“I don’t have time to think.” Does that sound familiar?

Pressure, deadlines, milestones, partnering relationships and burn rates are all part of working in a life sciences environment. With constant deadlines looming, it’s easy to get bogged down in day to day, minute by minute thinking.

And yet, with all of this circling around you and your people, we’re in a business driven by innovation. Creativity is critical. Execution may be our driving force, but inspiration has to have room to flourish.

So how do you manage to find time for that? It’s not easy, but maybe a few of these ideas will inspire you.

  1. Seek new inspiration. The next time you’re at the grocery store or surfing the web, check out a magazine or website you wouldn’t normally read. Architectural Digest, Car and Driver, Wired. What ideas are inspired? How does the risk and speed of auto racing relate to drug development? How might finding the right setting and building the right foundation for a home inspire the selection of a target? How do these common practices or approaches translate to drug development or brainstorming the next great idea at work?
  2. Get out of town. Ideally. Or at least out of your office. Whether it’s nature that fills you up, or watching a great film. In giving your brain the space to relax and unwind you may find the power to create something new. Forging new paths physically can be a huge boost to your mental power.
  3. Find the zone. Whether it’s a virtual art gallery or a fly fishing trip on your own, whatever it is that helps you to achieve flow state – or being in the zone – can help you get energized, focused and ready to come back to work with new inspiration and ideas.
  4. Change the vacation conversation. Listen to advice from former Google CEO, Sundar Pichai about letting employees know it’s OK to unplug while on vacation, and model it at the leadership level. Maybe turning FOMO (fear of missing out) to JOMO (joy of missing out) is as easy as making vacations guilt-free in your organization.

Whether you are a CEO, HR leader or Project Leader seeking the next big idea, we are here to help. CONTACT US  today to learn more about Executive Coaching, our Leveraging Your Leadership program or to discuss a custom program to meet your needs.