Be More Creative: Break Free from Your To-do List

Do you feel sometimes feel like you are a to-do list slave? I certainly do. Of course all of us are busy people, and we need some sort of time management system to make sure we get stuff done, but to -lists can encourage a rather robotic, unthinking mentality. Stuck in this mind set, we’re not taking on fresh ideas or approaches or meeting new people all of which might give us a step change in our performance.

I’m trying to overcome this problem by taking micro work-related sabbaticals. They are a few hours of my work week, where I put the to-list to one-side, grind up some of my favourite coffee beans, put some good music on and just “play” in a work-related way. The time has no specific objective other than it needs to be loosely work-related and enjoyable. I might watch a TED talk I’ve been meaning to see. Or read a chapter of that book on artificial intelligence. I could catch up with my LinkedIn connections. Or have a play with a new software tool.

I’ve found these “sabbaticals” very useful. For one it makes my working week more enjoyable. I’ve always had a strong belief that because we spend so much of our lives working, at least some of that time needs to be fun. I find as well it puts me into a different mental state; a more creative state, where I can see beyond my immediate work concerns and look further afield to the good places I would like to go. And lastly it helps to lower my stress and drink some good coffee!

So why not give it a try? Free yourself from the yoke of your time management system at least for a few hours each month and see where it might take you.