How to Unlock Your Best Ideas and Make Progress When You Feel Stuck

‘Simply In Letters’

IMPORTANT: Before we begin, I want to inform you that this will be a longer read than usual (approximately 12-15 minutes). I have had this topic on my mind for a while now, so I wanted to delve into it as in-depth as possible to help you understand that not everything requires 15 hours a day of effort. This is just one small aspect of ‘living a life you don’t want to escape.’ If you enjoy it, please forward, share, and spread the word to a friend or family member. Also, make sure to check out simplynoahdriscoll.com.
(That will be the best way for them to join the journey)

Picture this: It's 11:47 PM on a Wednesday. You've been staring at the same problem for three hours, whether it's a work project, a life decision, or that side hustle you keep saying you'll start.

Your eyes burn from the screen, your brain feels like static, and you're no closer to a solution than when you began.

So you give up. You close the laptop, brush your teeth, and crawl into bed feeling defeated. Again.

But then something strange happens.

At 6:23 AM, while you're half-asleep in the shower, the answer hits you like lightning. Crystal clear. Perfectly formed. So obvious you wonder why you couldn't see it before.

Sound familiar?

If you're like most ambitious humans, this scenario plays out weekly. You force yourself to "focus," white-knuckling your way through tasks, only to have your best insights arrive when you're doing absolutely nothing productive.

Here's what nobody tells you: This isn't a bug in your system. It's a feature.

Your best ideas don't come when you're forcing them because that's not how your brain actually works. Maybe we've been thinking about focus and productivity completely backwards.

The Real Reason You're Stuck

We are living in the age of infinite input. Your phone buzzes every 30 seconds. You listen to podcasts while walking, scroll between tasks, and fall asleep to YouTube videos. You're always "on," never "off," consuming more information in a day than previous generations did in months.

And yet, despite having access to everything, you feel stuck. Frustrated by your lack of progress. Watching other people seem to effortlessly build businesses, relationships, and lives while you spin your wheels.

The problem isn't that you're lazy or unmotivated. The problem is that you've bought into the biggest myth of modern productivity: that willpower and raw hustle are enough.

Most people try to force focus. They think productivity means grinding harder, eliminating all distractions, and powering through with sheer determination. But here's what the productivity gurus won't tell you:

Deep work isn't about forcing focus; it's about cultivating it. It's about quietly programming your subconscious, then getting out of its way.

Three years ago, I was the poster child for productive chaos.

In high school, I was everywhere at once. Varsity athletics, multiple side hustles, honor roll, part-time jobs. I wore my exhaustion like a badge of honor. "Busy" became my identity. If I wasn't doing something, I felt guilty.

College amplified everything. I'd wake up at 5 AM to read before classes, squeeze workouts between lectures, run three different online projects, and fall asleep listening to business podcasts. My calendar was color-coded chaos. My phone had 47 productivity apps.

On paper, I was crushing it. In reality, I was drowning.

Despite consuming massive amounts of information and staying constantly busy, I wasn't making real progress on anything that mattered. My relationships were surface-level. My business ideas never got past the planning stage. I'd start five projects and finish none.

The breaking point came during finals week junior year. I'd been "studying" for 12 hours straight, jumping between subjects, checking my phone every few minutes, feeling increasingly anxious about everything I wasn't doing.

At 2 AM, burnt out and brain-fried, I realized a harsh truth:

I wasn't learning. I was just consuming.

All that input, all that grinding, all that "hustle"…it was just noise. My brain never had space to process, connect, or create anything original.

That's when everything clicked. I realized I needed to stop trying to force conscious effort and start feeding and trusting my unconscious mind instead.

Why Your Best Ideas Come from Your Unconscious Mind

Here's the science behind those shower revelations:

Your brain has a network of brain regions called the Default Mode Network (DMN), which activates when you're not actively focused on a task. When you're walking, showering, or daydreaming, your DMN lights up like a Christmas tree.

This is when magic happens. Your unconscious mind begins to connect information in ways your conscious mind never could. It finds patterns, makes associations, and solves problems that seemed impossible during focused work.

Think about it: When did Archimedes discover the principle of displacement? In the bath. When did Paul McCartney hear the melody for "Yesterday"? In a dream. When did Einstein develop his theory of relativity? During long walks.

These weren't accidents. They were the natural result of well-informed unconscious minds having space to work.

The catch? Your unconscious can only work with what you feed it. Most people fill their minds with junk, social media, random YouTube videos, endless notifications, and then wonder why nothing original comes out.

It's like trying to make a gourmet meal with gas station snacks. The ingredients determine the outcome.

The Deep Work Formula

After years of experimentation, I've developed what I call the Deep Work Formula. It's not about grinding harder; it's about working smarter by aligning with how your brain actually functions.

Input: Curate High-Quality Information

Read deeply, not widely. Instead of consuming 47 articles a day, choose 2-3 high-quality books per month and actually absorb them. I went from reading random blog posts to committing to one book per week—the depth changed everything.

Curate your feeds ruthlessly. Unfollow accounts that add noise. Follow thinkers who challenge your assumptions. Your unconscious mind becomes what you feed it.

Feed Your Unconscious

Schedule boredom. I know it sounds crazy, but boredom is when your brain processes information and makes connections. I take a 30-minute walk every day with no phone, no podcasts, no input, just thinking space.

Create digital-free zones. The first 90 minutes of my morning and the last hour before bed are completely screen-free. This gave my brain permission to wander and process.

Make Space for Connection

Schedule downtime like meetings. Breaks aren't lazy, they're when your unconscious does its best work. I literally block "thinking time" on my calendar.

Step away from problems. My biggest business breakthrough came during a weekend camping trip where I wasn't "working" at all. Sometimes the best thing you can do is stop trying.

Capture the Output

Always carry a capture tool. Ideas come when they come, not when it's convenient. I use my phone's voice notes for walks and keep a notebook by my bed.

Review and connect weekly. Every Sunday, I review the week's captured ideas and look for patterns or connections I missed in real-time.

The Deep Work Day Protocol

Here's the daily routine that changed my life:

Morning (90 minutes): Read high-quality input. No phone, no distractions. Just deep learning.

Mid-Day (2-3 hours): Focus on ONE meaningful project. Not five. One.

Afternoon: Take a walk or shower with no audio. Let your mind process what you've learned.

Evening: Jot down any ideas that surfaced. Write tomorrow's most important question. Sleep on it.

How Deep Work Changed My Trajectory

The shift from chaos to clarity didn't happen overnight, but the results were undeniable.

Within six months of implementing this system, I had more breakthrough ideas than in the previous two years combined. My first successful online business came from an insight during a morning walk. My clearest life decisions emerged during screen-free evenings.

But the biggest change was internal. I stopped feeling behind. The constant anxiety about "not doing enough" disappeared because I knew my unconscious mind was working even when I wasn't.

My relationships improved because I was actually present, rather than mentally juggling seventeen different priorities. My work became more focused and effective because I was tackling fewer things with greater depth.

Getting away from constant stimulation and the myth of "multi-hustling" didn't make me less productive; it made me unstoppable.

Your Action Plan for This Week

Ready to build your own Deep Work Formula? Start with these five shifts:

• Audit your digital input for 3 days. Write down every piece of content you consume. Be honest about what's adding value vs. creating noise.

• Schedule 2 "blank space" sessions this week. Just 20-30 minutes of walking, sitting quietly, or shower time with no input. See what surfaces.

• Pick ONE project and focus on just that for a week. No switching. No multitasking. One thing, done well.

• Carry a capture tool everywhere. Phone voice notes, small notebook, whatever works. Your unconscious will start delivering—be ready.

• Ask yourself each night: "What did I feed my unconscious mind today?" High-quality input leads to high-quality output.

If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like everyone else is moving faster than you, listen carefully: You're not broken. You're not unmotivated. You're not behind.

You're likely just under-feeding or overwhelming your unconscious mind.

The solution isn't to try harder, it's to try differently. Give your mind the high-quality inputs it craves, the processing space it needs, and the trust it deserves.

What's the one thing you'll try this week to give your unconscious mind space to work? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response and often share the best insights with the community.

Stop forcing focus and start feeding your unconscious.

Noah

P.S. If this newsletter helped you think differently about productivity and creativity, forward it to a friend who's stuck in the hustle trap. Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is permission to work with their brain instead of against it.

Thank you for reading and for being part of this journey. 

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