Freelancing as a creative can be exhilarating, but it comes with its own set of challenges. One that frequently pops up is the battle between staying creatively active and managing a busy workload.
Coming to you from Sean Cross, this candid video captures the all-too-common struggle of maintaining a personal YouTube channel when work takes over. Cross explains that his monetization status is in jeopardy, not because of a lack of interest, but due to the simple fact that he’s been too busy to post consistently. He talks about being creatively fulfilled in his day-to-day work, but that same work has kept him from dedicating time to his personal content. If you've ever found yourself putting off your own projects for similar reasons, this might resonate.
In the video, Cross touches on a challenge many creators face as their skills evolve. As he’s gotten better at video production, he now holds his personal projects to a higher standard, often leaving videos unfinished because they don’t meet his new level of expertise. It's easy to relate to this dilemma—when you improve at your craft, it becomes harder to settle for anything less than perfect. However, Cross is quick to point out that this perfectionism can be paralyzing. If you’re also striving for creative excellence, his story highlights the need to find balance between improving and actually finishing your work.
Cross also discusses the challenge of staying focused when there are so many exciting ideas pulling you in different directions. From marathon training to exploring new editing tools like Da Vinci Resolve, it’s easy to lose focus on your core content. For many creators, this scattered energy can make it hard to build an audience or maintain momentum. But Cross doesn’t shy away from the fact that, ultimately, doing what interests you most should be the priority—even if it means lower engagement or fewer views. His perspective serves as a reminder that it’s okay to pivot, but it’s equally important to finish what you’ve started.
With a renewed sense of urgency, Cross has set himself a 30-day challenge to create as much content as possible and regain his YouTube momentum. His plan is simple: dive into unfinished projects, push past the need for perfection, and publish consistently. If you’ve also felt like your personal content is slipping through the cracks, his story might inspire you to set your own challenge. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Cross.
The fact that YT encourages creators to make a ton of videos is bad for everyone. It causes creators to release something like 1 video a week even if they have nothing new to say. It would be better for veiwers if creators only released a video when they had something truly interesting to offer. It would also be better if viewers were seeing videos from hundres of different people instead of watching the same handful of creators all the time. I no longer post on YT because it feels pointless. I have no desire to make videos every week and I know if I just make a random video here and there, it's going to get less than 100 views so I don't have any real incentive to make videos. It's a shame because I know I have a lot to offer on the platform.