The Case for Taking Classes | Furthermore September 2025
Or why breakfast + class is my favorite routine
Happy September! Fall is just around the corner, and I’m very excited for what the new season will bring. Fall is generally a very creative time of the year for me, a time when I feel renewed and inspired, and I’m looking forward to cozying up in the season.
I recently posted a Day in the Life carousel over on Instagram and shared that I take a class each morning over breakfast. I received a lot of messages about that particular part of my routine, so I thought I’d share more here for anyone who’s interested!
This routine started for me in July of 2024. If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know that I’m a pretty big Cal Newport fangirl. I read his book Deep Work in 2017 and it completely changed the way I work; it’s one of my favorite books, and I go back to it often. I’ve since read all of his books (I’m a fan of productivity-type books in general), so when I heard he was doing a virtual class called Life of Focus, I knew I wanted to join.
I really loved the format of that class because it consisted of three weekly lessons that were short—typically no more than twenty minutes—and easy to fit into the workday. I watched the lessons as I ate my breakfast, and I absolutely loved starting my workday that way (SO much better than reading the news, which was how I started my workdays before this). Once the class ended, I knew I wanted to keep up with the routine, so I started looking into ways to do just that.
Around that time, a friend of mine told me about Skillshare, which is an online learning community for creatives. It has thousands of classes to choose from, from illustration to freelancing to video to writing to cooking to decluttering. It ended up being perfect for me, as I was interested in learning how to make more of my own content like reels, graphics, etc. Each class consists of multiple lessons, and most lessons are short and easy to fit into the workday.
Since joining Skillshare, I’ve taken a photography class, a class on CapCut, a class on filming reels, a class on marketing copy, and a deep dive into Canva. I’m also learning Photoshop, which is something I’ve wanted to do for years.
What I love about this routine is that I now start my workday by learning something, which makes me curious and eager to put what I’ve learned into practice. This has been great for me because I used to hate creating content for Instagram, and now I no longer think of it as “creating content” as much as practicing a skill I’m trying to learn. It’s really re-framed how I look at and approach my social media presence, and I find I’m enjoying it more.
It also tends to spark my creativity, and after I’m done taking my class, I feel energized to write even though the classes I’ve taken so far aren’t themselves about writing. It just puts me in a curious headspace, which is a great place to be for writing.
Skillshare isn’t free, but they do offer a free trial. After that, it’s $14/month or $168/year (though they typically run deals). I’ve heard that the classes can vary in quality since anyone can teach on the platform, but I’ve enjoyed every class I’ve taken so far.
Skillshare isn’t the only way to adopt this breakfast + class routine, of course. For example, Brandon Sanderson has a ton of free writing classes on his YouTube that I’ve heard great things about—they’re on my list of classes to take in the future. And if writing and publishing classes are what you’re looking for, The Writers Conservatory has some stellar ones in their library (I taught one on revision!). Or perhaps you’d like to start your day with a Ted Talk instead. Or if watching videos isn’t your jam, maybe you’d prefer to subscribe to newsletters that tackle some of the areas you’re interested in (Susan Dennard has a great one for writers!). Or if newsletters aren’t your thing (I am indeed aware that this is a newsletter) maybe you queue up some podcasts that focus on your areas of interest.
You get the idea. Just anything you can enjoy with your breakfast.
It isn’t really about the medium, more about the routine of it. And it doesn’t have to be writing-related at all, it can be about anything you’re interested in. Want to learn how to paint? How to change the oil in your car? How to clean your refrigerator? (this is an actual class on Skillshare!) How an engine works? How to write copy? How to garden? How to style your space? There’s probably a class for that.
The joy is in the learning. And as a side note, I strongly believe that one of the very best things we as writers can do for ourselves is to find a hobby outside of writing. Whether that’s playing a sport or exercising or growing vegetables or learning something new, having something you enjoy that isn’t related to writing is, in my opinion, crucial to finding balance and happiness in this career. The breakfast + coffee routine can absolutely help serve that purpose.
So there you have it! Let me know if you end up trying this routine—I’d love to hear how it goes for you!
In Case You Missed It
We revealed all the stunning details of the deluxe first print edition of The Sun and the Starmaker! This book is gorgeous, like beyond-my-wildest-dreams gorgeous. I’m totally obsessed with it, and I hope you are too!
If you’d be sad to miss out on this edition, I highly suggest preordering—once this edition sells out, it’s gone for good. Today is the last day of the Barnes & Noble preorder sale, and you can get Starmaker for 25% off through the end of the day (just make sure you use code PREORDER25 at checkout!).
I also announced this week that I’ll be attending YALLFest this November! I’m extremely honored to be one of their keynote authors, and I can’t wait to wander around Charleston with so many book lovers. I would love to see you there!
A Moment of Gratitude
I told my husband the other day that there is a deep, strong undercurrent of gratitude that stays with me throughout each day. I’ve always tried to focus on gratitude, but since healing from my concussion, it’s gone into overdrive. I feel as if I’ve been given an entirely new lease on life, a second chance, and I hope I don’t ever take it for granted.
I spent a lot of time this past month figuring out the marketing and promotion schedule for The Sun and the Starmaker, and so today my moment of gratitude is around the fact that I even have a book to promote at all right now. And as someone who doesn’t love the promotion side of things, this has been a very welcome shift.
I can’t tell you how many times I thought I wouldn’t be able to get Starmaker across the finish line, and I’m infinitely thankful that I was (with the help of my very patient, very understanding, very supportive publishing team). I’ve never been as proud of a book as I am of this one, and I’m so, so excited for it to be out in the world. Less than six months to go. 💕
Thank you so much for being here.
Love,
Rachel
My new non-writing hobby is CrossFit. I’ve thrown myself in the deep end.
The gratitude part was so, so needed. Thank you for this beautiful reminder. So many hugs, friend.