Back when I started working for BEKK, I was sent to boot camp. It’s not the kind of boot camp you think it is, though. Instead of getting yelled at, and being forced to take push ups, the company coach all their new employees through the ins and outs of being an exceptional consultant. One of the sessions during boot camp was by Aslak Hellesøy. The session was about creativity, and being the creator of Cucumber, Hellesøy knows a thing or two about the subject.

One thing that have stuck with me from his speech, was about making sure we stay creative. Hellesøy made small changes every day. Instead of taking the same route to work all the time, he took different routes. He didn’t wear the same style of clothes every day, but regularly changed his style slightly. And he rarely had the same desk at work for a long time. Instead, he changed desks often.

Make A (Small) Change Today

These are all small changes that don’t take much effort. But by doing this, he made sure he didn’t grow into habits, where his brain stopped working. The changes helped him stay creative. Change fosters creativity.

Listening to Hellesøy, I thought his way of staying creative sounded like a great idea. Now, I’m a man of habit, who prefer it when my day is somewhat predictable. I haven’t got an impulsive bone in my entire body, and I haven’t changed my clothing style since forever. In may ways, I’m the anti-Hellesøy. But at least I try to make minor changes to my habits from time to time, like changing desks at work.

One thing is for sure, though. A step I can take to break out of my current creative rot, and start writing again, is to change this site a little. And that’s exactly what I’ve done now, by introducing a brand new design. The theme is a somewhat modified version of the free Hoffman theme by Anders Norén.

The transition from the previous design to Hoffman is a work-in-progress, so you should expect some minor flaws. They’ll be ironed out over time, though.