How I Tripled My Output on Substack with a Creative Container
🕊️ A practical and spiritual guide to rejuvenating your creative life.
I didn’t realize that I’d already tripled my creative output this month until I started writing this article. And to think, it all started with yet another experiment.
Have you ever started a creative project only to abandon it? Or felt too overwhelmed to begin at all?
Creative ventures can feel abstract and hard to hold. After all, we’re creating something from nothing.
It’s in this open space, between conceiving of a concept and taking steps to bring it to life, that containers can serve as a bridge.
If you’ve spent time in spiritual spaces, you’ve likely heard the word container used to describe a relationship, program, or ceremony. I had too, for over a decade. But it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I truly felt the power of a container. And it was only this year, after leaving corporate, that I started learning what actually goes into creating one that’s fruitful.
Creative containers are a soothing balm, helping our systems flourish in the face of not-yet-known and still-forming visions. They’re a pathway to intention and a vehicle of self-generated power toward what we desire.
In this article, we’re going to cover:
What containers are and why they work
The link between creativity and spirituality
How containers support a creative life
Real-life examples of creative containers (including personal ones, data included)
How to set one up for yourself
The one non-negotiable you need to know about containers
In Thursday’s article, I’ll use my Artist’s Way cohort as a case study to explore these concepts more deeply. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it ⬇️
What is a container?
A container is a space–physical, emotional, energetic, or time-bound–that we consciously set and infuse with intention and commitment.
It’s not just a task list, a set of goals, participation in a community, or an intention. Rather, it’s all four combined within a set amount of time.
It’s like a square.
If you’re in a group, the four points that form a square represent each individual. If you’re in a container alone, the points represent the parameters you’ve set for your creative endeavor.
In both cases, each point helps form the outline of the square, your container. The square’s walls contain the energy you generate as you engage in a pursuit.
Imagine that energy swirling–moving, dynamic, evolving. As it rebounds off the container’s walls, it’s absorbed by the people upholding it, catalyzing change in them.
In a solo container, you’re at the center of the square, shaped by the energy you generate through honoring its parameters.
Creative containers as opportunities for spiritual evolution
In Kabbalah, we learn that as humans–part divine, part matter–we can be like the Light of the Creator.
Being like the Creator means fully engaging ourselves, physically and spiritually, to bring the visions we've been given into form.
We are exercising our birthright and innate creatorhood when we set creative containers.
However, just as important as establishing a container is completing it.
When we create something–a business, a project, a challenge–we’re essentially creating new life. Of course, this is a form of life very different from that of humans or living beings. It’s energetic life, with its own role and purpose in this material world.
We give it life by bringing it into existence. This is our creatorhood in action.
These living entities call on us to do them justice by finishing what we’ve started. That might look like seeing them through to the end, or consciously closing them out when they no longer feel aligned.
Either way, we don’t want to leave creative portals open.
Even when we’ve mentally moved on, these portals may not have. In energetic terms, incomplete creations clog our auric field, taking up mental space and leaving us feeling overwhelmed.
Instead, you want to honor them and tie them up with a bow.
Of course, containers offer just as much practical benefit as they do spiritual.
Why containers work
I don’t care if it’s as major as a business or as minor as a single TikTok–creating can be overwhelming.
Our nervous systems feel safe in a container. Our creativity relishes in them.
Though it may seem paradoxical, it makes sense in the context of masculine and feminine principles: structure organizes an otherwise untamed creative force. Containers sharpen our focus and reinforce our presence, enabling us to direct our creative energy.
They establish just enough order for creativity to flow.
Then, there’s accountability.
In group containers, a shared intention creates healthy internal and external pressure. In a resonant group–made up of people who share our values, commitment, and awareness–these pressures are loving and nourishing to our creative spirit.
Together, we move toward a shared intention, mirroring each other’s blind spots and challenging one another to go deeper in our own process.
In solo containers, the pressures remain. Only you hold yourself accountable, an opportunity to develop deep self awareness, trust, and love.
You might start to notice how you talk to yourself when you struggle. Do you give in to the urge to stop when things get uncomfortable? Or do you lovingly embrace the discomfort and honor your mission?
Sometimes we realize the container we’ve set is too ambitious for our current skill level or bandwidth. Or perhaps the divine intervenes and truly prevents us from completing it as intended. In either case, we’re invited to humbly adapt while staying committed to the core vision.
It takes radical self honesty to notice the differences between pushing ourselves so far that we end up veering off course, being deeply challenged but still having the bearings to see it through, and recognizing when the Divine might be calling us to pivot.
It’s in any container, and especially solo ones, where we can truly see what we’re made of.
And we see containers everywhere, though they’re not always named as such:
Morning rituals and routines that prime you for the day
Group meditation that call for syncing breaths and setting intentions
A company project with a defined scope of work, based on a shared vision and timeline, that serves as a North Star for multiple teams or organizations
A party where everyone agrees to show up at the same time and place, with the shared intention of celebrating someone or something
Examples of creative containers
So, what does this actually look like in practice? Here are just three containers I’ve experimented with in the past few months that are changing my creative life:

And here are more creative container ideas. You may already be in one without realizing it!
A daily prayer or meditation practice
A weekly dance class, drawing session, or writing club
A monthly book club
A social media series
A multi-month sprint for writing a book, launching a course, or developing a product
A day-long hackathon or digital detox
A weekend retreat for visioning or content batching
How to set a creative container
You’ll want to consider the following parameters when setting up your own container.
As with anything in life, the key is to stay open to adapting as new needs arise.
You may want to add new parameters over time, but try to avoid adjusting or removing your initial ones. You’ll improve your chances by setting parameters just a level or two above your current comfort zone.
Time – Set a clear start and end point, and note the total duration of the container.
Organization Space – Choose where to organize and track on your progress. For solo containers, this might be as simple as a dedicated journal or note in your phone. For group containers, it could be a Google Doc, Notion page, group chat, and/or physical meeting space.
People – Decide whether you want to go solo or build in community. If bringing in others, use your discernment to ensure they align with your vision and can truly commit.
Intention – Define the purpose of the container. What do you want to explore, create, or experience? In group containers, invite everyone to identify and share their intentions at the start of the container. It’s also nice to revisit them when the going gets tough.
Parameters – Set measurable terms: i.e., 3 posts per week, 1 hour a day, 1 chapter per week, Morning Pages daily, etc.
Reflection x Accountability – Decide how you’ll stay engaged and aligned. This could include entry and exit rituals, regular check-ins, text updates, or weekly journal reflections. If in a group, clarify what happens if someone can’t follow through.
Integration – Plan for what happens after the container ends. If you’re Type A like me, this one can be challenging. Still, recognizing a miracle, such as upleveling via a container, can be more potent than completing the container itself. Set aside at least 10 minutes to celebrate, reflect on what you liked and didn’t like, and heck, maybe treat yourself to a celebratory dinner. Only then, let the Type A back in and start determining what the next container might look like.
At a minimum, you want to be able to fill in the blanks on this prompt:
For the next [X days/weeks/months], I’m creating a container to [intention] by [parameters]. When I’m done, I will [integration].
Example:
For the next 30 days, I’m creating a container to get more comfortable being visible in front of family and friends by posting at least one Story per day, one Reel per week, and one Carousel per month on Instagram. When I’m done, I will treat myself to a massage.
The one non-negotiable
A container is only as strong as the presence and follow-through you and your peers bring to it.
Without commitment, the potency of the container dissolves.
If you can’t honor the container, it will be useless. Worse yet, the power of your word gets watered down, and you will lose trust in yourself.
You want to be 100% in for any container you commit to. Once you’re in, prioritize consistency over perfection.
You don’t need to be perfect for it to change the game. You just need to truly be in it.
If you’ve been considering a project for more than a month, consider this your nudge to create the container and start the experiment.
Start small and digestible, make it just challenging enough, and report back on your findings.
Stay tuned for Thursday’s article, where I’ll share exactly how I’ve been organizing our Artist’s Way cohort using these principles.
Thank you for reading!
I write about self awareness, creative expression, spirituality, and personal development. If that’s your vibe, be sure to subscribe and follow me on TikTok, Instagram, X, and Threads.
XX,
Saara
She’s on firrreeeeeee