if he’d just learned to relax. In his mind, it was the world that was demanding this level of speed and suffering. But he was wrong. He was the one making himself “go” like this. Anything that anyone said to him about pacing himself or going home on time fell on deaf ears.

When you’re in the mindset that results should be instant, and that the only acceptable result is to be “first”….slowing down and being intentional can feel like going backwards.

But it’s truly the only way to go forward. Keeping frantically busy to feel productive often has the opposite result.

Your body also isn’t going to put up with unending pressure. It will eventually revolt. Violently. (As I keep learning.)

It’s true for humans and it’s true for brand-new industry technologies like AI.

Go too fast and you’re headed straight for the gutter every time. Slow down - so you can knock down all the pins.

XOXO,

Cathy

]]><![CDATA[The Day My Supervisor Stopped Me Mid-Sentence]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-day-my-supervisor-stopped-mehttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-day-my-supervisor-stopped-meThu, 21 May 2026 16:46:04 GMTIn 2002, I worked as an interactive design intern with Warner Bros. This job had a huge impact on me, and there are many different anecdotes I could tell about all the support and valuable advice I’v…

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]]><![CDATA[I can’t keep fish alive]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/i-cant-keep-fish-alivehttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/i-cant-keep-fish-aliveWed, 29 Apr 2026 14:24:34 GMTThere’s a table in my living room with an empty fish tank on it.

After failing to keep not one, but EIGHT fish alive - from Bettas to goldfish - I just can’t do it anymore. I tried. I watched so many …

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]]><![CDATA[Broccoli Makes Me Nervous]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/broccoli-makes-me-nervoushttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/broccoli-makes-me-nervousWed, 22 Apr 2026 20:37:00 GMTHey y’all. Today I’m going to talk about what you do as a manager when someone you’re managing just…doesn’t fit in.

  • Maybe they’re late all the time.

  • Maybe they’re sassy.

  • Maybe they’re slower than you th…

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]]><![CDATA[Make them tell you "no"]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/make-them-tell-you-nohttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/make-them-tell-you-noMon, 13 Apr 2026 19:56:07 GMTYou know how you can get used to one story you have about yourself, and think nothing of it, until the one day you’re forced to see yourself in a totally different way?

I was thinking about this in re…

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]]><![CDATA[Truth]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/truthhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/truthWed, 25 Mar 2026 14:12:53 GMTToday I’m fired up to talk to you about something that comes with leadership. At least, for me it does.

It’s the idea that being the leader means you are taking accountability for your team.

For exam…

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]]><![CDATA[Confidence & Power]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/confidence-and-powerhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/confidence-and-powerTue, 17 Mar 2026 11:31:29 GMTBefore we get into today’s post, some housekeeping details: My productivity book is now live on Amazon! For a limited time (March 17 - 21), you can get the e-book version FREE! I’d love your support …

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]]><![CDATA[Happy over-the-hump day]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/happy-over-the-hump-dayhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/happy-over-the-hump-dayThu, 05 Mar 2026 03:10:48 GMTIt’s mid-week and everything is the same except I FINISHED MY BOOK! It’s launching March 15! If you’re an e-reader kind of person, it’s currently available for preorder on Amazon. It’s my small contr…

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]]><![CDATA[Something new]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/something-newhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/something-newThu, 12 Feb 2026 15:07:52 GMTHi all,

I have a couple things I wanted to share with you.

First of all, I’ll be vending my Werk & Love wares at a cool event in Brooklyn next month on Saturday, March 7, from 2-6pm. It’s going to a ch…

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]]><![CDATA[What if it's dumb?]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/what-if-its-dumbhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/what-if-its-dumbThu, 05 Feb 2026 03:10:07 GMTThe first day you come up with the idea for your side hustle, you’re excited. Quietly. You’re also afraid to tell anyone. What if it’s dumb? What if it’s the dumbest dumb idea you’ve ever had? What i…

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]]><![CDATA[The End of The Level]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-end-of-the-levelhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-end-of-the-levelMon, 29 Dec 2025 15:48:59 GMTI can hear the “hurry up” theme music from Super Mario Brothers playing in my head as the year winds inexorably to a close. However, I’ve got plenty to say before that happens (as always).

In that spi…

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]]><![CDATA[The Default Effect]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-default-effecthttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-default-effectTue, 23 Dec 2025 03:04:57 GMTHi friends!

I hope you are settling into a “long winter’s nap” status. Me, I’m still vainly rushing around trying to kill everything on my to-do list. I’ll shut off eventually. (Or faceplant trying)

T…

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]]><![CDATA[The wokest font]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-wokest-fonthttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-wokest-fontThu, 18 Dec 2025 13:36:25 GMTIt’s been a while since I’ve written - and I’ve got so much to say! I’m going to have to divide it into a few posts.

For now, here’s a roundup of news that’s been on my mind lately :)

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]]><![CDATA[Dazzleport]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/dazzleporthttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/dazzleportTue, 25 Nov 2025 16:28:28 GMTI am abjectly terrible at sports.

Not just sports, but also dancing, climbing, hiking, running, and also just “walking without bumping into anything”.

So when I started to show some promise at playing …

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]]><![CDATA[The big lesson I learned from parenting a special needs kid.]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-big-lesson-i-learned-from-parentinghttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-big-lesson-i-learned-from-parentingTue, 11 Nov 2025 18:22:44 GMTDo you know that feeling when something rocks your world, and nothing is ever the same?

When you’re suddenly forced to prioritize, in one split second, the thing you are going to carry through this mo…

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]]><![CDATA[Making history]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/making-historyhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/making-historyTue, 04 Nov 2025 15:08:08 GMTOne day in 2019, I received a copy of this book (below). Why was it special to me?


Work that I’d done (in 2007!) had made into an *actual history book*, and I was quoted. It was a type of proof for me…

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]]><![CDATA[Why are Quantum Computers a Thing?]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/what-the-heck-is-a-quantum-computerhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/what-the-heck-is-a-quantum-computerThu, 30 Oct 2025 11:59:53 GMTIf you’re like me and you watched The 3-Body Problem, you might be hoping that quantum computers can contain advanced communication equipment that allows for people to send information instantaneousl…

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]]><![CDATA[Destined]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/destinedhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/destinedTue, 21 Oct 2025 10:48:31 GMTSomething kinda weird’s been happening to me the past few weeks.

Let me back up and explain.

I’d been putting off doing branding work on my side hustle. This is hilariously poetic as branding is liter…

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]]><![CDATA[The Myth of Being Chosen]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-myth-of-being-chosenhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/the-myth-of-being-chosenTue, 14 Oct 2025 13:37:20 GMTLast week, I was having a conversation about how my mindset as a design professional has changed so much from my mid-20s to now that I feel like I’m basically a different person.

For example, I can’t…

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]]><![CDATA[Worth getting up for]]>https://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/worth-getting-up-forhttps://www.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/p/worth-getting-up-forWed, 24 Sep 2025 11:54:12 GMTGuys,

I woke up hella early by chance this morning…Then I made the critical error of checking my phone. ><

I saw I’d missed a Slack message - and then I completely succumbed to the stupid glowing brick…

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