Mitchel Lensink
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Mitchel Lensink

Systemic thinker, photographer, writer.
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Posts

Everything I've ever written, all in one place. Browse by tag or reverse chronological. It's up to you.

All Dialogue Monologue Essays Field Studio Office Closer Now

Featured

sea foam blowing in the wind on the beach of Texel, the Netherlands.

Coastwork

An unplanned trip to Texel turned into a small field study of a coastline unlike any other. Being there, in the wind and water, brought back my fascination with the ocean and its edges.
How to tell stories online

How to tell stories online

For years I thought I was simply exploring and taking photos. Only later did I realize I was repeating a pattern: go out, collect, return, interpret, publish, repeat. This issue maps the loop that turns wandering into a creative practice.
Mexico, a retrospective

Mexico, a retrospective

A look at a country I like a lot, but no longer love. And "it's not you, it's me" I want to tell it, if countries had ears to hear it. Because it really is me and who I am today. But, who knows, another 10 years might do wonders.
Newer Topographics

Newer Topographics

Why take it upon myself to dedicate my time and energy towards a goal that isn’t even clearly visible from the beginning. Will it matter if I don’t? What do I contribute, do I want to contribute? Why? To what? Again, why?
a hand holding the railing of a boat with a tropical island in the background

It's all out there, right now

A good beach has white sand, they tell you. Preferably as finely grained as possible. Like a powder that's sprinkled on the edges of the land. The frosting on the cake, if you will.
The glorious, life-invigorating act of walking

The glorious, life-invigorating act of walking

When I first landed on Craig Mod's website and read he describes himself as a 'writer, photographer, and walker,' I was a little confused. What the hell does it mean to 'be a walker'?
2026 Recent posts
✦ May

Field trips for the greater good →

More field trips for more interesting experiences for better stories and more interesting work.
05 May 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ May

The Sand Engine: a human assist to nature →

A mega pile of sand is slowly eroding over time to protect the Dutch coastline. And that's interesting for a couple of reasons.
04 May 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ April

The Ricoh GR1-D: a minimal full-frame 28mm camera concept →

A full-frame, fixed 28mm camera built for speed, simplicity, and intent. No video, no screen, no distractions. Just a tool that stays out of the way and lets you take the shot.
23 Apr 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ April

De Slufter: a weird name, for a unique place →

The only place in the Netherlands where the sea is allowed to win.
17 Apr 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ April
Featured

Coastwork →

An unplanned trip to Texel turned into a small field study of a coastline unlike any other. Being there, in the wind and water, brought back my fascination with the ocean and its edges.
06 Apr 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

Appendix →

The appendix serves two distinct purposes: to situate the framework within a broader body of knowledge, and to provide a compressed operational view of how it is applied.
29 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

Making closure a practice →

Understanding the Advance Filter is one thing. Keeping it alive in real situations is another. Closing a loop once is not that difficult, especially now that you have this framework. Keeping your system stable over time is where the real work begins.
29 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

Building community is overrated →

Community isn’t something you declare into existence. It forms over time, through shared identity and enough structure to sustain itself. Anything before that is branding.
27 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

The Advance Filter →

Going from chaos to clarity in a few simple steps. That's what we'll do here. Don't expect any growth or productivity hacks. These are simple, scientifically-grounded, concrete, applicable things you can do today to get unstuck and start advancing in life again.
25 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

Knowing what to stop →

So far, we've been talking a lot about the way open loops accumulate, how they become an issue, and what you can do to solve those issues. But a large part of tackling those problems is also defined by what you decide to stop doing.
23 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

Define the shape of your work →

If you can imagine the final form your work should take, you can determine how much time and effort you should invest right now. Projects should be smaller before they become bigger. Loops should be shorter before they become longer.
23 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

Do not 'keep your options open' →

Keeping your options open is useful when starting something new. But when you're stuck, it becomes your biggest enemy. Commit, follow through, learn from the outcome, and adjust from there. Repeat this until direction becomes clear. Prefer finished over perfect; that’s where you actually learn.
22 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

You're too competent to finish things →

If you’re reading this and you feel stuck, there’s a good chance you already know something important: the problem isn’t that you can’t do the work. It's something much more profound and therefore difficult to spot.
22 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

Why this framework exists →

You have ideas. Probably a lot of them. But if they stay in your head, they don’t really mean anything. At some point, it’s on you to turn them into something real. You do that by finishing things, even if they’re rough. That’s how you build proof, figure out what works, and achieve your goals.
21 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March

Introduction →

Before we start, let's make sure that what you're about to read and (hopefully) learn, is in line with your expectations. If you are a creative person with a myriad of ideas that don't seem to fully come to life the way they're supposed to, this framework should help you break through that cycle.
21 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ March
Featured

How to tell stories online →

For years I thought I was simply exploring and taking photos. Only later did I realize I was repeating a pattern: go out, collect, return, interpret, publish, repeat. This issue maps the loop that turns wandering into a creative practice.
05 Mar 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ February
Featured

Mexico, a retrospective →

A look at a country I like a lot, but no longer love. And "it's not you, it's me" I want to tell it, if countries had ears to hear it. Because it really is me and who I am today. But, who knows, another 10 years might do wonders.
23 Feb 2026
2026 Recent posts
✦ February

Playa del Carmen (yes, I am sorry) →

Hey man, let's be real: Playa del Carmen is a tourist hub. It's fake in all
14 Feb 2026
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