R.I.P. Insomnia Journal

Loneliness, Creativity, and the Power of Moving Forward

In the early months of 2020, the world was hit by a wave of isolation that we never saw coming. Lockdowns, uncertainty, and the intense loneliness that came with the pandemic shaped our days and nights. For me, it was the nights that weighed the heaviest. They were restless, filled with endless thoughts and worries. So, I did what I always do in the face of uncertainty—I created.

Insomnia Journal was born out of that loneliness. It was meant to be a collaborative space where people could share the things keeping them up at night, a digital gathering spot to combat some of the isolation we all felt. We could connect, document our sleepless thoughts, and, in some small way, feel less alone in the universe.

The concept was simple but deeply personal. It reflected my own need for connection in a time when there wasn’t much to be found. I worked remotely with developers and designers, piece by piece, bringing it to life.

But the reality was that people didn’t give a shit about Insomnia Journal the way that I had hoped. Aside from a few friends, there wasn’t much engagement. And while I poured my heart—and a decent amount of development money—into it, I realized a hard truth: just because I felt that it was a problem worth solving, didn’t mean it was one that others needed solved in that same way.

The Lessons of Insomnia Journal

The first thing I learned was that a good idea, even one born out of a real personal experience, isn’t enough. The more important factor is understanding whether it truly solves a problem for other people. Seth Godin and so many others talk about this—solve real problems.

Insomnia Journal was my problem to solve, but it didn’t resonate enough with others enough to become theirs. Marketing, user engagement, and understanding what people are willing to pay for or invest their time in—those were the real lessons. And as painful as it was to watch Insomnia Journal fade into obscurity, I don’t regret it for a second.

The Transition to Now: Creative Queue and AirSelects

While Insomnia Journal may not have taken off, it wasn’t a wasted effort. In the time since 2019, I’ve grown as a software architect and creative problem solver. The lessons I learned from that project have shaped everything I do now. And the result? Two very-much-alive projects that solve real problems that other creatives face: Creative Queue and AirSelects.

AirSelects: Streamlining Photo Selection

Anyone who’s been involved in a creative photoshoot knows the pain of sorting through hundreds—sometimes thousands—of images. Trying to get consensus on the best shots is often an exercise in frustration. AirSelects was born to fix that. The platform simplifies the photo selection process, making it easier for photographers, art directors, and collaborators to narrow down their picks, share feedback, and reach decisions faster. It’s about efficiency—saving time and reducing the back-and-forth that often slows down creative workflows.

Creative Queue: Scaling Content for E-commerce

The second project I’m super excited about is Creative Queue, which focuses on something I struggled with for years while running a creative agency—content production at scale. Creative Queue empowers e-commerce content teams with clarity, insight, and optimized workflows. It’s a platform designed to handle the bottlenecks that bog down content creation, helping teams produce high-quality work without getting lost in the chaos.

Moving Forward

Looking back at Insomnia Journal now, I see it as a necessary stepping stone, a project that helped me learn what really matters in building meaningful tools involving real human connection. It wasn’t just about the loneliness I was feeling during the pandemic—it was about understanding that solving a real user problem is the key to success.

Here’s to the lessons learned. R.I.P. Insomnia Journal. You helped pave the way for something better.

Did a pandemic project fizzle out for you? I'd love to hear your stories.