You've set aside a couple of hours to come up with a creative idea and execute it. The blank page is staring at you and you don't know how to start. It feels all too overwhelming. If this is you, hear me out. This is the day-before routine that fixed it for me, it may work for you too.

Premise #1: It's easier to ideate when you have the freedom to think, the pressure of having to come up with ideas within a fixed amount of time stifles creativity.

Premise #2: End products are typically best created under time pressure.

Suggested Course of Action: Leverage multiple pockets of time throughout the day to build up ideas and use your timed sit-down slot to mainly execute.

Ideation Pocket #1: Just before sleep (the day before).

It's scientifically proven that right before you sleep, your mind is ruled by Alpha waves that increase creativity. So take advantage of this and let your mind run wild. Come up with as many ideas as possible, but only reassess them the next morning. Doing so gives you time to sleep on your ideas (literally) and when you wake up the next day, you should have half of them ditched, and the other half worthy of a second look.

Ideation Pocket #2: Before you start your day.

A well-rested brain is a cleaner brain. Take advantage of this clarity and pick the best idea from your list. Even better if you can expand a little on it and provide an overall direction for your idea.

Ideation Pocket #3: In-between, lull moments.

When you're travelling on the subway or chilling during meals, you can consume content related to your project – this is a low-effort way to trigger ideas. Brain dump anything that comes to your mind, even if it's gibberish. Having these ideas offloaded means you'll never lose them, you'll make space for new ideas and provide an excess of content to work with later on.

Ideation Pocket #4: Showers.

The power of showers on creativity is under-appreciated. Research has found that the mind-wandering that happens in the shower helps your mind make connection between information and ideas that you already know. Use this time to gain clarity and insights, and remember to note everything down when you step out of the shower.

It's sit-down, execution time!

When the time comes for execution, your 'blank' page should not be blank. You should have a list of semi-developed ideas and an excess of content to work with.