July 19, 2026

The first step to a good college essay is to do nothing

I can't even remember 3 reels I watched yesterday.

Can you?

Every second of downtime we have, we pick up our phones and scroll, crowding out our original thoughts with other people's words that go stale the next day.

Boredom is the catalyst for creativity.

There's new research on how mind wandering directly translates to not just creativity, but creative writing specifically.

Scrolling is the opposite of allowing your mind to wander.

Take a walk with no headphones, a shower (shower thoughts, yes), a drive on a familiar route, fold laundry, or do anything that occupies your hands without burdening your mind.

No pressure to think of "essay ideas." Just let your mind wander.

After, return to your desk and start your brain dump. Any thoughts that pop up, jot them down, even if they seem unrelated to a college essay. Those are actually the best.

If you do this every day for the next 2 weeks, you'll have everything you'll need to write all your college essays for the next 6 months.

I'll show you exactly how to use that brain dump in the masterclass. More on running one here.