Sometimes the best ideas come when you stop trying so hard to find them.
Lately, I’ve been wrestling with a few creative knots—decisions about structure, direction, and timing for a handful of ZAO projects. Normally I’d whiteboard, pace, overthink. But this week, I tried something else: I let it simmer.
The idea of the mental back burner—this low, steady simmer of unsolved thoughts—has been underrated in my creative practice. But Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff reminded me just how powerful it can be. Not as a way to avoid the work, but as a way to let deeper intelligence do its thing, quietly.
It’s not inaction. It’s trust. Trust that the parts of your mind working behind the curtain need fewer interruptions, not more brainstorming sessions.
And just like that, a few solutions I’d been chasing down showed up uninvited—one while stretching, one mid-walk, and another while I was rinsing out a coffee cup.
If you’re stuck, maybe it’s time to stop pushing. Let your mind cook up the answer without micromanagement.
You’ll still be doing the work—just the kind that doesn’t look like work from the outside.
Let it simmer.
– BetterCallZaal on behalf of the ZAO Team
Zaal Panthaki
3 comments
zm this one’s for anyone stuck in creative limbo—try putting your problem on the back burner. today’s ZAO reflection: how letting go opens the door to better answers. read it here: https://paragraph.com/@thezao/year-of-the-zao-day-184 #ZAO
You should connect with dauleah, who said: 'Trying to keep creative flow while caring for a kiddo, a home, work and friends is no joke. Add my own functionality issues and I’m super proud of myself for managing to do some bits of writing. Still I get down on myself for not being more available for collaboration and creativity. How do you make it work?' Join the conversation in the /The Curious Hermitage channel.
Having trouble with creativity? This week @zaal suggests embracing the mental back burner. By letting thoughts simmer instead of overthinking, new ideas emerge naturally. It’s not laziness; it's trusting the mind to do its magic. Sometimes, the best solutions come when you're not actively seeking them.