When my children were little, their days were filled with many games of imagination. My daughter loved to create scenarios involving princesses, ball gowns, and fancy parties. My son would build Lego structures and create adventures for the people and animals that lived within.  Whether playing on their own or having other people partake (I did a fine job as both princess and adventurer), the stories they told were creative and detail-oriented. I quickly learned that they had visions for how the stories were to be told and gladly let them take the lead in these games.

They’re teens now and don’t play these games of make believe anymore.  I see their creativity in other aspects of their lives- the outfits that my daughter assembles, the way my son delivers a monetary gift to a sibling, the way both of them engage with younger children and animals.  Although school, extracurricular activities, and work take most of their time, it is good to see them utilize their imaginations.  Putting a spin on an essay or long-term project makes the work not only more bearable but also more enjoyable.

At PeKu, or any other job, it is easy to get caught in the day-to-day routine and lose site of creativity.  A typical day include:

• Review last week’s stats.
• Fill in the empty spaces on the editorial calendar.
• Check the status of engineering projects.
• Read daily articles.
• Monitor expenses and revenue.
• Meet with team members.

Sometimes I get caught in this cycle of completing tasks, checking the boxes, and repeating daily.  While there are certain things that do need to be done on a daily basis, there also is a need to be creative, step outside of the normal role, and use a little imagination. For me, I find this is most likely to occur when I set aside some time in the morning.  Once I know that everything is running smoothly and my inbox has been emptied, I can take a couple hours and mull brand new ideas or small tweaks to current projects.  In fact on a recent weekday morning I had a brainstorm, which has led to a handful of hours researching this idea.

Over the coming weeks I will be sharing this brainstorm with several members of my team. If it is an idea that is embraced by my team, there will be some major (and exciting!) changes in the coming month or two. Even if we decide to put this idea on the back burner, the time spent on this project is sure to spur other goals, making it time well spent.

It may not be the same as pretending to be the princess who saves the day, but creativity sure keeps PeKu growing!