Switch Up Your Routine

While everyone likes to have some routine in their life, over time it can lead to boredom and can stifle your thinking and creativity. You’re paid to solve problems, and bored people rarely come up with innovative solutions. It’s your responsibility to keep yourself challenged. When you find yourself bored at work, ask yourself what you can do to shake up your routine, and by extension, you’re thinking.

Try something new. If you’ve always wanted to write a book, take a writing class. Just being around others and learning a new process may stimulate new thinking that you can apply at work. Actively engage with people who have a different perspective. When you’re in social situations, choose to engage with someone new.

If you have limited time to take on extracurricular activities, change up your reading or viewing habits. If you like music, listen to a different genre. Walk or drive a different route to work to stimulate your senses. Why let your life be constrained by only what you know now?

Once you start doing the unexpected, you’ll become more energized and engaged. Extending yourself can create momentum so that all kinds of new people, opportunities, and activities you’ve never considered show up in your life. At a minimum, you’ll have a richer source of experiences to draw on in your daily life.