Stop Waiting Until You’re Ready: A 30-Day Action Plan to Imperfectly Start Today
You’re standing on the edge of a diving board. Staring down at the clear blue water below. It’s the perfect day to swim.
Everything is set for the plunge. But something holds you back. You keep telling yourself, “I’m not ready yet.“
“Maybe tomorrow.”
Sound familiar?
In life and creativity, we often find ourselves perched at the precipice of an opportunity, paralyzed by the feeling of unreadiness.
We keep waiting for that magical moment when all the stars align, but truth be told, that moment rarely comes.
Part of being ready is realizing you never are.
The people doing bigger things than you often have less experience. But took the leap anyway.
They had a go. The real key to creative success isn’t being prepared — it’s being willing.
Let’s unpack this powerful concept with a detailed roadmap to help you stop waiting until you’re ready and start creating today.
Shift Your Mindset
Waiting for “readiness” is like waiting for a perfect wave; you could be sitting on your board forever.
Instead, recognize that the surf is always rough, and dive in anyway.
Reframe Thought Patterns: Replace “I’m not ready” with “I’m excited to try.” The difference in energy propels action.
Reality Check: Even your idols were once beginners. Beyoncé started singing in her mom’s salon.
Set Micro-Goals
Balancing a side hustle, full-time job, or other responsibilities? Break down your creative pursuit into digestible chunks.
Daily Milestones: Spend 15–30 minutes daily on your craft — write 100 words, design a logo concept, or brainstorm podcast topics.
Weekly Themes: Assign a weekly theme (e.g., “Networking Week” or “Design Sprint Week”) to focus your efforts.
Celebrate Progress: Your brain thrives on dopamine hits, so reward yourself for achieving small goals — a favorite snack, a walk, or an episode of your favorite show.
Launch Imperfectly
If you wait for perfection, you’ll be twiddling your thumbs until the cows come home.
Soft Launch: Share a draft, sketch, or demo with a small, trusted group. This could be an online forum or a few friends who provide genuine feedback.
Iterate Fast: Act on constructive criticism swiftly to improve your product and re-release it with tweaks.
Success Story: Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, famously said, “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”
Benchmark vs. Compare
Learn from those who are doing bigger things without falling into the comparison trap. Use others’ successes as a benchmark, not a measuring stick.
Inspiration Boards: Curate examples of creators you admire. Study their early works to understand how far they’ve come.
Identify Key Strategies: Extract actionable strategies from their journeys. Maybe it’s their posting frequency or how they market themselves on social media.
Leverage Your Network
Even with less experience, people often succeed because they lean into their support systems.
Seek Mentors: Approach those who are a step ahead and ask specific questions like, “What was your biggest mistake when starting out?” or “What tools helped you the most?”
Collaborate: Join forces with peers for mutual growth. Run a co-marketing campaign, write guest blog posts, or offer bundled services/products.
Case Study: Two indie game developers, John and Jane, cross-promoted each other’s games by including each other’s characters as Easter eggs, doubling their audiences.
Trust the Process
Part of readiness is realizing that you’ll never feel 100% prepared.
Growth Mindset: Embrace the idea that every failure is a learning opportunity, not a catastrophe.
Track Learning: Keep a journal or document lessons learned from each project. Reflect monthly to see how far you’ve come.
Success Story: J.K. Rowling faced 12 rejections before Harry Potter found a home at Bloomsbury. She refined her pitch each time, building resilience that prepared her for the series’ explosive success.
Perception
Readiness is an illusion.
Taking action in the face of uncertainty creates a cycle of growth and progress.
The real magic happens when you take that leap.
Remember, it’s not about being ready but being willing.
Start today, and let momentum do the rest.
BONUS
Here’s the 30-Day Accountability Schedule I used to get started.
To help you stop waiting and start creating, here's a 30-day accountability schedule designed to help you gain momentum. Each day includes a small, actionable task to push you forward and build your creative habit.
Week 1: Shifting Your Mindset & Setting Micro-Goals
- Day 1: Reframe your mindset. Write down a mantra like, “I’m excited to try,” and place it somewhere visible.
- Day 2: List your creative goals and aspirations, breaking them down into small, manageable chunks.
- Day 3: Create a weekly theme (e.g., "Writing Week") to help you focus on a single aspect of your creative pursuit.
- Day 4: Spend 15-30 minutes on a creative task related to this week’s theme.
- Day 5: Identify and write down potential challenges preventing you from starting.
- Day 6: Brainstorm practical solutions to the challenges from Day 5.
- Day 7: Celebrate your progress with a small reward and reflect on the week's accomplishments.
Week 2: Launching Imperfectly & Building Support
- Day 8: Share a draft or prototype of your work with a trusted friend or small group for feedback.
- Day 9: Act on the feedback and iterate quickly.
- Day 10: Schedule a call or meeting with a potential mentor, asking specific questions about getting started.
- Day 11: Create a list of people you could collaborate with or learn from in your creative field.
- Day 12: Reach out to one person on your list and suggest a potential collaboration.
- Day 13: Record and share a short video or social media post about your creative journey so far.
- Day 14: Reflect on the feedback and collaborations; tweak your plan accordingly.
Week 3: Benchmarking vs. Comparing & Growing Your Network
- Day 15: Create an inspiration board featuring creators you admire and their early works.
- Day 16: Identify three strategies from your inspiration board that you can apply to your journey.
- Day 17: Connect with a creative community online or in person, and join the conversation.
- Day 18: Analyze how often your inspiration board creators share their work and plan your own posting frequency.
- Day 19: Share a piece of your work publicly (blog, social media, forum, etc.) regardless of its "readiness."
- Day 20: Reach out to a creator you admire for advice or feedback on your work.
- Day 21: Reflect on the value of feedback and benchmarking so far; refine your approach.
Week 4: Building Momentum & Trusting the Process
- Day 22: Keep a learning journal. Write down three lessons you've learned this month.
- Day 23: Identify and list five new ideas for creative projects.
- Day 24: Create a prototype or draft for one of your new project ideas.
- Day 25: Share this prototype with your accountability group for feedback.
- Day 26: Use the feedback to refine your prototype and schedule its launch.
- Day 27: Reflect on your growth so far; write down three ways your mindset has shifted.
- Day 28: Set a 90-day goal for your creative pursuit and break it down into weekly themes.
- Day 29: Celebrate by treating yourself to a creative outing or a favorite meal.
- Day 30: Launch your project publicly, regardless of readiness, and let momentum carry you forward!
Final thoughts
Embrace imperfection, lean into collaboration, and build consistency through daily effort. At the end of 30 days, you’ll find yourself well on your way to making creativity a habit and building a resilient, growth-focused mindset. Keep going!