Wake Up Your Work This Year

Here's one way to wake things up this year: take a breakfast break.

I recently heard about a group of co-workers who decided to start their day once in awhile with a "breakfast break". They all show up at their office, then head to a diner around the corner from their building and begin their day by building relationships over breakfast burritos. Then they work through lunch instead of taking a lunch break. They don't do it every day, but every few weeks it gives them a creative boost to rearrange their day this way.

I know you're saying to yourself the same thing I said when I heard about it: "What an AWESOME idea!"

Simple shifts like this will shake you out of your boring, repetitive, mind-numbing routine. It's like taking a different route to work. Your brain sees different sights, your body has a different experience, and new ideas are more easily sparked.

Get your creative juices flowing by trying something new on a regular basis.

Come in late and leave late.
Come in early and leave early.
Work a super long day one day, and a super short day the next.
Meet a mentor for coffee.
Invite someone to coffee that you could mentor.
Take the long way to work.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Get off on a different floor and meet three new people before getting back on the elevator.
Have a staff meeting standing up.
Have a staff meeting in the park.
Suspend all staff meetings for two weeks.
Go for a run in the middle of the day.
Write down your top 5 goals every single day.
Write down your top 5 goals every single day in crayon.

Doing things the same way over and over may be efficient, but it sure can put your brain to sleep.

You'll spend 2000+ hours at work this year. How many of those will you be awake for?