Don’t Wait Around for Inspiration
You can actually make it... If you even need it.
Hey friend
Welcome to 200 Word Tuesdays. Where we give you short, actionable ideas to implement in your project management. We promise that you haven’t heard these powerful ideas anywhere else. Let’s get started.
“The advice I like to give anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to do an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.” ~ Chuck Close
Chuck Close reminds us that action fuels creativity, not the other way around. Waiting for inspiration often leads to procrastination, but showing up and engaging with your work creates momentum and sparks new ideas. The act of starting, even without a grand vision, generates possibilities you wouldn’t discover otherwise.
To put this into practice, commit to a routine that ensures you show up regularly, even on days when you don’t feel inspired. Treat your creative work like a non-negotiable appointment. Break large projects into smaller, manageable tasks, focusing on just one step at a time. Starting small can help you build momentum and make progress feel achievable.
Don’t wait for perfection before beginning; allow yourself to create imperfectly. Even mediocre work can provide valuable insights and point you in new directions. Rituals can also help signal to your brain that it’s time to focus—something as simple as a cup of coffee or tidying your workspace can create a mental shift.
Finally, embrace the process. Reflect on what you’ve done after each session, as insights often come from reviewing and iterating. The more you engage with your work, the more ideas will emerge. Remember, inspiration is the result of doing, not waiting.
See you next week,
Jonathan (The Effective Project Manager)
