Creative Blocks

Thousands of notes and the page stays blank - one small ship action usually unsticks the work.

Key Concept

• Creative blocks are not solved by more capture - ship one small action instead.
• Level 1: Like when the page stays blank - collecting more ideas will not help until you write one messy sentence.
• Level 2: A kid tells you to log one ugly warmup line before the perfect play arrives - creative blocks are not solved by more capture.
• Level 3: Thousands of notes and a blank page means output fixes the block - once something ugly exists, editing is easier than starting.
• Level 4: Write one ugly paragraph about yesterday's customer call - tell your kid to log one messy warmup line before the block lifts.
• Level 5: Pairs with Creative Output - inventory only pays off the day it becomes something someone else can read; capture without ship keeps the page blank.
• Once something ugly exists on the page, editing is a different, easier problem than starting.
• Thousands of notes and a blank page means output fixes, not another capture pass.

Examples

• My kid stared at a blank training log for twenty minutes - I told her to write one messy line about today's warmup and the block lifted once something existed on the paper.
• The new hire could not start the report - I said write one ugly paragraph about yesterday's customer call and the rest followed.

Note Relationships