Procrastination and the deep creative: Trusting the wisdom beneath the surface

Organizational research has found that procrastinators tend to be more creative than those who don’t procrastinate. The results even show a bell curve: a healthy amount of procrastination facilitates creative insights, while too much or too little can stifle them.

When I was studying at the University of Chicago under the mentorship of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (author of the bestselling book Flow), I learned how creativity thrives in unexpected ways. In the years since completing my PhD, I’ve continued to study how adults learn and process information in everyday life. 

One pattern I’ve consistently observed is this: people who procrastinate in healthy ways are more in alignment with what I call the Deep Creative.

The Deep Creative is the wisdom beneath conscious awareness. It’s pre-verbal and intuitive—what we could call “gut feelings.” It’s where our most profound insights, decisions, and creations originate. 

The Deep Creative can’t be accessed through overthinking or rigid planning. So if you’re the type of person who anxiously checks items off your to-do list, you’re not giving yourself space for ideas to percolate. And you may be wasting your time.

Here’s a simple example…

When I don’t have time to prepare for a talk or presentation, my mind often panics: Yikes! What am I going to do? Then when the moment comes, it flows beautifully. It wasn’t necessary for me to spend time preparing. Or sometimes the interview or talk is canceled by the host at the last minute. 

It would have been a waste of time to prepare.

It’s like there’s a deep wisdom that I just need to follow and trust. 

This isn’t to say that preparation or planning is never necessary. But there are times when a lack of action aligns us with something deeper. 

Steve Jobs famously didn’t create detailed business plans. Instead, he relied on his intuition, navigating Apple’s rapidly changing industry with his gut. In fast-evolving environments, what’s true today may not be true tomorrow, and rigid plans can quickly become obsolete.

I’ve worked with clients who’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on unnecessary training or consultants who steered them away from their gut instincts. Their thinking minds told them they needed these resources, but their intuition knew otherwise.

Our logical minds only know what they know. They’re limited by past experiences and current knowledge.

The Deep Creative is much wiser.

If you’re procrastinating, consider this:

• The task you’re avoiding may not need to be done at all.
• The scope of the task may be about to change.

Rather than pushing yourself to act, pause and listen. Trust your gut. Stay aligned with the intuitive wisdom of the Deep Creative.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to join my upcoming seminar starting this Friday. It’s designed for entrepreneurs and creatives to align with Deep Creative flow and trust their inner wisdom. Click here for details—I’d love to have you join us!