It can’t churn out genius in a vacuum. Sometimes, you have to lift the lid and let it breathe.
Here’s a sequence of events that plays out a lot for me: One, I make a to-do list for my day. Two, I think, “I want to push project X forward.” Three, I realize I don’t know what exactly the next step for project X should be. Four, I conclude I should allot more time to project X that day so I can think it through, decide, and then do the work. Most of the time, this is the wrong approach.
Actually, I’d be better off skipping project X for the day and doing something else. Why? Because there’s a high chance that, in the meantime, my subconscious will figure out the next step automatically. “Comes time, comes counsel,” we say in Germany. If I wake up the next morning with a strong gut feeling on where to take project X, then not only can I dive right into the actual work, I’ve also saved myself a lot of “thinking just to think.”
If you have trouble picking a direction for a project, just let it sit. Take a day. Or two. Or three. “Let’s continue on Monday” can be a perfectly productive response to an obstacle.
Sure, there are situations where you have to pull through. But whenever possible, add time, add relaxation. Give yourself the gift of patience. Let the path unfold in front of you, put one foot in front of the other—and when you run into a wall, remember that, unlike a pot on a stove, you can always just (let it) sit.