Do you feel stagnant these days? It's been hot all over the country and for some areas quite humid as well. You may find yourself searching for movement in more ways than one – a cool breeze to shift the summer air, or new ideas to get excited about. You’re open to new directions in your work, but deadlines are approaching. This is why it’s important to realize that the best ideas don't always arrive on schedule.

Great ideas show up when we stop chasing them – when we make room for them. Our culture emphasizes productivity, which is required to accomplish a goal with a set strategy. Execution is critical for progress. Granted, some important research is incremental, as in building directly on previous work. However, in research funding ‘incremental’ is generally not a favorable characterization; it’s often justification for rejection.

One needs to both plug away at what’s working and come up with the next big idea. To let those big ideas surface, it’s helpful to step away from intense focus. Innovative ideas may arrive when one otherwise feels idle.  Neuroscience has shown that the brain's default mode network activates when we're resting, helping us connect formerly unrelated ideas – i.e., new insights. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is to let the mind wander.

Still, deadlines are real and so you may have to rely on existing frameworks when drafting proposals. New ideas don’t conform to schedules; they show up when they’re ready.  Our job is not to push them, but to make space for them.

Even if you do not feel productive, consider that you may be doing important work under the surface, planting the seeds of ideas that will sprout in the future. But just as you shouldn’t pull a sprout from the ground hoping to make it grow faster, you can't force development of a truly original idea.

When I was a program manager advising PIs on the suitability of their research ideas, it was important that the proposed topic was relevant to the sponsor and that reviewers endorsed it. But often when it came down to decisions about the work going one way or the other, I turned the question back to the PI, encouraging them to listen to their intuition about where the real potential for discovery could be found. Never once did this prove to be a bad strategy.

If the heat is slowing you down, understand that stillness is very likely working for you. You just might have to live with the uncertainly of not yet knowing how.

Would you like to hear some success stories?

Wondering what real success with research funding looks like? In this video, I share how three faculty members secured a total of nearly $1.3M in funding with support from Wise Investigator. If you're aiming for major awards or just trying to break a losing streak, their stories might sound a lot like yours.

When you are ready, here’s how we can help

Need to get your research funded, this year? Check out our 12-week program to get you there.

Check out our storefront where you can access our free Unlocking DOD Funding for University Researchers course and other resources, including for faculty applicants.

Ready to book a call to discuss how our program can support faculty at your institution? Let’s chat!