Personal Input Audit - A Way to Cleanse Your Mind From Online Slop

If our voice is already there, whispering to us, how do we actually tune in and hear it over the noise of everyday life, self-doubt, and the endless scroll of other people’s amazing work?

Here are three practical exercises you can try this week to help you connect with the creative voice you already have.

1. The Input Audit

Your artistic voice is a unique synthesis of everything you consume. It’s the product of the conversations you have, the books you read, the music you listen to, and the landscapes you walk through.

Sometimes, we feel our voice is weak simply because we’re not feeding it with intention.

The Exercise: For three days, keep a small notebook (or a note on your phone) and jot down your “inputs.”

• What did you watch?

• What article caught your eye?

• What image made you stop?

• What conversation stuck with you?

At the end of the three days, look at the list.

You’re not judging it, just observing.

• Do you see any recurring themes?

• Any surprising connections?

This isn’t about finding a new style; it’s about becoming aware of the unique ingredients that are already shaping your perspective.

2. The ‘Five Whys’ for Creatives

In business and therapy, the “Five Whys” is a technique used to get to the root of a problem. We can borrow it for our creative practice to get past surface-level frustrations and connect with our deeper motivations.

The Exercise: The next time you feel stuck, frustrated with a piece, or unsure of what to do next, grab your journal.

Start with the problem and ask “Why?” five times, letting each answer lead to the next question.

• I’m frustrated with this painting.

• Why? Because the colours feel muddy.

• Why? Because I keep overworking them.

• Why? Because I’m afraid of making a bold, permanent mark.

• Why? Because I’m worried it won’t be “good enough.”

• Why? Because I’m comparing my work-in-progress to someone else’s finished masterpiece.

Suddenly, the problem isn’t your technical skill with colour—it’s the universal fear of imperfection.

Now you’re listening to the real, vulnerable part of your artistic voice. What will you do with that?

The power of your intention becomes clearer when you can address the root cause with self-compassion. ‘So I’m feeling this way after all. Now I can understand myself. That is my first step to empowering a new action.’

Then consider what you can do to help yourself, to work with your inner self for a change.

3. Embrace the ‘Wrong’ Mark

Your truest creative voice often shows up when you’re not trying to be perfect. It lives in the margins, the sketches, the happy accidents, and the so-called mistakes.

If you only ever work on finished, polished pieces, you might be silencing the most interesting parts of your voice.

The Exercise: Get a cheap sketchbook, one that feels completely unserious.

For one week, your only goal is to make “wrong” marks in it!

• Use your non-dominant hand.

• Draw without looking at the page.

• Scribble, smudge, and collage.

The aim is to create without any pressure of producing a “good” outcome.

This practice gives your intuition and playful instincts—key parts of your voice—permission to come out.

Connecting with your artistic voice isn’t a grand, mystical event. It’s a quiet, daily practice of paying attention.

It’s about listening to your life. Do you dare?