No one is impervious to ruts. Even great leaders can feel stuck. When you're stuck in a rut it can be very difficult to see problems from different perspectives and find creative solutions. Thinking outside-the-box is nearly impossible when you're stuck in the box.

I believe that in order to be an effective leader you sometimes need to do the opposite of what conventional wisdom suggests. For it is likely that conventional wisdom is the reason you are stuck. 

Here are three ways I change things up to break from ruts:

I'd like to share with you Adam Savage's 10 Commandments of Making: 

1. Make something. Anything. Weld, carve, cook, sculpt, sew. 
2. Make stuff that improves your life, either mechanically or aesthetically.
3. Don't wait. You can start now with what's in front of you. 
4. Use a project to learn a skill. 
5. ASK. Ask for help. People who make things love to share their ideas and knowledge. 
6. Share your methods and knowledge and don't make them a secret. 
7. Discouragement and failure are intrinsic to the process. Don't hide from these. Talk about them. 
8. Measure carefully. Have some tolerance.
9. Make things for other people. 
10. Use more cooling fluid!