We all know Marie Kondo’s catchphrase by now: spark joy.
And honestly? I’m one of those people who gets a genuine thrill from cleaning. There is nothing quite like the feeling of turning a chaotic room into a clean slate, and then finally sitting down with a hot cup of coffee to put your feet up. It’s pure satisfaction.
But while tidying up is great for clearing your head, it got me thinking about a different question: What actually sparks creativity?
It turns out, the answer usually lives outside the office. Think about leaders (like Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, or Aaron Harvey) they’ve all talked about actively looking for people who have creative side projects, whether that’s volunteering, making music, or painting. Psychology says the same thing. Having a creative outlet outside of your day job literally rewires how you solve problems.
The Art and Science of PMing
So why bring this up? Because as Product Managers, we lean heavily on analytical thinking, A/B testing, and strict methodologies.
And that’s fine. But just following the standard playbook just gets you a copycat product. Everyone is running the same plays. If you want to stand out, being different is your only real lever.
To build things that actually cut through the noise, we have to deliberately feed our creative side. We need to unblock the parts of our brains that thinks outside the box.
For me, that’s dancing, cooking, and painting. It’s during those moments, when I’m totally checked out, that my best ideas actually show up.
It makes me curious about how other people reset. What’s your creative outlet? What do you do to unblock your brain when you’re stuck? I’d love to hear from you.