A Creative’s Guide to Getting Started, Eventually…

Why getting started rarely feels simple for creatives

As someone who has always explored some form of creative practice, loves to research, and experiment with new ways of applying ideas, there’s a subject that rarely gets talked about.

The process of getting started.

It’s the beginning of a new year, and I’m finding a lot of friction in getting back into a routine. Everything feels heavier than it should. I know there’s a process to every process, but defeat often sets in long before I even get started.

After decades of research into my own creative patterns, I’ve realized I often move through very specific stages before anything actually begins. So rather than letting that feeling of defeat overtake me, I decided to study these stages further.

Scientifically, of course.

For me, the vicious cycle usually looks something like this:

1. Think about starting
2. Research starting
3. Avoid starting by thinking about starting
4. Doubt everything
5. The idea sucks

Repeat steps 1–5… or finally get started

To paint a clearer picture, let’s dive into these stages in more detail.

Step 1: Think About Starting

This is the moment of confrontation, right after an idea is born. In this case, writing this article.

Maybe I’m already sitting at my desk. Maybe the thought arrives while I’m doing laundry or standing in the shower. Either way, the big bang has happened, and I’m suddenly filled with inspiration to get started.

It’s kind of like that moment in a Sunday morning cartoon when a light bulb appears over the character’s head. There’s a spark. Nothing more. Action to come later

Step 2: Research Starting

Every idea needs time to bloom, right? 

This is where I start researching endlessly. Reading. Watching. Bookmarking. Filing things into folders I will never look at again. Falling down rabbit holes that feel adjacent enough to justify themselves.

Somehow, even with all this newfound wealth of knowledge, I’m now further away from understanding my original idea.

But guess what. I now know how to cook lasagna in a dishwasher.

Step 3: Avoid Starting by Thinking About Starting

This is the peak procrastination period.

I clean my workspace. Then organize my equipment for the second time this week. Visit Ash in her office. Make food. Go for a walk. Play with my dogs. Go for a bike ride. Play with the dogs again.

All of this feels productive in some way. But I’m still far from actually moving forward.

Eventually, I may choose a moment to sit down. Or I may not. Either way, I’m very busy preparing to begin.

Step 4: Self-Doubt

This is the moment focus finally shows up and immediately starts asking questions that don’t need to be answered yet.

I begin reviewing everything. Notes. Half-formed thoughts written during previous stages of avoidance. I start noticing holes in the idea. The act of problem-solving reveals even more problems.

Does this make sense?
Will anyone even care?
What’s the purpose?
What’s my purpose?

Well, that escalated quickly…

Step 5: The Idea Sucks

Fuck it. The idea sucks. Back to the drawing board.

This was a complete waste of time. My funds are running low. I need to market. I need to put something out. I’m going to be forgotten, and all I’ve really learned is how to make lasagna in a dishwasher.

Why should I even try when the world is buried in snow, World War III feels imminent, AI is taking over, everyone has an OnlyFans, and everything feels deeply fucked?

Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Woosah.

We either repeat steps one through five, or we let go, trust the process, and move forward.

Eventually, you either start, or you become very educated about not starting.

There are days when nothing seems to come together. Getting started feels impossible. But even thinking about starting is a form of movement. Sometimes it’s the only movement available. I often forget this.

And maybe that’s the part we overlook.

Letting the Process Be the Process

For as long as it can take to finally begin, I’ve stopped dismissing the value of this phase and started recognizing it as part of the process itself. Because for me, it’s led to something quieter and more important.

A deeper understanding of myself.

My values.
My patterns.
My identity.

For any self-branded business owner, the line between who we are and what our business is can get dangerously thin. Over time, the work we do on ourselves begins to carry the same weight as the work we do on the business.

Still, feeling stuck isn’t always an identity issue. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the idea at all. Sometimes it’s the result of trying to force clarity before alignment has caught up.

And maybe that’s the real tension.

This phase is where some people feel tortured by their craft. Others find inspiration by loosening their grip. By letting the idea exist without demanding immediate performance. By allowing uncertainty to be part of the work, not a sign of failure.

When I first started this journey, being paid to be creative just sort of happened. I didn’t overthink it. Now, I can’t stop thinking about what I’m building, why I’m building it, and what I’m leaving behind.

Not because anyone is paying attention, but because I am.

Through this process, I’m learning to accept that showing up is still something. Whether I allowed curiosity to exist without guilt. Whether I trusted that movement doesn’t always look like momentum. Or whether I managed to stray outside the confines of my box.

Over the decades, I’ve learned that getting started doesn’t mean producing something right away. 

Sometimes it just means staying in the room long enough for the idea to realize it’s safe to exist…

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If you’re a creative who feels stuck in the cycle of thinking, researching, and avoiding, this guide is a reminder that getting started rarely looks clean.

Many creatives I speak with aren’t lacking ideas or motivation—they’re simply caught in the space between knowing they should start and feeling ready to do so.

I share reflections like this, along with notes on creative practice and momentum, through a small, occasional email list for creatives. If that sounds useful, you’re welcome to join.

And if you’d rather reach out directly and talk things through, that door is always open too.