Analog Action by Matt Ragland

Hey Reader, there’s a question that’s been nagging me for several months: am I giving my work the effort it deserves, or am I just checking boxes? Here’s why I’m thinking it this weekend. Tuesday morning, I'll be sitting in a Minneapolis studio—the same one that produced the On Being podcast—hosting the HeyCreator Summit. Could I run this virtual event from my home studio in Florida? Absolutely. Would anyone notice? Probably not. But that's exactly the point. When something truly matters, you...

Hey Reader, a quick reminder the HeyCreator Summit is just over a week away. One of my favorite aspects of the speakers, people like Anne-Laure, Ed Latimore, Darrell Vesterfelt, and Chenell Basilio... is they didn't wait around for someone to tell them to do the thing they wanted to do. Because here's the truth... you don’t need permission to be a creator. That's what I love about it! But sometimes? You need proof. Or should I say, support? Proof that people like you—with families, doubts,...

Hey Reader, ever notice how a long weekend makes you suddenly philosophical about your whole life? You're washing dishes or walking the dog, and boom—you start wondering if you're actually building the life you want or just staying busy enough to avoid thinking about it. Here's the thing most people miss: we spend way more time figuring out what productivity system to use than figuring out what we're actually trying to produce. We obsess over the perfect app, the ideal morning routine, the...

Hey Reader, quick heads up there will be no WRAP email next week. I'm taking the July 4th weekend to spend more time with family, pause, reflect, and align my goals and intentions for the rest of 2025. We're also renting a giant inflatable waterslide and eating watermelon all weekend. It's gonna be awesome. Because here's the thing... we have exactly 8 weeks between July 7th and Labor Day. This creates a perfect container for focused work during the summer season. Let me show you how to make...

Hey Reader, how do you feel about Mondays? Personally, Monday morning hits and I’m pumped. Sundays are sacred in my house. No work, no hustle, just rest. So when Monday rolls around, I’m like a kid on Christmas morning ready to tackle my big goals. I sit down at my desk with my coffee and my vision. Yeah, that sounds a little corny, but I actually think about where I want my life to go. Even just for a few minutes to start the day. Here’s where things went sideways... I’ve got contractors and...

Hey Reader, last week I did something that might sound crazy: I took a few hours to test a completely different content direction, and I did it without working extra hours or sacrificing any time for clients or community content. The results surprised me, and I learned exactly what it takes to evaluate a side project without derailing your main business. Even if you're not running your own business, this is a a helpful way to evaluate if a "side project" in your main job is worth pursuing,...

Hey Reader, Picture this: you're sitting in a room full of people frantically typing on laptops, tablets clicking, and phones buzzing with note-taking apps. Then there's that one person in the front row with a simple notebook and pen, actually writing things down by hand. That was me last week at the OOO Summit, a conference for owners, operators, and outliers. And you know what happened? People kept leaning over to peek at my handwritten notes. Speakers would come up to me after their talks...