My best ideas come when I’m relaxed, when I’m at ease. Loosened up. I make connections better when I’m not focused on a particular thing. When I don’t have blinders on. I’m more comfortable being silly, and silly often leads to “oh, wow, that might actually make sense”.
Take a second to think about this.
No, seriously. Stop. Look out the window. Go find a window if you need to. Take a walk.
Do it. I’ll wait right here.
Okay, so: That second you just took? That’s the trick. Take more of those. Don’t fill your schedule. Don’t read the whole book in one sitting. Don’t fill the sprint with feature work. Take a big bite, but then take some time to digest it. Embrace slack.
Creativity happens in the gaps. And creativity is a force multiplier. Creativity is where bright ideas come from, where competitive advantages are born.
Embrace slack. Embrace redundancy. Embrace downtime. If it feels like waste, if it feels inefficient, maybe just maybe it’s a space for your mind to wander.
(Also: Turn off your notifications.)
