I’ve been carving out 20 minutes at 5:30 a.m. to riff on laminated scraps — yesterday it was miso-honey knots — and it’s helping me feel human again without staying late. Do any of you set small, protected windows to create and still get out on time? If you’re feeling stuck, one tiny experiment can reboot your day.
I do a 15-minute play block after lunch with a hard kitchen-timer cap, then leave a one-line “next riff” so tomorrow starts rolling. Your “one tiny experiment” idea tracks — have you tried anchoring it to an existing routine (post-standup or pre-commute) to make it stick? Tiny caveat: if I skip the end note, I end up in spreadsheet limbo the next day.