Do you ever get stuck in a rut, when everything feels a bit samey and you have no spark to come up with new or fresh ideas?

Maybe you get writers block when you are trying to pull together content.

Or you're just feeling low energy and it is coming across in your interactions with others.

As a leader it's important to make the time to stay creative - it's how you'll stay fresh & engaging, be able to strategically develop your business, as well as show your teams that they have 'permission' to have some fun.

Changing your routine and doing something different is a great way to kick-start your creativity.

It might be getting outside for some fresh air or exercise. It could be playing a game. Or catching up with someone who inspires you.

Perhaps changing the physical space where you work or flipping your normal routine around.

It could be trying out new technologies, apps or other tools relevant to your trade.

Or learning a new skill.

At Google they famously introduced the 20% rule, much copied by other companies, which was to allow all of their staff to spend 20% of their time working away from their to-do list. It was this creative time that led to Gmail and Adsense amongst other things.

Now it might not be feasible to free up a whole day per week to be creative - so ask yourself, how much time can you create across your week?

For me, I try and keep half a day a week to do something different.

On some days it means grabbing a big sheet of paper and my sharpie pens to doodle and mind-map, which really gets my energy moving.

I might spend some time working through a course I have signed up for.

Or I put on my headphones, pop on a podcast and go for a walk.

At other times I might be working on a craft project; it is almost like a palette cleanser, I become absorbed in the task at hand and my brain concentrates on what I am doing now rather than what I'd been struggling with, so that when I go back to it I see it afresh and the creativity flows.

I'd love to know what you do to bring creativity into your week. Or, if you don't, why not make a commitment to try something new? Drop me a line to let me know and I can be your accountability buddy.