Driven or Curious
Running a business is often portrayed as a thrilling rollercoaster of wins, losses, breakthroughs and bold moves, fuelled by passion, purpose, and endless hustle. But what if the real challenge isn’t burnout from too much action… but procrastination in the gaps!
This is my reality. When I’m working directly on a customer’s problem, something concrete, something real, I’m alive. Ideas flow, time disappears, and I’m deep in meaningful tasks. But when the problem or challenge is complete, I stall. I am on pause. I tinker endlessly with things that don’t matter, or daydream. Not from laziness, but from a lack of dopamine.
“Honestly, I don’t wake up driven. I wake up curious – where’s the next problem is often what I think”
The Dopamine Dilemma
We talk a lot about dopamine in the context of motivation. It’s the brains chemical linked to reward, novelty and drive. Scroll your phone, tick off a to-do list, or get great feedback there’s your dopamine hit.
But building something meaningful, especially a purpose-driven business often isn’t quick or easy. Sometimes, it’s quiet, slow, and requires us to keep showing up even when there’s no instant reward. That’s where things get tricky.
When I’m not working on a live challenge, something that matters to someone, I drift. No clarity about what’s really needed. No clear direction. And so the momentum drops. Procrastination creeps in, disguised as “thinking time” or “tweaking my offer” or “just another bit of research”.
In truth,
“I’m not lazy. I’m under-stimulated”
I Need the Problem First
Some people build a business around a product or an idea, and whilst I have that, I prefer more often than not to build mine around a problem.
I need to feel the friction. I need to understand what’s not working for someone. That’s when the good stuff happens, the spark, the clarity, the energy. Without that customer challenge in front of me, it’s like trying to create in a vacuum. And nothing good is found in a vacuum (just the odd lost earing back and small Lego pieces).
It’s taken me time to realise that’s not a flaw, it’s simply how I work best. I don’t create things and hope they’re useful. I work with people to understand what’s useful and then I build it. That means the most productive version of me is often the one in dialogue with others, not monologue with myself.
Procrastination in the Gaps
When there’s no challenge in front of me, procrastination pops along and I find myself asking –Why don’t I just get on with it? Why am I wasting time? But over time I’ve learned that being on pause doesn’t mean I’m lazy. It means I’m waiting for direction (and need to be actively looking for this too). And when the right challenge lands, I can switch back on in a moment.
I’ve come to accept that idle time is researching or revising theory where there is no test. Creativity with no brief. It feels wrong because, my work is meant to solve, support, or shift something. So without that focus, it’s like trying to build a bridge to nowhere.
“No challenge, no spark – There’s something about a real-world problem that flips a switch in me.”
So What Do I Do With That?
I’ve realised I’m fuelled best by the stimulation of real-world problems. I’m fine with pausing, but not meaningless drifting. Using it as a sign to go out and find the next real challenge.
So what does that look like in practice?
- I seek conversations, not just clients. Talking to new people with nothing to sell and listening fuels me.
- I say yes to messy questions and weird early-stage ideas, because they give me something to shape.
- I experiment and launch, before things are perfect, such as the learning scientist magazine (which I do need to get going again) and the #LnDGathering.
I’m building something that comes to life when people bring their challenges to me or I go to find them.
“Putting myself in places to be found”
Final Thought: You’re Not Lazy, You’re Waiting, but you must go Looking Too
If any of this resonates with you, if you’ve ever found yourself frozen in the quiet moments between client work, or fixated by to-do lists that feel disconnected, let me say this clearly: you are not lazy. You are likely to be someone who needs purpose before action.
“don’t be the business that creates a solution looking for a problem”
There’s a professional maturity that comes with accepting your own working rhythm. Mine isn’t 9-to-5, always-on, task-ticking glory. I’ve stopped making myself busy with purposeless tasks and now search to connect with people and their real-world problems. Because when a meaningful challenge lands the dopamine kicks in and we are flying…
Have you got a ‘real world problem’ you want to share – get in touch, lets chat. Click the link or e mail kurt@bemorelnd.co.uk.