✨ the SPARK 216 ~ When Simple Curiosity Outperforms Complex Systems
And Why That's a Relief
As someone who shares a lot of tools, it might surprise you to learn that I use very few tools in my business every day.
Specifically, productivity tools (for the sake of today’s newsletter, I’m excluding automation tools like Zapier and Make).
Years ago, a friend showed me a physical planner from one of the productivity gurus she loved. She was super excited about it.
When I looked at it - it stopped me in my tracks. 😲
I thought, “Using this ‘productivity planner and system’ would feel like a part-time job!”
There was nothing about it that felt like it would help me accomplish my goals - it was simply going to create more work.
It was a hard no for me.
Something about productivity gurus feels icky to me - much like finance gurus who got rich selling their books and systems about creating wealth, paying off debt, investing, etc. (instead of achieving their wealth in a totally unrelated niche).
And don’t get me started on how out of touch with reality they are.
#movingon.
I’m not anti-productivity systems… I’m just anti-productivity systems for me.
This is after years of trial and error (what can I say? I’m a slow learner).
I’d download a free trial of a new productivity tool or grab yet another Notion template (I have a very full Notion account… but I’m lucky if I log into Notion once a week)… and think, “I should set some time aside to learn this.”
But I never do.
The more complex the system, the less likely I will use it.
But my simple dot grid journal & colored pens?
Almost two years later, I’m still at it.
Think about it - how much mental energy do we spend:
Setting up elaborate workflows
Remembering which app does what
Maintaining multiple calendars
Reconciling different systems
Feeling guilty when we "fall off the wagon"
It's exhausting just writing that list.
The plot twist?
Our attraction to complex systems is often just resistance wearing a productivity costume.
When we avoid real work, nothing feels quite as productive as reorganizing our task management system (again). It's like cleaning your desk when you should be writing—it feels productive, but it's really just fancy procrastination (guilty as charged).
Side note: Remember, this is a judgment-free zone. Whatever you do or don’t use, if it works for you, that’s all that matters.
Plot twist: What if you chose curiosity instead?
Curiosity could become your productivity superpower.
Something shifted when I started leading with curiosity instead of "should."
Instead of asking, "What's the perfect system?" I began asking:
"What if I just started?"
"I wonder what would happen if..."
"What feels energizing right now?"
It's incredible how much more you accomplish when you stop obsessing about how to accomplish it.
This newsletter is a perfect example.
I’ve kept my planning and ideation process as simple as possible. I bookmark things I want to share throughout the week and use my iPhone notes app to track ideas (or a good ol’ fashioned pen & paper notebook when I’m at my desk).
That's it: no fancy methodology, no complex workflows.
And here I am, four years later, still writing this because I enjoy the entire process.
The newsletter comes from a place of inspiration rather than rigid planning.
This isn't about abandoning all structure (chaos isn't the answer either). It's about creating enough space for curiosity to lead the way.
When we follow our natural interests:
Work feels less like work
Ideas connect in unexpected ways
We stay in flow longer
Solutions emerge organically
Everything feels lighter
When things feel lighter, I can go deeper.
For example:
I’ve created projects in Claude (I will be trying projects in ChatGPT next week) for both of my newsletters (my other newsletter is Women, Wisdom, & Wealth).
I’ve uploaded multiple previous issues, workflows, social content, email sequences, and brand planning/ideation to the projects.
Adding more of my original content to the projects trains Claude, so when I want to plan the next newsletter issue, I use a specific prompt to create the idea and outline.
It’s a simple process that then gets repeated week after week.
But it’s hardly a complicated system (and maybe some of this is simply semantics - so reframe or rename what you do so it feels lighter for you).
I’m now able to get ahead of things in such a way that I’m creating more and more white space in my life every week (which is like winning a time lottery for me).
I know I probably sound like a broken record about some of this stuff, but especially now at the beginning of a New Year, try removing things from your life instead of adding more, i.e., simplifying.
You’d be surprised at how much more you accomplish while enjoying the journey just a little bit more… because if you’re not enjoying it, what’s the point?
SPARK Spotlight 🔥
This is pretty freaking cool - and it’s free from Stanford University.
Get a Wikipedia-like report on your topic with AI.
STORM is a research prototype that supports interactive knowledge curation. OMG. I did this for my other newsletter and was blown away at what it gave me. You can download it as a PDF with links to citations and so much more. Just… wow!!! 🤯
You can also select to show the brainstorming process!
A Little Brainpower 🧠
I’ve created a list of “AI tells” for myself… here’s a list you can reference. “I’m a Professional Editor and These Phrases Tell Me You Use ChatGPT.”
If you’re still on the fence about a newsletter, this might move the needle (notice there are only two business newsletters. Yes, lots of politics, but there’s plenty of opportunity!) “47 Substack Bestsellers Making at Least $300K Yearly Revenue with Paid Subscription” from
.Here’s a great tutorial on creating a custom GPT for writing good headlines. “Want to write killer headlines? Steal this prompt.”
Tool Time 🛠
AI Marketing: I’ll definitely be testing this out. Get two AI co-workers to manage social and content. What the what? Check out Marketeam.ai here.
Bluesky: A few tools for improving your Bluesky experience. Follow back, clean up followings, and a starter pack. Check out “The Blue” here.
AI Video: Looking to try out some AI Video? Search the VideoGenTools directory to find the tool that suits your needs. Search for free here.
User-Generated Content: If you need UGC ads for your brand - this might just solve that for you. Try UGC Generator free here.
It’s wild to me how good AI is at looking like a ‘real person.’
I read an article this week that said, “2025 is the last normal year.”
This means that life as we know it won’t ever look the same because of AI. With Meta adding ‘AI profiles’ to its platforms and AI agents and workers appearing faster than we could have imagined, we are truly living through a real-life sci-fi movie.
Buckle up, my friends; it’s going to be an interesting year.
I saw this and laughed out loud. 🤣
At least it’s sunny here; I’m grateful for that. 😉
My heart goes out to all of Southern California.
The fires continue to spread, and so much has been lost. I’ve had friends check in on me, but I’m six hours away from Southern California (and genuinely appreciate people checking in). My daughter may have to evacuate, but fingers crossed she doesn’t.
Sending lots of love to everyone who has been impacted.
Stay safe out there, my friends,
Kim
Thank you so much for the shout-out, Kim!
I completely agree with this, Kim. You really have to find a system that works for you. If it's too complicated, I'm not going to use it. I use Notion, but it's pretty trimmed down and basic for my needs. In my previous job, we used Salesforce, and that was like a massive, out-of-control beast. It wasn’t something a normal person could just jump into and use. There was so much you could do, it became overwhelming. And of course, people couldn’t agree on how to set it up or structure it — it was a nightmare. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is finding something that works for you.