Conventional wisdom suggests that bold ideas emerge during crunch time, but research reveals that emotional stress from time pressure actually hinders our ability to generate novel ideas. To overcome this challenge, try watching cute cat videos, waiting until you're tired, finding meaning in your work, managing distractions, disrupting your routine, daydreaming about your next vacation, and embracing failure. By adopting these strategies, you can stay creative under the clock and avoid the pitfalls of stress-induced paralysis.