Author of seven books, including The Accidental Creative, Herding Tigers, Die Empty, Daily Creative, The Brave Habit. I help creative pros and leaders to be brave, focused, and brilliant every day.
What are your "escape hatches"?
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Ever notice how the “smart thing to do” often sounds suspiciously like an excuse? In this week's episode of Daily Creative, I dove into a phenomenon I see all too often among talented, ambitious people: the subtle art of building “escape hatches” that keep us from committing fully to our creative goals. Waiting until the last minute feels like a productivity quirk, but it actually shields us from ever discovering what our best looks like. When we rush, we retain an out: “Hey, I only had two hours.” The antidote is intentional: break big projects into step goals and time-block your calendar for those tasks. When you measure progress at manageable milestones, you eliminate the drama of all-or-nothing deadlines and give yourself space to uncover your fullest potential. Where in your work are you leaving things “until there’s pressure,” and what is one step goal you could set this week? Doing too many things at once can feel like ambition, but often, it’s fear of failing at the one thing that matters most. Spreading your energy across projects insulates you from risk, but it also robs you of the chance to find out what focused effort could accomplish. The solution? Pick your “big three”—the top priorities where impact would be most significant if you gave your all. Say no to distractions masquerading as opportunities and protect time for the work at your core. Which three priorities, if tackled, would move everything else forward in your work this quarter? It’s easy to shift your definition of success after a project is over: “Well, we didn’t do what we planned, but this outcome is good enough.” Rationalizing results lets you avoid the sting of failure, but it also prevents learning and diminishes honesty in your team or yourself. Define clear metrics for success at the outset, be objective, and establish external accountability—so you know when it’s time to celebrate, or time to course correct. Before you start your next project, what concrete metric will tell you that you’ve actually succeeded? Backup plans, “just in case” scenarios, or “waiting for the right time” often look like prudence, but they’re usually fear in disguise. We talk ourselves into delay by dressing it up as wisdom, but those moments rarely move us forward. Real progress starts with closing these safety exits—committing to your next move and trusting yourself to adapt if the unexpected happens. There’s a difference between being prepared and being perpetually uncommitted. What’s the escape hatch you keep just in case your current venture doesn’t go perfectly—and what would closing it look like? True creative confidence doesn’t come from endless backup plans. It comes from knowing you can “adjust and adapt” as you go, and being willing to risk failure for the sake of real growth. Close an escape hatch—set a milestone, pick your big three, or define a concrete outcome—and see what happens when you give yourself no choice but to move forward and trust your abilities. What’s one area this week where you can commit fully, allowing yourself neither an excuse nor an easy exit? Remember, escape hatches might feel like they keep us safe, but more often, they just keep us where we are. This week, close a hatch and lean in. That’s what real leadership looks like.
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Todd Henry
Author of seven books, including The Accidental Creative, Herding Tigers, Die Empty, Daily Creative, The Brave Habit. I help creative pros and leaders to be brave, focused, and brilliant every day.
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