How do you know you're making progress?
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the moments when making stuff starts to feel pointless.
You’re still showing up. Still posting, recording, editing. But it’s like...what’s the point?
There’s no urgency. Nothing feels like it’s moving.
It’s not burnout. It’s drift.
That happened to me quite a bit this time last year.
I was still making things, but none of it felt connected. Like I was just tossing ideas out.
No feedback loop. No signal that said, “Hey, keep going. This matters.”
What I realized was:
I had no compass.
We tend to think KPIs are for teams or spreadsheets.
But really, a KPI is just a simple way to tell if you're on track.
And when you’re a solo creator, one clear checkpoint matters more than a dozen metrics.
Passion is unreliable.
Direction isn’t.
So I picked one question. Just one.
Not ten arbitrary numbers.
I didn’t create a dashboard.
For my podcast, that question was:
"Does this episode make the listener feel more empowered, clear, or creatively charged after listening?"
For my short videos, that question was:
"Does this video spark curiosity and make people want to go deeper with me, now or later?"
I keep a few questions like that in my back pocket.
But every one points to the same thing:
"Is this working?"
It doesn’t box me in.
It helps build momentum, especially when motivation dips.
That’s what I’ve been reflecting on this week:
If you don’t define what “good” looks like, how do you know if you’re making progress?
Keep creating,
Dylan
P.S. I unpack this a lot more on today’s podcast. How picking one clear question changed the way I create (and made it way easier to stay motivated). Would love for you to check it out if you’re in that drifting phase too.