“The best way to face the future is to create it.” – Jennifer Riel
Ever notice how your brightest ideas seem to get trapped in the space between “I should” and “I did”?
I've seen way too many creative professionals master the art of ideation—filling notebooks with possibilities and planning ambitious projects but then struggling to transform those intentions into tangible progress.
It often feels like trying to cross an invisible bridge.
The space between where you are and where you want to go can feel overwhelming, leading to hesitation and uncertainty about the next step forward.
This week, we’re exploring practical strategies to bridge that gap, helping you move from intention to meaningful action.
Whether you’re developing new creative habits, structuring ambitious projects, or refining your workflow, you’ll discover approaches that create momentum while honoring your creative process.
Bridge the Gap: Your Creative Action Toolkit
From Knowledge to Action - The Knowing-Doing Gap
The Knowing-Doing Gap doesn’t just highlight a common creative challenge—it offers a practical pathway forward. Drawing from successful companies and individuals, it explores how to transform your creative insights into meaningful progress, one step at a time.
Experiment Your Way Forward - Personal Experiments: A Growth Mindset Approach to Self-Improvement
Feeling stuck in the planning phase? The Personal Experiments framework from Ness Labs shows you how to turn uncertainty into momentum through small, intentional actions. Instead of waiting for perfect conditions, you’ll learn to treat progress as a series of low-stakes experiments that build confidence and clarity through action.
Design Your Path - Intention by Design: Create Clarity and Confidence in Your Creative Path
Ready to align your creative work with your deeper intentions? The Intention by Design course introduces a flexible system that helps you move from scattered ideas to focused direction without sacrificing your creative spontaneity. As part of the Antifragile Creative community membership, this course gives you practical tools to design a workflow that grows with you.
From Insight to Action
Moving from intention to action doesn’t require massive changes. Small, deliberate steps can create powerful momentum.
Here are three ways to start bridging the gap today:
- Start Small: Choose one idea that’s been living in your notes and write down the very next action needed to move it forward. Something as simple as “open new document” or “sketch initial concept” is perfect.
- Track Without Judgment: For the next seven days, notice when you feel the gap between intention and action. What triggers the disconnect? Take a quick note in your phone or sketchbook—this awareness alone often reveals patterns you can adjust.
- Make It Visual: Create a simple reminder of your creative intention that lives where you work. A Post-it with three words, a small sketch, or even a color that represents your goal can help bridge the mental gap between thinking and doing.
Your Turn
What’s one creative intention you’re ready to transform into action this week?
Share your next step in a reply—sometimes simply declaring your intention can spark momentum.
Moving forward together,
Jeff
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Know another creative who’s ready to bridge the gap between thinking and doing? Forward this issue—sometimes the right insight at the right moment is all it takes to spark action.
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