Ever feel like you’ve hit a creative wall? You’ve worked hard, the ideas were flowing, and then… nothing. You think you’re done. But what if your best ideas are waiting just a little further down the road? This is where the concept of applying a small, additional amount of effort comes in. It’s a simple idea: pushing just a bit past your usual stopping point can lead to surprisingly big creative wins.
This isn’t just a gut feeling; there’s solid research behind it. Let’s explore what science says about why this small extension of effort can make such a difference, and how you can use this principle to your advantage without burning out.
Why Pushing a Bit More Actually Works
It might seem odd that just a little more time can unlock better ideas, but studies show it’s true.
1. We Usually Stop Too Soon:
The main idea comes from research showing that most of us don’t realize how many more good ideas we can have if we just keep going a bit longer.¹ We’re often wired to stop when things start feeling tough.
This feeling of difficulty, sometimes called “disfluency,” is like a false alarm. It isn’t just a vague sensation; it’s often your brain signaling that the easy, well-worn cognitive pathways have been explored. This disfluency might feel like mental fatigue, a conviction that you’re truly “out of ideas,” or even rising frustration.
However, this is frequently the very point where your brain, if prompted by persistence, could switch to more effortful, divergent thinking — the kind that uncovers novel solutions. Our tendency is to misinterpret this signal as an endpoint, rather than a gateway to deeper creativity. The core finding about underestimating our persistence holds up even after minor corrections to the original study.²
2. Deeper Dives Lead to Better Ideas:
When you first start on a creative task, the easy ideas come out first — the “low-hanging fruit”. But if you push yourself to commit to a brief extension of work, you force your brain to dig deeper.
Creativity isn’t just about having lots of different types of ideas (flexibility); it’s also about going really deep into a few specific idea paths (persistence).³ It’s this persistent, in-depth exploration that an additional ten percent effort can fuel, allowing you to refine concepts or unearth connections missed in the initial flurry.
How you approach the initial parts of a task can also set you up for better creative thinking later — that first 90% can pave the way for the refined insights from persisting for that small extra duration.⁴
3. Believing You Can Do More Helps You Do More:
What you believe about your own creativity matters a lot. Studies show that if people simply believe that sticking with a task longer can lead to better ideas, they’re more likely to try, and then they actually do come up with more creative solutions.⁵
This highlights the power of our mindset — specifically, a growth mindset, where challenges are seen as opportunities for development rather than indicators of fixed limits. When confronted with disfluency, a growth mindset encourages you to see it not as “I’m not good at this,” but as “This is getting interesting; what if I try another approach?”
Believing in your own creative skills (what experts call “creative self-efficacy”) is also key. Research indicates that having a “creative mindset” builds this self-belief, which then helps you solve problems more creatively.⁶ So, adopting an “I can find more if I stick with this” attitude, backed by an understanding that persistence is part of the process, truly helps.
4. Your Mood and Mindset Matter:
Feeling positive can also fuel your performance. Some research suggests that a good mood, perhaps boosted by that growth mindset, can act like an engine for creative output.⁷
If you frame this strategy of continued effort as an exciting chance to discover something new, or a puzzle to solve, rather than a dreaded chore, you’re more likely to engage productively and sustain the effort needed for those deeper insights.
“Creative thought is a trial-and-error process that generally produces a series of failed associations before a creative solution emerges.” — Lucas & Nordgren
What You Gain from a Small Extension of Effort (And When to Stop)
So, what does this focused extra push really get you?
- Better, More Original Ideas: You move past the obvious and start finding genuinely innovative solutions.
- Break Through Creative Blocks: When you feel stuck, committing to just a little more focused time can often help you find a new angle.
- Polish and Stronger Execution: It’s not just about new ideas. That additional work can turn a good idea into a great one by refining it, making it clearer, or improving how it’s carried out.
This principle of pushing for that extra ten percent really resonates with us, especially in our work developing Saropa Contacts. We’re constantly exploring how that additional bit of effort — whether it’s refining a user interface detail or thinking through one more edge case for a feature — can make our app not just functional, but genuinely more intuitive and helpful for people managing their connections.
But, this principle of extended effort isn’t a free pass to work endlessly or obsess over tiny details (that’s “gold plating”). You need to be smart about it.
“The creative cliff illusion is, at the end of the day, an illusion, or an inaccurate belief. One way to address the problem is to correct the belief.” - Brian Lucas
Important Things to Keep in Mind:
- Know What “Good Enough” Looks Like: Before you push further, have a clear idea of what a basic, acceptable result is (your “Minimum Viable Product” or MVP). The extra effort should build on that, not send you back to square one.
- Watch for Small Returns: Pay attention. If you’re putting in a lot more effort but only seeing tiny improvements, it’s probably time to stop. Ask yourself: “Is this extra work meaningfully improving the outcome for the end-user or solving the core problem, or am I just tweaking for my own satisfaction?”
- Mindset Helps, But Action is Key: Just thinking you can be more creative by persisting isn’t enough on its own. Research has found that while changing your beliefs about creativity is good, it doesn’t always automatically improve how you perform on creative tasks without the actual effort.⁸ Belief helps you do it, but you still have to do it. This means actively applying strategies, not just hoping for a mindset shift to do the work.
- Sometimes, Quitting is Smart: If an idea just isn’t working, or if the core assumptions turn out to be flawed, don’t keep throwing good energy after bad. Applying an additional ten percent effort is for promising paths, not dead ends. This requires honest self-assessment and sometimes the courage to pivot.
- Avoid Burnout: This isn’t about working yourself to exhaustion. Think of applying a small amount of extra effort as a focused sprint, not a never-ending marathon. Constant pressure kills creativity. Schedule breaks and ensure this pursuit doesn’t become a source of chronic stress.
Simple Ways to Use the Ten Percent Principle
You don’t need a complicated system. Here are a few easy ways to try it:
- Add a Little Extra Time: When you think you’re done with a creative task, set a timer for approximately ten percent of the time you’ve already spent (e.g., if you spent an hour, add about 6 more minutes). Use this bonus time to ask “What else?” or “Is there another way to look at this?”
- One More Try When Stuck: If you hit a wall, take a very short break. Then, commit to one more short, focused burst of effort. Sometimes that fresh look is all you need.
- The Team Challenge for a Bit More: If you’re working in a group, after you think you’ve got your solutions, add a quick challenge. Ask everyone to come up with just one or two more ideas or improvements, pushing slightly beyond the initial conclusions.
- The “Last Look” Question: Before you submit your work or make a final decision, ask yourself: “If I had just a little more time or energy, what’s the one thing I’d improve that would add significant value?” Just asking can spark a valuable idea.
Making This Small Extension of Effort Work for You
The ten percent principle isn’t about working harder just for the sake of it. It’s about working smarter and being more aware of your creative process. Research shows we often underestimate our own ability to keep generating good ideas.
“That feeling that you’ve kind of run out of ideas is inaccurate and, in a sense, shouldn’t be listened to.” — Loran Nordgren
By consciously pushing just a little further, you can often find those truly special insights. The trick is to use this idea wisely — to know when it’s likely to pay off and when it’s time to move on. In a world that wants both new ideas and quick results, learning this balance is a powerful skill.
So, next time you think you’re creatively tapped out, remember the value of a small, focused extension of effort.
What amazing idea might be waiting just around the corner?
Notes & Sources:
¹ Lucas, B. J., & Nordgren, L. F. (2015). People underestimate the value of persistence for creative performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
² Lucas, B. J., & Nordgren, L. F. (2016). Correction to Lucas and Nordgren (2015). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
³ Nijstad, B. A., De Dreu, C. K. W., Rietzschel, E. F., & Baas, M. (2010). The dual pathway to creativity model: Creative ideation as a function of flexibility and persistence. European Review of Social Psychology
⁴ Madjar, N., & Oldham, G. R. (2002). Preliminary tasks and creative performance on a subsequent task: Effects of time on preliminary tasks and amount of information about the subsequent task. Creativity Research Journal
⁵ Toyama, M., Nagamine, M., Asayama, A., Tang, L., Miwa, S., & Kainuma, R. (2023). Can persistence improve creativity? The effects of implicit beliefs about creativity on creative performance. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
⁶ Royston, R., & Reiter‐Palmon, R. (2019). Creative self‐efficacy as mediator between creative mindsets and creative problem‐solving. The Journal of Creative Behavior
⁷ Pap, Z., Vîrgă, D., Ștefan, A. D., Lopez Bohle, S., & Muñoz Medina, F. (2025). Is emotion the engine? Positive affect as the mediator between employee mindset and performance in a three-wave study. The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied
⁸ Katz-Buonincontro, J., Hass, R. W., & MacCleery, B. (2024). Creative mindset induction affects beliefs but not creative task performance. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
Final Word 🪅
