The Generalist's Dilemma: Overcoming Procrastination & Inaction with Grit
You know the feeling. The project sits there, perfectly planned in your head. You've researched, outlined, and maybe even created a detailed timeline. But somehow, weeks pass, and nothing concrete has happened. You're a creative generalist by nature. You've accomplished plenty in your life, and want to do so much more still. Yet here you are, stuck in the gap between intention and action again, quitting a project in mid-air while unable to start the new one.
This is the generalist's dilemma, and it's particularly painful for multi-passionate professionals who see endless possibilities but struggle to bring them to life - or keep them going without straying.
When "Just Do It" Isn't Enough
The standard productivity advice assumes that your problem is either a lack of motivation or a lack of clarity. "Just start," they say. "Break it into smaller steps." But you already know what needs doing. You've broken it down. You've set the deadlines. The issue isn't a lack of knowledge, it's the mysterious desire to keep researching instead of building, planning instead of launching, and perfecting instead of sharing.
For creative professionals with multiple interests, this stuck feeling often comes from a deeper place. You see connections others miss. You understand the complexity of what you're trying to create. You know it could be better, more integrated, more thoughtful. This awareness becomes both your gift and your trap. Because now you've created a mountain in your head, and you want to climb it in one go.
The Perfectionism-Procrastination Loop
Here's what really happens in that space between intention and action: perfectionism disguises itself as preparation. You tell yourself you need one more course, one more research phase, one more week to "get it right." But creative generalist perfectionism isn't about standards; it's really about fear. Fear that your work won't match your vision. Fear that others won't understand your unique perspective. Fear that you'll be judged for trying something that doesn't fit neatly into existing categories. Fear that it will be too much work - like getting on top of a mountain in one step.
The irony is that your many interests and high standards, the very things that make your work unique and different, become the blocks that keep you from creating your work.
Grit vs. Grinding
This is where grit comes in, but not the "grind harder" version that leads to burnout. True grit isn't about forcing yourself through misery. It's about developing the psychological flexibility to act despite uncertainty, to move forward with incomplete information, and to trust that iteration beats ideation.
Psychologist Angela Duckworth defines grit as "passion and perseverance for long-term goals." When you're stuck in inaction, you've usually lost touch with why this project matters to you. You're focused on how it might be received rather than why it needs to exist.
The path out of multi-passionate overwhelm starts with reconnecting to your why, not the logical business case, but the emotional pull that made you care about this idea in the first place.
The Minimum Viable Action
Instead of asking "How do I make this perfect?" start asking "What's the smallest action that would make this real?"
This isn't about lowering your standards. It's about understanding that excellence emerges through iteration, not through extended planning phases. You must embrace being agile in creating. Your first attempt doesn't need to be your final piece of art or project, it needs to be your first proof of concept.
For one creative entrepreneur I worked with, this meant publishing a single blog post instead of waiting to launch a complete content platform. For another generalist, it meant having one conversation with a potential customer instead of building an entire market research plan. In each case, that minimum viable action broke the spell of perfectionism and created momentum.
The Power of "Good Enough to Share"
Creative generalists often struggle with what researchers call "analysis paralysis," the inability to make decisions when faced with multiple good options. You see so many ways your project could evolve that you delay starting until you can pursue all of them simultaneously.
The antidote is embracing "good enough to share." This doesn't mean accepting mediocrity, it means understanding that shared imperfection beats private perfection every time. When you share early versions of your work, you get real feedback that's infinitely more valuable than your inner critic speculating about how it might be received.
Modern tools, including AI productivity tools, can help bridge this gap between vision and execution, allowing you to test ideas quickly and iterate based on real feedback rather than imagined criticism. Whether it's using simple automation to validate market interest or leveraging AI tools for creative professionals to help with initial content creation, technology can help you move from thinking to doing with less friction.
Building Your Action Muscle
Like any skill, taking action despite uncertainty gets easier with practice. Start with low-stakes experiments. Choose projects where failure is informative rather than catastrophic. Give yourself permission to be a beginner again.
Set what I call "learning deadlines" instead of perfection deadlines. Instead of "Launch the perfect course by December," try "Get feedback from 10 people on my course outline by October 15." The first creates pressure to be perfect. The second creates momentum toward improvement.
This approach is particularly effective for portfolio career development, where you're building multiple income streams that need to work together harmoniously rather than perfectly from day one.
The Compound Effect of Small Actions
Here's what happens when you choose action over analysis: each small step gives you information you couldn't have discovered through planning alone.
More importantly, you start building evidence that you can follow through on your ideas. This creates an upward spiral: the more you act, the more confident you become in your ability to act, which makes future action easier. This is how creative generalist success stories are built: one imperfect action at a time.
Moving Forward
The projects sitting in your "someday" pile aren't just abandoned ideas, they're future opportunities waiting for you to develop the courage to be imperfect in public. Your unique perspective and multi-disciplinary thinking are exactly what the world needs, but only if you're willing to share them before they feel finished.
Whether you're building a portfolio career, developing multiple income streams, or simply trying to turn your passions into something meaningful, the gap between intention and action closes not through better planning, but through practiced courage. Start where you are, with what you have, imperfectly but consistently.
Your ideas deserve to exist in the world, not just in your mind.
Struggling to move from intention to action on your creative projects?
I provide career coaching for creative generalists to break through perfectionism and build sustainable momentum toward their biggest goals.
If you're a multi-passionate professional ready to stop planning and start creating, let's talk about how one-on-one coaching can help you bridge that gap.
