Why Creativity Feels Overwhelming (and What to Do About It)

There’s a lot of talk about waiting for inspiration to strike, but I don’t think inspiration is the problem.

Most creative people aren’t short on ideas. What we’re short on is the ability to harness them—to fan the spark into a flame. That’s why so many people have great ideas for books, businesses, and projects that never see the light of day.

What I’ve noticed in myself—and in countless creatives I’ve worked with—is that creative energy can be overwhelming.

One idea sparks another, then another. Suddenly, your mind is flooded with inspiration:

• This idea is so exciting!

• But where do I even start?

• How will I make time for this?

• What if it flops?

• Wait… what if it succeeds?

A spinning mind is a creativity killer.

So how do we break free?

Creativity Needs Infrastructure (Yes, Really)

I think about it like a monsoon.

When I lived in Tucson, AZ, I was walking near a dry riverbed (called a “wash”) under the blazing sun. In the distance, I could see a monsoon storm pouring rain near the mountains.

Then, I heard a strange rushing sound. I turned toward the wash—and suddenly, a wall of water was barreling toward me, filling what had been a bone-dry riverbed just moments before.

One minute, there was nothing. The next, a raging current.

In desert cities, diversion channels and reservoirs help direct this sudden flood of water. Without them, the ground can’t absorb it, and it runs off—completely wasted.

Creativity works the same way.

When inspiration strikes, it can feel like a flood. If we don’t have a way to capture, store, and direct that energy, it either:

1. Washes over us and disappears (great idea, but no follow-through).

2. Overwhelms us until we shut down (too many ideas, no action).

If we want to create sustainably, we need structure—ways to catch, contain, and channel our creative energy so we don’t dry up the moment the inspiration fades.

Structure in our creative practice helps us store our creativity, absorb it and pull from it over time.

Structure Helps Us Flow

This is why creative practices matter.

A regular habit—whether it’s writing, sketching, brainstorming, or making something—keeps creative energy moving. When inspiration comes, you’re already in the rhythm of creation, so it’s easier to capture and act on your ideas.

But without that structure, ideas get stuck—and stuck energy is overwhelming and exhausting.

So yeah—this is why morning pages work.

They don’t just generate ideas; they help us process and channel them. That’s why people who stick with them often experience breakthroughs—not just in creativity but in mental clarity, decision-making, and self-awareness.

If you’re looking for a simple way to get unstuck, this is one of the easiest places to start.

Give it a try, and let me know what happens! If you already practice morning pages (or something similar), I’d love to hear about your experience.

How I’m Channeling Creative Energy into My Business

In the most nonchalant way possible…I decided to rebuild and reopen my coaching business.

This feels huge. But this time, I have the benefit of both foresight and hindsight on my side:

🔮 Foresight: I get to design my business intentionally this time to play to my strengths
👀 Hindsight: I can use lessons (and mistakes) from my previous business and what burned me out

One challenge I always struggled with? Marketing.

I love creating. But marketing? That was the part that always felt like a struggle—from writing my own copy to investing in campaigns to finding the right partners.

This time, I’m doing things differently.

I realized I had a goldmine of past content—insights, notes, client conversations, and lessons learned—that I could repurpose into a marketing strategy that actually feels natural. An AI tool I started using to organize all of my past content and future ideas

The AI Tool I’m Using to Organize My Content

Edit to update: The section on tooling is outdated since I sent this email in March 2024. With the explosion of AI tools, I’ve found the tool is secondary to the approach. I’m keeping this section for the insight on my initial approach, rather than insight on tooling.

To make sense of it all, I started searching for a tool that could help me turn my scattered notes into something useful.

I found Mem.ai and decided to give it a try. Their promise? You can organize all your ideas without actually organizing them.

It took me about 4 hours to upload my content. Some observations:
1️⃣ Their import tools are limited, but they do have a Notion integration.
2️⃣ I accidentally imported a 5,000-row CSV of my old email list, and now I have 5k random “notes” with subscriber names. (Oops.)
3️⃣ I moved a ton of content in, but I still feel like I don’t have the right pieces in there. To make it truly useful, I’d need to add:

• Handwritten notes

• Coaching call transcriptions

• Past client emails

• Transcripts of my podcast/video content

At this point, I’m wondering… should I just focus on the future, or keep digging into the past to extract valuable insights?

Also—if you know of another/better tool for this kind of work, let me know! I have one day left in my free trial before they charge me for the annual subscription. 😅

Your Turn: How Do You Channel Creative Energy?

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Also, if you know someone who’s looking to add more creativity to their life or is building something new, share Creative Foresight with them.

Thanks for being here. You make this community what it is.

Warmly,
Jennifer