Are you forcing yourself to be creative?
After being in the software industry for well over 10 years now, I know that at times we get in a rut. The question I often wonder is how we can spur innovation when we’re in those down periods where we just can’t seem to get motivated.
I remember back in 2006 reading about Google’s 20% time initiative. This ‘20% time’ works as so (at least at Google):
The 20 percent time is a well-known part of our philosophy here, enabling engineers to spend one day a week working on projects that aren’t necessarily in our job descriptions. You can use the time to develop something new, or if you see something that’s broken, you can use the time to fix it.
While we can’t all have this luxury, I think that actually forcing yourself to take time from each day and do something like this will really help with your motivation. Maybe for you it’s actually taking the time to read that book you’ve been wanting to start. Or, maybe it’s creating a website in your spare time about your passion.
If you’re a big company, maybe it’s time to approach your boss about this subject. I’d go in with a “this is a win-win” for both of us type attitude. You can spur innovation in your company and bring in new ideas while at the same time giving yourself a much needed break from your mundane daily duties.
If you haven’t started your own “20% time policy” yet, maybe today is the day to get it kick started and put your new plan into action.
