You don't need that tool

from someone guilty of buying too many

Last year, I set an intention to buy intentionally.

I promised myself I wouldn’t buy any new clothes. And I didn’t.

When I joined my first-ever online yoga class and eventually made it to the advanced level, I kept using books as yoga blocks. A stole became my yoga belt.

I wasn’t sure if I’d really stick with yoga. So I didn’t buy anything new. I already had a yoga mat. That was enough.

Turns out, I loved it. Yoga healed my lower back pain. By the end of 2025, I’d joined another beginner-level course with a different community. Continued through January this year. Now I know this is something I’ll do daily (mostly :P).

So finally, almost a year after I started, I bought yoga blocks and a yoga belt.

But on the other hand, I noticed something else.

While I showed restraint with yoga tools and clothing, I noticed I have zero restraint when it comes to art supplies.

Last February, I went to a flower-making crochet workshop. The very next day, I bought everything I’d need to make those flowers. I made two. And then... nothing.

Sound familiar?

I think many of us love hoarding art tools. We tell ourselves we’ll sit down one day and create with all of them. But life gets busy. There’s always something new to watch on Netflix 😊 And that day never quite arrives. The tools just sit there. Waiting.

This is exactly why, when I designed my bootcamp to teach people how to communicate ideas visually, I restricted it to the most basic tools possible.

Pencil and paper.

That’s it.

Why? Because I know how easily we can get lost in finding that perfect tool & perfecting it. And in the process, creation takes a backseat. We lose the process in the aim of perfecting the tool.

The final result? Guilt. Guilt collected with each tool bought and not used. And that guilt becomes a deterrent to the creative process rather than an enabler.

So in the bootcamp, I focus on one thing: learning to think visually and putting those visual ideas on paper. Because once you’re thorough with the process, the tool is a mere choice. Easy to learn when you’re ready.

Two of my bootcampers, Lillian Liang Emlet and Isabella Bruno, mentioned something beautiful about going back to pencil.

Using a familiar tool—something they’d held since childhood—made learning this new skill feel less intimidating. The pencil brought back a memory. That you can erase. You can try again. You can improve what you made without fear.

With just a pencil in hand, their minds stopped worrying about making things look perfect. They could focus purely on communicating their idea visually. The aesthetics could come later.

Most of us stopped drawing when we grew up. But our hands remember the good old pencil. I still use a pencil to sketch my raw visuals. It feels meditative. There's something about the rawness of it. The imperfection.

So here’s a little reminder for all of us: Start with what you already have.

Don’t wait for that perfect sketchbook before you begin your practice. In our home, we keep a bundle of one-sided used papers. We use them as little sketchbooks. Especially when I want to create without the pressure of those pretty, pristine pages.

The practice comes first. And then the tool.

PS: By the way, I’m starting the next cohort of my bootcamp, ‘Book to Visuals’, in March. A 4-week practice lab where we practice thinking visually & communicate ideas through simple hand-drawn visuals. Registration is open for the next 3 cohorts (March - May).

Take a Little Pause 🌼

What's one creative practice you wish to start? What basic tool do you already have that could help you start today?

I’d love to hear what you have discovered. 😊

Love my visuals? Now learn how to create them 🌸

Starting March 2026, I’m running the third cohort of my bootcamp, Book to Visuals: A 4-Week Practice Lab. Transform one book into simple hand-drawn visuals using pencil and paper. No drawing experience needed.

Live sessions & personalised feedback every week. 10 seats only. USD 99 for a limited time. Click the button below to register your interest.

Ways to support my creative journey 🎨✨

• License my illustrations – Love any of my illustrations? Use it for your brand.

• Hire me to illustrate for your brand, concept or upcoming book.

• Register for my 4-week practice lab to learn how to communicate ideas in simple visuals. Third cohort starts in March!

Take a Little Pause is an illustrated weekly newsletter for anyone navigating the beautiful messiness of building a creative, calm and intentional life. If you’re on a similar journey, subscribe for free or become a paid supporter to support my writing and help bring my dream of publishing a coffee-table book to life. 💛