Creativity – Action Beats Planning

Creativity… I’m gonna get right into it. I’ve said it before; over-planning can kill any project; any goal; any dream. Planning can give you plenty of excuses to keep putting things off. Thinking about, and trying to get all your ducks in a row can make you feel like you’re working on it, but it’s really just keeping you from actually creating anything.

Creativity = Doing

I’ve known incredibly talented and creative people who will tell me, for months, about how they’re going to do something; maybe a concept for a photo project; starting a podcast or YouTube channel. But when I catch up with them months later, the project is still in the planning stage, or maybe they’ve over-thought things so much, they’ve simply talked themselves out of doing the project they had planned.

If this sounds like you, don’t feel bad. Everyone does this to some extant. I’ve definitely been guilty of all that, so I know from which I speak.

I’m Not Saying Planning is Evil

Planning, by itself, isn’t a bad thing. It can be essential for many things. You, know that old saying…

If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail… blah, blah, blah…

Yeah, in some areas of life, planning is necessary. But I’m keeping the scope of this conversation limited to our creativity; the kind of stuff that really feeds our soul.

Less is More

When it comes to our creativity, it’s fine to have a plan. But, I would suggest to keep the planning to a minimum.

Plan as much as you need to, so that you’re excited; motivated; fired up. Then take action. Start doing. Get to it, man. Use that excitement and motivation to start the momentum. Do it early so that you can harness that energy that you feel from your minimal planning stage to start making your project a reality.

Fix It Along the Way

Yeah, you might not have all your Ts crossed and your Is dotted, but so what. You can always change things up as you go. This is what we do! We’re photographers/problem solvers. If we need to do something different to make the shot work… we figure it out; we change it up so that it does work. For me, that’s all part of the excitement and fun. You’re creating on the spot; coming up with creative solutions to make the project work. Challenges are good, they stimulate your brain, your creative thinking. This is fun stuff, man.

You’re Creative

If you’re reading this post, then you are already aware of your creativity. Enjoy that; use that; make more stuff; more photos; more photo projects; day trips; shoots; prints; books, videos, podcasts… Do it now. Do something today. Don’t let the planning stage keep you from starting.