Keep the Flow

If you've ever snuck away from a family vacation to work on an idea... or spent a board game mentally somewhere else entirely – this episode is for you.I left my laptop at home on a ski trip. Took the iPad "just for movies." By day two, I was writing this episode on it. That moment of self-awareness... putting it down, choosing the board game, then spending the next 20 minutes pushing the podcast out of my head... is exactly what I want to talk about. Why is it so hard for creative people to actually switch off? Not just physically step away, but mentally be somewhere else? It turns out there's real science behind this: identity fusion, the default mode network, the incubation effect. And understanding it doesn't automatically make it easier – but it does make it feel a lot less like a character flaw.🎧Check out my music: https://scottmclemore.bandcamp.com/🤟Join the Patreon community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore

You've been told to visualize your success, but there's research showing that advice might actually be making your creative block worse.The new album: https://scottmclemore.bandcamp.com/album/subtext-vol-1There's a piece of advice creatives have been given forever: visualize the finished album, the sold-out venue, the standing ovation. It feels motivating. The problem is, psychologist Gabriele Oettingen spent decades studying this, and it turns out pure positive visualization quietly reduces the effort you actually put in — your brain takes a small hit of satisfaction from the fantasy and eases the tension that was driving you forward. In this episode, I walk through a research-backed alternative called WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) and show you exactly how I used it to finally release a project I'd been sitting on. It's not about willpower. It's about designing a small, honest experiment inside your real life.🎧Check out my music: https://scottmclemore.bandcamp.com/🤟Join the Patreon community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore

What happens when a jazz trumpeter decides to turn his own anxiety into a chamber music suite... and then the world has a collective breakdown right on schedule?Ian Carey and I go way back. We used to live two blocks apart in Brooklyn and played together before life pulled us in different directions, so having him on felt long overdue. Ian is a San Francisco-based trumpeter, composer, graphic designer, and educator who has built one of the most quietly distinctive voices in contemporary jazz, one self-produced album at a time. In this conversation we dig into the music behind Fire in My Head: The Anxiety Suite, how he channels personal struggle into instrumental composition without lyrics, why creative limitation is often a gift, and why AI-generated music bothers him — not just ethically, but on a fundamental level that cuts to the heart of what art actually is. If you believe that craft and process matter, this one's for you.Ian Carey's music: https://iancarey.bandcamp.com/Ian's website: https://iancareyjazz.com/

I never set out to become a minimalist composer, but somehow I accidentally stumbled into a creative process that completely transformed my output. What started as a simple experiment with my 2012 album Remote Location—recycling a bassline as a melody—turned into an ongoing game of "what can I get away with?" And here's the weird part: by giving myself fewer options and looser constraints, I ended up being way more productive. In this episode, I break down how minimalism and gamification accidentally helped me increase my creative output by 700%, and how you can use the same approach to unstick your own creative projects.Check out my music: https://scottmclemore.bandcamp.com/Join the Patreon community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore

The better I got at my craft, the less I actually created. Sounds backwards, right? In this episode, I share how improving our skills can paradoxically make us more hesitant, more critical, and less willing to experiment. Drawing from my own journey from coffee drinker to coffee snob, I explore why creative growth sometimes means hitting the record button less often—and why that's a problem we need to fix. If you've ever felt like you're too good for your own ideas, this one's for you.Jake Frew's video: https://youtu.be/DFirZ54qLbs?si=nKtKkCyTzvGjQlemCheck out my music: https://scottmclemore.bandcamp.com/Join the Patreon community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore

I was completely stuck trying to come up with a better title for an episode when something unexpected happened. 🤟 Come join my creative community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemoreThe moment I picked up my Apple Pencil and started doodling, the perfect phrase appeared—like my brain had been holding it hostage the whole time. This experience sent me down a research rabbit hole into the neuroscience of handwriting and creativity, and what I discovered completely changed how I approach creative blocks. In this episode, I'm breaking down the science behind why writing by hand can unlock breakthrough ideas, what's actually happening in your brain during those "aha" moments, and how you can trigger this process intentionally whenever you're stuck. 📬 If this resonated with you, you'll love my newsletter. I send one email a week with ideas like this: https://ktfpod.com/#newsletter

What if the secret to creating your best work is convincing yourself it doesn't matter at all?📬 If this resonated with you, you'll love my newsletter. I send one email a week with ideas like this: https://ktfpod.com/#newsletter I recently sat down to write some throwaway background music for my podcast. Something pleasant, functional... and totally forgettable. Instead, I accidentally created what might be some of my best compositions in years. That's when I realized I'd stumbled onto something bigger: there's a side door to creativity that bypasses all the pressure and perfectionism we usually bring to our work. In this episode, I'll show you the neuroscience behind why lowering your expectations might be the key to unlocking your best ideas, how Larry David used this exact principle to create Seinfeld, and give you a practical 48-hour challenge that could completely change the way you approach your creative projects this week.🤟 Come join my creative community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore

A partially blind photographer who can't see what she's capturing just revealed the secret to why creativity might be the most powerful antidepressant you're not using.I've been feeling the seasonal dip lately... you know, those darker days that just weigh on you. Then I stumbled across a video from a photographer who's partially blind and can't totally see what she's photographing, and it completely shifted how I think about creativity and depression. In this episode, I'm sharing three ways your creative practice can act as a natural mood lifter, including what comedy writers understand that most of us miss, and a stupidly simple challenge that works even when your creative tank feels completely empty. If you're feeling the weight of the season right now, this one's for you.📬 If this resonated with you, you'll love my newsletter. I send one email a week with ideas like this: https://ktfpod.com/#newsletter🤟 Come join my creative community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore

I spent years as a musician, designer, and writer making the same mistakes over and over—here's what I'd tell my younger self to save years of suffering.📬 If this resonated with you, you'll love my newsletter. I send one email a week with ideas like this: https://ktfpod.com/#newsletter I don't feel like an expert, but when I look back at 35 years of creative work as a musician, graphic designer, and writer, I realize I've learned some hard lessons that my younger self desperately needed to hear. In this episode, I'm sharing five lessons that would have saved me years of self-doubt, scattered energy, and creative frustration. These aren't just nice ideas – they're the practical shifts that made me happier, more authentic, and actually productive. Whether you're just starting out or decades into your creative journey, I think these lessons will resonate with you too.🤟 Come join my creative community: https://patreon.com/scottmclemore