The author’s determination to live out his mission reminded me of a line from my favorite book Wanting.
Stalk your greatest desire. When you find it, let all of your lesser desires be transformed so that they serve the greatest one. “Seize it and let it seize you up aloft even,” writes Dillard, “till your eyes burn out and drop; let your musky flesh fall off in shreds, and let your very bones unhinge and scatter, loosened over fields, over fields and woods, lightly, thoughtless, from any height at all, from as high as eagles.”
Reading Someday Is Today gave me the space to reflect on my own journey as a creator, to take stock of what I’ve done, and to feel genuinely optimistic about what’s ahead.
I admire Matthew Dicks’ approach to life — it’s inspiring, motivating, and, as a fellow creator, incredibly humbling.
The Book in 3 Sentences
- Someday Is Today by Matthew Dicks is a practical guide for turning creative dreams into real accomplishments by using small pockets of time effectively and taking consistent action.
- Drawing on his own experience and insights from a variety of creative professionals, Dicks shares 22 actionable strategies to overcome procrastination, silence negativity, and build momentum.
- With humor, personal stories, and clear steps, the book empowers readers to stop waiting for “someday” and start creating today.
Impressions
How Did I Discover It?
I came across this book when my favorite YouTuber shared a review of it. After finishing my book, I felt the need to reorient myself and reassess my priorities, and this one came at the perfect time. I needed that reminder to stop wasting energy on unimportant things and refocus on what really matters.
Who Should Read It?
Busy people who feel like they never have enough time to pursue their creative goals.
It’s also great for writers, artists, entrepreneurs, or anyone stuck at the “someday” stage of a dream or project. If you need practical, motivating strategies to stop procrastinating and start creating, this book is for you.
How the Book Changed Me
- This book changes the way you look at time. Instead of waiting for a big block of hours to get something done, it makes you see how powerful just a few minutes can be. Once you start using those little pockets of time, you realize how much progress you can actually make — and it feels way less overwhelming to move toward your goals.
- This book can shift the way you think about the work you’ve already created. Instead of leaving old projects behind, it encourages you to see them as raw material you can reshape, republish, or share in new ways. That mindset not only takes the pressure off always having to create something brand new, but also opens up fresh opportunities to reach more people with less stress.
- This book makes you feel okay about having more than one project going at once. Instead of forcing yourself to stick to just one thing until it’s done, you start to see how bouncing between projects can actually keep your energy up and spark new ideas. It takes the pressure off and makes the whole creative process feel way more fun and sustainable.
My Top 3 Quotes
- “Not only should you be looking to bend or break a rule to steal a little time, but as a creative maker of things, you must also take care of your soul. You must find ways to nurture your spirit and creativity at all costs. Being a criminal means recognizing that the world was not formulated for your needs, so sometimes, you need to bend or break some parts of it for your own good. It’s not always easy, but there are times in life when you must decide that the rules do not apply to you. That your time is more valuable than expectations, policies, or conformity. That preservation of your creative soul must be placed ahead of other needs.”
- “A chicken laying many eggs. More importantly, creative people — the makers of things — benefit from expanding their horizons, taking on new challenges, and placing many irons in the fire. Creativity and productivity are spurred by allowing novel disciplines, new learning, constant experimentation, and varied interests to mix. The blending of original ideas and new learning often culminates in something impossible to foresee or even imagine. Stuff begets stuff.”
- “Keeping an open mind in terms of what your finish line might be is critical to both learning to make something great and making that great something. It’s wrong to buy into the myth that the creative person is singularly focused on a defined end product. While this may be true for some, it’s not uncommon for many to meander through a variety of disciplines along the way, finding different ways to express their creativity, and sometimes to shift the finish line entirely. Your finish line should not be a fixed point in space but a horizon of possibilities. You should be moving forward, trying to get as close to that horizon as possible while leaving your actual end point flexible and possibly multitudinous.”
If you’ve been struggling to hit your goals or keep pushing your dreams off to “someday,” this book really might be what you need.
It shows you that you don’t have to wait for the perfect time — you can start with the minutes you already have.
Reading it made me realize there are way more possibilities out there than I thought, and I think it’ll give you that same push to keep creating without all the pressure.