Self-improvement: Temporary Inspiration Syndrome

A few months ago, I was swept up in the idea of making a high-altitude balloon with GPS sensors. Then, I realized I had to learn Arduino and some electronics. I stopped after a short while when I decided that my time is better spent on something else. In the past, I have also started and stopped on the flying airship, the social media website, and the calendar tracking website just to name a few.

These are what I will call "temporary inspiration." Creative people often encounter these temporary inspirations where action often does not or fails to continue after the initial idea is formed. Crossing the gap between your imagination and reality takes time and dedication. Yet, man creative types just find the step of taking action to be not nearly as interesting as the original idea itself. Besides, there's always more inspirational ideas which pop up in a creative's mind that takes his or her attention away from the often boring process of action. Unfortunately, temporary inspiration syndrome which creatives suffer results in nothing substantial created by creatives since they never finish what they start.

How can we ensure that temporary inspiration syndrome is not a persistent defect in a creative? The solution here is to not find the most inspiring idea since to a creative, the next new idea is always more inspiring, but rather to consciously create an external environment which will reinforce her efforts. There are several ways to do this but I'll just highlight three:

1. Build a team composed of at least one person who is a hardworking non-creative. A team, especially one backed up by people with more focus, enforces persistent work done on the same project through mutual accountability.

2. Find a client or potential client. Although it may sound counter-intuitive to find a client before even finishing a project, this is actually done quite frequently when the project requires funds you don't have which will require outside investors. By having an external agent which requires a certain level of competence, you're more likely to work on it.

3. Have immediate feedback. For instance, if you wish to write a book, don't isolate yourself in your room and just write page after page if you suffer from temporary inspiration syndrome. Instead, write a page or two and share it on a forum or blog. The people's comments will keep you accountable and inspired to continue knowing that this material is actually worth reading. The same process of breaking down into little steps that's immediately recognizable also applies to writing software or designing a product though these large projects also require having a team for timely conclusion.

If you have more suggestions or thoughts, I'll certainly be glad to hear it.