Whether designing a business or working on a project, our thinking can sometimes get in a rut. If you are feeling the urge to drop everything and get away from the work  – DO!  Playing "hookey" can be good for business.

Doing something you don’t normally do or that is different from your normal work routine definitely gives you a break from the “work”.  It also opens you to new stimulus, which with a little intentional play can suggest new ways to think about something.

Hobbies, sports activities, politics, the arts all offer possibilities. The raw material for your creative process lies in the language, process and structures of the new activity. Then, it’s all about making connections and finding parallels.

Perhaps your hobby is gardening.  How do you think about gardening? What are the tools needed? How do you create a garden that blooms from early spring to late fall? What are the steps to prepare the soil?

Take your knowledge and wisdom around gardening (insert your stimulating activity here) and look at language, processes, steps, fundamentals and structures, then find ways to apply or overlay those with your business or project.  

In the case of gardening: What would "blooming all year" look like in your business? What is the connection between preparing the soil and the project you are working on? What needs tilled? What would be a good fertilizer? Are there weeds that need to be removed? What about dead heads? What are the annuals? What are the perennials? You get the idea.

Now go ahead and give it a try.  Take your hobby or something new you are learning or experiencing and find the connections with your business or project.

This process can give you new metaphors, new perspectives and even ideas for innovative new products or programs. AND, it gives you a solid business reason for taking time off!