Packaging is presenting yourself as a good option, different from the crowd. It is standing out with excellence, and communicating the value you can bring to a team.

See a job description? Packaging is the creative application, or non-templated cold pitch.

I think packaging is so, so important because it works. People tend to do the same things the same way; so variety becomes scarce. When you take that extra step of standing out, being different, you get noticed.

Extra points if you can actually deliver results.

Packaging is just knowing how to present yourself; like a nice candy wrapped in an exquisite chocolate box.

Instead of appearing like everyone else:

You come like this:

That’s packaging.

Positioning however…

With positioning, you present a value well enough and communicate it clearly enough that someone immediately understands what you do, how you do it, and whether you can achieve that result or not.

It’s a step higher than packaging.

Positioning requires evidence, a clear enough communication, and a defined problem/solution statement.

Can you have positioning without packaging? I don’t know. I have to explore that thought.

But,

Packaging is how you present yourself.

Positioning is not just presenting yourself as unique and valuable. It’s communicating the specific growth you bring so clearly that anyone understands immediately what value you bring.

They can see it, recognise it, and know how you achieve it, determined whether you are a good fit and whether you can achieve the result they seek.

I won’t repeat what 13,452 other people have said about AI:

It is simply not human.

(Okay, I repeated it and that number is absolutely made up.)

But that’s the point. AI is not human.

Writing is a creative task. The process is much like creating a graphic design or your next meal. It requires a pacing, quirk, and touch that you lose when a chatbot generates every letter, word, and paragraph for you.

You lose your voice, your thought process, and the chance for other people to get to know you through your words.

Writing can be polished and prim. Dotted i’s, crossed t’s, but it is also a window for your readers to know you. And no, it is not simply about sounding human enough. Writing, especially when you write like you speak (a controversial writing advice, btw), is synonymous with a reader having a conversation with you.

Yes you.

The same way you text your friends or reply to an email, your words on a digital or physical medium invite others to get to know you. That touch, that sprinkle of “hey, I’m here again, writing as I would talk to you if we stood face to face,” absolutely leaves when AI does your writing.

There is no you to be seen, felt, or communicated with.

That is what makes AI writing feel drab.

Writing also helps you think.

Writing enforces clarity.

Have you ever started writing and ended up writing things you are surprised you know? Writing does that. It helps you connect thoughts and ideas in ways you probably wouldn’t if you only thought in your head.

It turns the intangible into the tangible and makes hidden connections clear.

When AI does the work for you, you again lose that opportunity. Your work may sound distinct or polished, but it will not be original. There was no original ideation, thinking, or connection-making, all of which make writing worth it.

Of course there is a place for AI.

Nobody is pretending AI is an enemy here, ready to steal your brain if you even dare to prompt ChatGPT.

That’s not the point.

I write with AI. Need a synonym for “signoff”? Asked some AI bot already. To be fair, they provide better contextual synonyms. Rather than having Google pull up random words that may not match what you’re trying to say.

So AI has its place.

A big place, in fact.

The place it should not take, however, is replacing the craft itself. The craft of ideating, typing, and making those mental associations.

When that happens, you slowly lose the charm that makes writers writers:

The ability to capture human experience and turn distinct patterns into words that resonate with other humans.

I believe in structure.

You can’t have an organised, productive life without some measure of “put-togetherness”.

That means no random sleeping in when you feel like.

No waking up, wondering what to do, only to watch a movie, snack on junks, do some here and there tasks, and call it a day.

That life works for some.

But the more successful you are, the more you realize “winging it” does not scale.

It has poor ROI.

Except for bursts of fun it promises.

Even that, gets boring sometimes.

But structure can become absurd

Some people use it as a crutch.

Zero time in their calendar for get together or quick coffee catch.

They need to know what every minute of the day entails, or they’d go off rails.

Like a lab rat, if on the wheel of planning and organisation, they run in a specific motion.

If placed outside, on a broad road with no direction, they rush everywhere.

The day goes away like water in a basket.

They claim it’s cause they’ve not planned.

But it’s more than planning.

Internalisation matters

The more you plan and organise, the more the process should become second nature.

Meaning, you have a sense of direction, because structure has become a part of you.

It has moved from without to within.

Even in the absence of pen, paper, to-do lists and calendars, you know how to turn spare time to a productive burst.

Not because you’re trying to plan or look for a useful task to do.

But because you’ve become that person.

It means, casual meetings turns to insightful conversations.

Free time turns to reading, or catching up on well needed rest.

You’re not anxious because this time has not been scheduled.

You’re living like a human and doing the best you can in each moment.

Structure can become a crutch.

A crutch for not knowing how to live without time blocks and fancy Notion boards.

Which points to an aspect of development that needs improvement: learning to function even when specific conditions are not present.

Because tools and systems should aid you, not be a life support.

The Downside To Being A Structured Person was originally published in Write A Catalyst on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The world is built on structures.

The government, work hierarchy, at home, and even at the restaurant.

Why?

Structures keep everything in place. Without a structure or system, you’d have people who don’t know what to do, when to do, or how to do it.

A big hot mess.

Difference between a system and a structure

Structures and systems are similar but not the same.

Think of a structure as the wall that holds a system.

It is the blueprint that guides how you perform tasks or live daily.

A system, on the other hand, is the repeatable process you follow once you are inside a structure.

For example:

A morning time block from 8 am to 10 am for “Deep Work” is a structure.

A proven routine that lets you work with focus during those hours is a system,

e.g., check three emails, work on campaign strategy, jot tasks for the day.

Here are some more examples:

• A structure is a wake-up time (6:30 AM).

A system is a morning routine,

e.g., wake up, drink water, 20 min walk, review top 3 tasks for the day.

• Your bank account split into categories like bills, savings, and spending is a structure.

Transferring set amounts on the 1st of every month to each category is a system.

• A weekly meal plan with a fixed shopping day is a structure.

Every Friday night, you check the fridge, write your grocery list, shop on Saturday, and meal prep when you get home. That’s a system.

A structure is the container. A system is what happens in the container.

Structure ensures continuity. It must be simple and personalized to your situation.

Systems are repeatable. You can apply it often with little friction, and proven; it helps you achieve a goal.

One cannot exist without the other.

If you have only structure (e.g., a time block), you might waste it scrolling because you don’t have a plan for how to work.

If you have a system alone (e.g., a morning routine), you’d implement it by 12 pm because you woke up late.

You need the structure to protect the system.

How to create structures & systems to organize your life

Unlike what you’d like to believe, building a structure is not difficult.

All you need is to identify an area in your life that needs improvement or a habit you’d like to change. Then organize with a system.

What do I mean?

Say you spend too much time on your phone.

Set a boundary to drop your phone by 6 pm (structure),

and spend the evening reading instead (system).

Or,

Your finances need help.

You spend lavishly and have little savings.

Set a simple percentage-based income budget (structure), and read two articles on curbing excess spending during the month (system).

Don’t forget to track your expenses too (system).

It starts with:

• Identification– figure out what aspects of your life need growth.
• Establishment– set up boundaries or barebones that form a basic structure.
• Implementation– define systems to make growth consistent.
• Measurement– track what works vs. what isn’t, and make changes.

Over to you.

What life area do you need structures and systems in?

It could be:

• Learning habits: information you consume, reading habits.
• Work & productivity: the flow of your day, how you spend your time.
• Relationships: your friendships, social life, or healthy boundaries.
• Home & health: Is your space clean and organized? Eating habits, personal hygiene
• Mental & Emotional Wellbeing: Stress level, self-awareness, or quality of life.

Intentional growth requires discipline and consistency. Two feats that cannot be achieved without a predictable rhythm.

When you create systems and structures for your life, you set a practice that ensures progress in the areas you want to change.

Originally published on deborahaduola.com

You Need Structure. Here’s How to Easily Build One was originally published in Long. Sweet. Valuable. on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Society is full of packaged lives.

We glory in (sometimes unnecessary) individuality and not having people around.

Sometimes, such boasting is justified.

Like in the face of abuse or toxic relationships.

But you need people.

Real connections with physical humans that exceed “hey there” greetings at work.

You can’t do life alone.

Not letting people in?

People hurt people.

It’s a dynamic as old as time.

It’s hard to trust when you’ve been scarred.

It’s difficult to open up when you can’t relate with people in a secure, healthy way.

Both reasons are valid.

But you must move past these blockers to cultivate safe relationships.

In a safe relationship, you trust without fear. You are accountable, vulnerable, and get feedback.

Safe relationships making going through life 100x better.

They consist of people:

• who won’t gossip about you.
• you can call anytime.
• who look out for you.
• And who can count on you, too.

Independence is beautiful

While independence and individuality are beautiful, you can’t survive without others.

And if you do survive, you probably have untapped potential you’ve not reached.

A tree becomes more than a tree when it is surrounded by other trees. It becomes part of a forest.

You become more than just yourself when you’re surrounded by the right people.

You become a part of a bigger cause.

The reason for another smile. A better friend. A self-aware co-worker.

Get your alone time. But balance it with real, flourishing relationships. You can’t do it alone. Leverage help. Make the most of the community around you.

Solitude without men leads to isolation.

And isolation makes you less than who you should be.

Get out, touch grass, make friends and enjoy them.

Thanks for reading.

Hi, my name’s Deborah.

If you enjoyed this story, check out my profile for more stories. And don’t forget to clap 👏🏼 a hundred times (haha, kidding), share with a friend — sharing is caring 🕊, or support my work here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Write First, Edit Later

Some say writer’s block does not exist. It is just the shortage of ideas in a writer’s mind.

Others say writer’s block is a full-blown reality that chips away at a writer’s confidence.

Whatever aisle you fall into, we can all agree there are days when writing doesn’t feel as productive as others.

Some days feel unyielding, burdensome, and discouraging.

On other days, writing flows effortlessly.

On either spectrum, your ability to show up and write every day won’t always be a 100%. More often than not, you’ll feel like you don’t have anything to say.

And why? The dreaded ol’ perfectionism.

Perfectionism is the belief that your writing must appear a certain way to be considered successful.

For example:

Come up with beautiful sentences on the first or second try.

Your words should always make sense.

Your title should always rock.

These expectations are unrealistic, at least on your first or second drafts.

Writing is an art. Like every art, perfection comes after the edit, not before it.

Relieve yourself of the expectations. Get rid of the block. Write first, edit later.

Writing, just writing, allows you to type what comes to your mind without placing them under the burden of “perfect”. It gives you the chance to write away and produce material you can work with when editing.

When you try to write and edit at the same time, you will end up editing yourself to oblivion before the words form.

So next time you want to overcome a block, permit yourself to type rubbish first.

You can cringe and revise it later.

The Simple Hack to Overcoming Writer’s Block (Like A Boss) was originally published in Word Garden on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I started something different today.

I set aside time for deliberate study sessions, a.k.a. poring over writing pieces I had either saved or found fascinating.

A few minutes in, my brain got bored. Some moments of pushing through the boredom later, I got thrilled.

It was a shocking discovery.

The Lost Art

Studying is a lost art. At best, we attach it to the schooling structure. At worst, it is some boring activity nerds engage in.

But our society is built on studies from different individuals.

History itself is a result of studying what happened in the past. Don’t believe me? See what Gemini says.

Not only that.

Certain parts of scriptures, like Solomon’s words in Proverbs, are fruits of study:

I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens…‭‭(Ecclesiastes‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

You gotta pay extra attention if the wise Solomon says he applied his mind to study.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “study” as this:

Application of the mental faculties to the acquisition of knowledge.

Fancy definition, but you get the point.

The end goal is to acquire some knowledge.

The difference is, this information comes from vetting several sources, thinking, and making brain connections. We’re not used to such approach in the 21st century. We’re more accustomed to thirty-second reels and 5-minute “courses.”

A study takes a different route.

It is longer, requires more patience, and needs your full attention.

If you ask me, that’s more fun.

Our brains were made to work. To find connections between what seems disjointed.

To scan through other people’s work and draw out a new meaning. A unique meaning.

Isn’t that what creativity is about?

Here’s my challenge to you this week

Pick a subject, any topic, and study it.

How do you study?

Select a starting point.

It could be research, a conversation you had last night or a Bible verse that caught your interest.

Observe and ask questions.

What stands out? How do you interpret this? Are there any obvious or hidden connections?

Gather more resources.

Ask a friend what he thinks. Check out what other people are saying.

It gets more fun when you link and find hidden connections between different pieces.

Keep going, don’t give up.

The drawl will creep up on you. You’ll feel bored after a while. But don’t give up. There’s a lot to stumble upon.

Turn your study into a resource.

Record a voice note. Write about it. Draw. Merge the outcome of your studies with your talent and watch a special work come to life.

Rinse and repeat.

Make studying a habit. Invite friends over for a ‘study’ date, or go on mini study-adventures.

The more you study, the better your thinking becomes. The world will be a better place if we study more and spend less time on filler content.

P.S: This piece is an outcome of a study session. It works.

Originally published on deborahaduola.com

You (Really) Need to Start Studying Again was originally published in Write A Catalyst on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When I think of writing, I used to think of the classic image: sit by the window, stretch, put on the hat of inspiration, pull up the blank page, and voilà, words appear.

You write away.

But any writer, especially those getting used to the practice, knows that this is far from the truth.

Very far.

Writing rather looks more like this:

Yes, sprinkle a couple of rage quitting on some days, and you have a more accurate picture.

This may not be the picture of many writers, but most would agree.

How do you fix this?

Well, it can’t be fixed because every writer has a unique approach to make their writing come to life.

And mine is approaching writing like stacking bricks.

You write down your thoughts and ideas.

• What key points do you want to cover?
• What ideas do you want to explore?

Then jot them down. In the words of famous writers, get the draft out.

Then magically, you bring the pieces together.

I like to look at what I’ve written, and rearrange paragraphs. What needs to go where? How better can this idea be phrased?

Does this word sound right?

Is go better than going?

News flash, it is. The less ‘ing’ words, the better.

At that point, I am doing less writing and more organizing. Organizing thoughts, ideas, sentences, paragraphs to form one coherent piece.

I add more words, expand on stiffly written ideas, and research further.

The goal is to create something worth reading.

Something that would help you, the reader.

And like that, line upon line, paragraph upon paragraph, a whole article, story, or write-up is formed.

This is how I approach writing.

It allows my brain to make connections, remove the unwanted, while acting as if I’m playing with LEGO bricks to bring the best result.

You can do it too:

• write out your first draft, or jot down thoughts,
• organize, put similar thoughts together, expand on sections, basically build with what you have. Add more if you need.
• Edit, read aloud, rinse and repeat.
• Put it together, make your writing reader-friendly, and publish.

Let me know if it works for you.

On another note, how do you approach writing?

The Lego Way To Approach Writing was originally published in Write A Catalyst on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Do you ever scroll through an old writing draft, start reading, stop halfway, and realize, “Wow, that was better than I thought”?

I should have posted that.

But then, you keep reading and realize you didn’t finish the draft. Now you have to scramble to remember your train of thought — that’s if you bother to revive the piece.

This happens all the time.

You have an amazing idea, grab your capture space, jot a few points, get bored, close it, rinse and repeat.

Think about how many more essays, articles, and pieces you could share with the world if you stopped accumulating unfinished drafts and scattered writing fragments.

Hence, this hack:

Finish every piece of writing you start.

Completing your writing does not mean drafting a pretty, tidy work ready to be shipped.

It means articulating your full line of thought and not leaving it unfinished.

Jot every thought you have in that moment, no matter how messy, and leave it to marinate. This helps you record all your ideas, so when you sit down to edit, you have a solid draft to work with.

For instance, an article titled ‘5 Writing Tips for Writers in 2026’ is far more likely to see the light of day if you flesh it out into a 500-word draft rather than leaving it as a five-word brainstorm. The more complete your initial draft, the easier it becomes to edit, refine, and ultimately publish.

Why? The most significant hurdle of getting your ideas on paper has been overcome. Refining and expanding your work becomes much easier.

Always finish what you start.

It gives you the incentive to publish more of your work. The more writing pieces you publish, the better you get at writing, and the more you give to the world.

In the long run, the practice builds discipline in you. Of course, you can’t capture every idea in one sitting. Sometimes, all you want is a quick bullet-point brain dump to visit later. But don’t end there. Draft out your posts, work on them, and discard them only if they are not worth pursuing.

Here are some practical tips:

Use voice-to-text if you feel lazy

So far, ChatGPT does it best for me. I pull up my phone, open the app, and use the voice feature. Other apps provide seamless voice-to-text translations, for example, Otter.ai or OneNote’s dictate function.

Speed jot

Don’t care about typos, errors, or spacing. Just write and write as fast as you can when an idea pops into your mind.

Have a dedicated capture space

A capture space lets you see your ideas and jottings in one place. So when you have to write, the friction of where to write does not stop you.

Set a short timer

An average person writes forty words per minute. That means if you mentally block out three minutes, you will write 120 words and get your ideas from your head to the page.

In conclusion…

Your writing doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be long; it just has to be done.

Done brings you closer to becoming better every day.

It leaves you with more writing material to draw from for future projects.

It allows you to be consistent without excuses.

It is a simple hack to help you write more.

So make it a rule to finish whatever you start writing.

An Easy Hack for Writing Consistently was originally published in New Writers Welcome on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There has been an influx of comments (here on Medium too) that sound like this:

This writing emphasized the use of machines to work better. It also provides valuable insights about friendliness. It is not just about efficiency, but effectiveness.

Yes, that’s a word salad. But the point is, some comments sound like AI. Like a thesis paper that leaves you the writer wondering, uhhh.

I understand many people may not enjoy commenting. It can be weird, especially if you’re engaging to get more eyes on your content.

What do I say?

How do I say what to say?

Hope this doesn’t sound cringe.

So you end up sounding like something you are not.

But the truth is, your comment is not just a comment.

It is an extension of who you are.

It reveals your personality.

It builds a community around you.

It signals support to the writer whose work you read.

So if you use AI to generate a comment that sounds like well... AI, stop it.

Here are some things to try instead:

Think about a point you’d like to add

What comes to your mind as you read?

It could be a question, an experience, or a thought.

Thank the writer for an insight you resonated with

On Medium, people share their real and raw stories.

Appreciate them for that.

Appreciate a point they shared that resonated with you, or a tip you didn’t know before.

It shows the writer how they helped you. Plus, you get to leave a comment too.

Write like you

Don’t try hard to sound professional.

Write like you would.

Personality wins.

Add value.

Value is anything that improves an existing body of work.

It could be as simple as expressing gratitude, asking a question that opens a new conversation, or throwing in your perspective.

There are different ways to comment without sounding robotic.

Put in the effort.

Don’t just summarize everything the author said in an AI-like monotone.

The more thought you put into every piece of writing you make, the better you become.

Write What is On Your Mind

Hi, my name’s Deborah.

If you enjoyed this story, check out my profile for more stories. Don’t forget to clap 👏🏼 a hundred times (haha, kidding), share with a friend, or support here.

Thanks for reading.