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One of the most fun parts of a project, for me at least, is in the inception and planning phase. Sure, it has its own share of headaches, especially when other people are involved (as I well know as a software engineer), but it's one of the most fun parts of a project. There's this joyful optimism and hope that pervades that kind of work, where you get to plan out all the amazing things you want to do, figure out how it could be done (at least at a high level), map out where you want to go, and the like. There's this sort of sky's-the-limit feeling that gets you super motivated and energized about it.
But planning is not the same thing as implementing. You actually have to implement and act on what it is you plan, dream, and think about in order to actually get anywhere.
Just so, magical intent is not the same thing as magical Work. I don't agree with those who say that "intent is all you need" or that "magic is all about intent", because it's just not really true, even though I get (at least to an extent) why they might say so. I mean, sure, that's true in the same sense that life is all about breathing; breathing is required, but it isn't the whole thing, and there's a lot more to life than just breathing—eating, sleeping, fucking, working, and so on. Intent is necessary, but it is not sufficient.
In order to see your intent realized, you have to implement it. Unless you're actually God, you can't just intend for something to be and then it'll be; you actually need to Do Something to make it be. It might be no more lighting a candle once, but it has to be Something. We live in a material world. Yes, there are spiritual forces too, and we can straddle various worlds both material and immaterial, but we fundamentally live in a material world. There's so much talk of grounding and centering ourselves, so ground your work in the world, too!