There are times when you just can’t seem to get a hold of what the client wants. It does not matter if you have been a graphics designer for a long time, it can be hard to visualize some requests.
When this happens, how do you think inspiration can be gotten?
If you can't be able to get a hold of what the client you're working for wants, it means only one thing to me and that's you're not with enough information on what you're supposed to work on. But if it's about not having the skills to deliver the job, you can use a temporary fix by outsourcing the job.
I understand you, this happens to me too sometimes especially if the client is quite demanding. I give it time to think about the project well before starting work on it. In a few days I am usually fine to carry on.
The best is to outsource the job or little carefulness here and there can still give you what you needed. Sometimes, you can check out other designs from other designers to know if there will be an inspiration.