I know that my fellow Fast Horse friends have touched on the fact that we have the ability to hot desk if we need more flexibility in our schedules, or if we really need to put our head down and crank out a to-do list. What you might not realize is how much this can boost our creativity through a little thing called liminal space.

The word liminal comes from the Latin word limens, meaning “threshold” – something waiting to occur or to be manifested. A place in between.

Liminal space often happens when you’re unsure, or upset, or right after something shocking has happened in your life (good and bad). Your brain starts to work at top performance because suddenly you’ve been put into an uncomfortable space.

If you pay attention to these moments, it could be a huge source of inspiration, simply because you aren’t comfortable anymore. When you feel secure, or comfortable, your brain doesn’t have to work so hard to process ideas and come up with new angles to things. You’re stuck, frustrated, and helpless. This is the creative rut.

So, how do we put ourselves into liminal space? We obviously can’t sit around twiddling our thumbs, waiting for something shocking to happen. It can be so simple as to change your breakfast if you eat the same thing every day (hello two over easy eggs, bacon, and sweet potatoes, with a large, iced Americano).

It could be working from the airport when your flight’s delayed nine hours.

It could be writing out a difficult email by hand instead of typing it.

It could be walking through the Minnesota Star Fairgrounds in the dead of winter with a co-worker to brainstorm strategy.

It could be sitting on a different floor in the office every day.

It’s as simple as getting yourself out of a pattern. Here’s to starting your day in a new and weird way.