Why Your Best Ideas Show Up When You Don’t

By Tricia Scott.

I’m back, and would you believe it, the most productive thing I did all of my holiday was… nothing.

Seriously. Somewhere between shaded poolside naps, melting ice creams, and pretending not to check my emails (I failed, but I'm claiming points for effort), my brain quietly started doing its thing. Ideas I’d been forcing for months suddenly wandered in like they’d been waiting for me to stop trying so hard and just...well...breathe.

Honestly, it feels like a bit of a stark reminder that downtime isn’t wasted time. It’s fuel.

Creativity needs space, and sometimes the fastest way forward is actually to step back.

Before you roll your eyes (I see you!) and think, well, that’s easy when you’ve just been away, hear me out. You don’t need a week in the sun to rest. You can build it in: five minutes with a coffee and no phone ← read that part again, a walk around the block, a proper lunch break that doesn’t involve eating over your laptop. 

Tiny pauses that let your brain exhale.

I invite you to consider that your next best idea might just be hiding in those small moments of nothing. Not in the all-nighters, not in the endless pushing, but in the space you give yourself to be a human first, business second.

This is your reminder: rest isn’t indulgence, it’s a strategy, and it never has to be earned. 

I believe in you (always).

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Tricia Scott is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Female CEO – Create Evolve Overcome, a global magazine, community, and platform championing women in business at every stage. A startup mentor and multi-company director, she has personally mentored more than 100 women and is an unapologetic amplifier of women’s stories, helping purpose-driven entrepreneurs step out of hiding and into their power, building businesses that feel as good as they look.

Through The Female CEO, Tricia curates a worldwide stage for women’s voices, strategies, and successes—because visibility isn’t a luxury, it’s a catalyst. When she’s not deep in conversation with her brilliant team of editors and contributors, you’ll find her with her MacBook in one hand and coffee (or something fizzy) in the other, dreaming up the next big way to make women feel seen, supported, and unstoppable.