As daily work becomes routine, it can be hard to open your mind to fresh ideas. It was one of the reasons for me to take an unexpected vacation in the forest. I am currently in the process of finding a new pet project. And I changed my surroundings dramatically from the loud and quick city to the calm nature to boost the creative parts of my mind.
I am not going to advocate for notifications-free vacation or other anti-technology ideas. Indeed, I think that smartphones and other tech do make our vacation experience better when used appropriately. By appropriately, I mean not endlessly scrolling social media in an attempt to find some new memes. But it simplifies life a lot when you can carry only your phone to pay in the restaurant, take pictures in the forest or have a video call with relatives from a boat.
As a programmer, I like doing pet projects. But during my workdays, I couldn’t find a good idea for the next one. Creativity boost happened with me when I drastically changed my surroundings: from the city to a wooden house in the forest.
A clear mind is a key factor in the creative process. I was able to see what I wanted to do and prepared a list of ideas sorted by priority. Few days were more than enough to pick the best of it.
The 2 most difficult problems in programming are naming things and cache invalidation. As you have probably noticed, this article is not about cache. When I had the project idea, the next step was to decide how to name it. Ironically, my holiday had ended, but I still didn’t figure out the proper name. But at least I have a shortlist of candidates.
Every vacation can be treated as an opportunity to figure out new ideas and solutions. It shouldn’t be underestimated. Stay tuned for future posts. I hope in few months I’ll post a teaser of it. And in a year or two, you will see the first working version of my next pet project. Keep in mind that this is not my daily job, that is why it will take such a long time.