Why Staring at a Blank Page is a Waste of Time
(and How to Never Do It Again)
How many times have you learned something and, in hindsight, it felt so obvious you wanted to smack your past self? That was me this past week. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I had to share it. As my two loyal stalkers probably noticed, I’ve been MIA on Substack Notes. There’s a good reason—I’ve been untethering myself from the chains of technology, and honestly? It’s been been pretty damn great—invigorating, enlightening, freeing—insert all the inspirational buzzwords here.
Originally, back in May 2024 I did a 30-day digital detox with Marie Vandoorne. It was life-changing…until I relapsed into old habits (because humans are great at self-sabotage, and if you haven't noticed I'm human). I hadn’t properly replaced those habits with anything meaningful. I’m not saying you need to swap every bad habit for a shiny new one—sometimes you just gotta cut the dead weight. Social media? It's all fake garbage. The endless notifications? Made-up nonsense designed to yank you out of the real world. You don’t need them. Disconnect. I’ll hop off my soapbox for today because I wanna show you how to never stare at a blank page again.
What's the Myth of the Blank Page?
Lemme ask you a question—why do writers ever stare at a blank page? Take a moment. Really let the question sink in. You might think, “Well, they’ve got to start somewhere,” or “It’s not going to write itself.” I'll reframe it—why would any writer try to start from nothing?
Blank pages aren’t only pretty intimidating—they’re a trap. They lull you into thinking you have to conjure brilliance out of thin air. This couldn't be further from the truth—no one starts with nothing. Not in writing, not in life.
When you were born, your DNA already had a blueprint of who you might become—your temperament, your quirks, your potential love for pineapple on pizza. Everything you are today is built on what came before. Why, then, do we convince ourselves that creativity must be this grand act of originality? That's the thing, innit—it’s actually not.
The “Original Idea” Lie
This truth will be hard for some of you to swallow—you’ve never had an original thought in your life. Neither have I. Neither has anyone else. Creativity isn’t about pulling something new from the void—it’s about remixing and iterating. Every groundbreaking idea is just a mash-up of existing concepts. Some of the greatest stories ever told are just rewrites of older tales. Your favorite song? Probably sampling a beat from 30 years ago. That trendy “new” product? A slightly tweaked version of something your grandparents used.
So, again, why are you staring at a blank page? That blank page isn’t a starting point--it’s a sign you’ve got nothing to work with. And that’s okay—it just means it’s time to stop punishing yourself and start gathering material.
The Fix—Gimme Fuel, Gimme Fire, Not a Blank Page
If you’ve been around Substack for more than a few minutes, you’ve probably heard the advice, “If you’re uninspired, read.” Solid advice! But it’s missing the second half—take notes while you read. Not in someone else’s words—yours.
Highlighting? Meh. It feels productive, but how often do you revisit those flouro stripes? And even if you revisit them, what exactly are you doing with them? Do you try and memorise the highlighted bits verbatim?
Random notes littering your margins? That tiny writing looks cute, doesn't it? But are they helping you morph ideas into something usable?
Oh you have a great memory? Don’t kid yourself. Even if you have a photographic memory, that won’t magically turn ideas into words.
The solution is simple—write notes in your own words. When you read something interesting, pause. Ask yourself, What does this mean to me? How can I use this? Then jot it down. It doesn’t have to be profound, groundbreaking—it just needs to be personal. Think of your notes more like seeds, not great monuments.
Your Idea Bank, Build it Up
If staring at a blank page is a sign of empty creative reserves, the cure is building an idea bank. No, you're not gonna hold every idea in your brain, you're gonna do something with them.
Start by reading widely and with cuiosity.
Don’t just stick to your comfort zone. Read fiction, non-fiction, weird forums, obscure Substacks. The more diverse your inputs, the more interesting your outputs.
Join this new, exciting religion—writing notes!
Use whatever tool works for you—Obsidian, Logseq, Notion, a notebook, the back of an envelope. But keep your notes concise and in your voice. Think of it as having a conversation with yourself.
Revisit and remix—this one’s pretty crucial.
Putt aside time to go back through your notes. If you're writing notes every day, you should do your best to revisit them daily. Connect dots that weren’t obvious before. The best ideas often come from combining seemingly unrelated thoughts.
How Do You Know it's Gonna Work?
For me, it's pretty obvious—by taking notes as you read / consume you're taking an active role in what you're reading, and you’re never starting from scratch. You’re starting from a collection of sparks—something to build on. This approach takes so much pressure off you as well, because you’re not demanding the world from yourself—you’re allowing it to emerge naturally. You don't need to do everything the hard way—by reading and writing notes smartly, you allow yourself to use your brain more strategically and with purpose. It also becomes addictive, so watch out!
Last Bit
The blank page is a myth. You don’t have to face it, and you shouldn’t. Start with something—anything. Your ideas don’t have to be perfect—they just have to be yours. Disconnect from the fake, feed your brain with the real, and watch the ideas flow. Let go of the idea that you have to conjure "originality" like some kinda magician...or writician...
Next time you’re stuck, go back to your notes. That’s where the magic is.
Try doing for the next week and lemme know how it goes!
In my upcoming articles I'll be going through how I take notes and organise them so you can become a rockstar at note-taking and plow through those 100 ideas you have gathering dust (and that you've probably forgotten about).
I don't have a catchphrase to end articles in SparkLab yet, if you've got any ideas drop ‘em in the comments, send me a DM, whatever, reach out!
