The container trap & how it's killing your creativity

SIDE NOTES #17: Just throw it in a box already 📦

It’s been almost 2 weeks since I moved all of my belongings out of my old apartment into our new (still unfinished) house.

They’re now sitting boxed up, in giant piles throughout the house, which is basically a construction zone.

The other day, I was at the new house, and all I could think was:

Thank GOD I’m done with packing. I never wanna go through that again.

I knew packing was painful, but when you pile ADHD, executive function issues, and a sprinkle of perfectionism on top of it, it’s a recipe for a complete mental breakdown.

There was a point during the process where I was completely tapped out, crying on the floor, and my partner said to me, “Just start throwing stuff in boxes.”

Which, like, okay, logical.

But also, no??? Are you *actually* telling me I should pack the last of my kitchen mugs with literal rolls of toilet paper, and just feel fine about that???

My brain practically short-circuited at the thought.

But my partner DID have a point. I was making things unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming for myself all because I wanted to only pack things together that made sense together. I wanted things to be neat and tidy and easy to find during the unpacking process.

Mugs with other dishes.

Towels with toiletries.

Books with office decor.

It worked fine at first — until I got near the end and was left with a pile of random stuff that didn’t fit any clear category.

I kept wanting to start new boxes to keep things categorized and tidy, but that only stalled the process. Which is how I ended up STILL packing on the final day, exhausted and running out of time. 🙃

The Trap Of Over-Containerizing Your Creative Work

I’ve noticed I do the same thing with creativity.

Maybe you do, too.

I’m talking about only wanting to create things when those things fit neatly into our existing content buckets – whether that’s our online business, blog or email list, or social media platforms. Anything that doesn’t fit gets delayed, discarded, or maybe never created at all.

For me, anytime I have an “out of the box” idea, I find myself either:

1. Putting it off because I know it doesn’t fit my platforms, or

2. Wanting to start a whole new “box” (aka new platform) just to slot it inside

But this isn’t sustainable. And it ignores the fact that creativity doesn’t always need a perfect container — or to be posted online or made public, at all.

Sometimes your creativity can *just* be for you.

And sometimes the “off-brand” things you create can and should be shared – even if they don’t fit perfectly in the “box” you’ve built for your online brand or business.

Because really, if you’re building a business online, that business is also YOU. You’re the brand.

(I know this has been said a million times and is kind of cliche, don’t roll your eyes pls just hear me out)

Which means the “box” doesn’t REALLY matter as much as you think it does. If you start viewing yourself as the brand, then (almost) anything you make already automatically fits:

🧵 The off-topic Threads post (I’ve got about 3487 of those)

✏️ That photo of a random doodle you did in your notebook

💻 The essay that leans a bittt more personal than business-y

It’s all part of the bigger umbrella of YOU.

Some of my favorite creators are all the time mixing in random, human stuff with their “professional” content – and it’s one of the reasons I keep following them.

An example of someone who does this extremely well: Sara at Between the Lines Copy. She’s mainly a website copywriter, but her online presence encompasses sooo much more than that. She talks about being an ADHDer, being a single mom, and her intense love for Cape Cod and beach days.

Rather than just showing the business side, she shows up as her whole self online – and that makes her so much more relatable and real to people, which is why she’s attracted such a large following.

If you’re neurodivergent, it can feel compulsive to keep your platforms “clean” and streamlined. But you truly DON’T need a new platform for every creative pursuit or series.

So, here’s my challenge-slash-permission slip:

→ Don’t start a new “box” every time you have a new, different idea (not if you value your sanity).

→ Try dropping the “off brand” stuff into the platforms you already have. You might be surprised at how well-received it is.

→ And create some things just for you, without turning them into content – doodle, paint, journal, anything.

At the end of the day, we’re all humans trying to connect with other humans. NOT robots that are programmed to only talk about 1 single thing forever.

People like seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff. The messy stuff.

Sometimes, the kitchen + toilet paper combo really does make the most sense.