What sounds more fun? Filling in spreadsheets with data for eight hours or coming up with new and exciting ideas?

I’ll go ahead and assume you went with option two. The opportunity to innovate is something most of us want more of in our daily work lives. Yet often, we feel we can’t be more creative at work because of factors beyond our control. Perhaps your company is risk-averse and likes to play it safe, perhaps your targets are intimidatingly aggressive, or perhaps the sheer size of your to-do list makes adding anything new feel impossible.

While a lot of these may be true, there are also some tips and tricks almost anyone can adopt to keep your innovation muscles strong and ready to go. And like any muscle group, the more you practice it, the stronger, better, and more unstoppable it becomes. Here are 10 things you can do on the job to make it easier to be more innovative every single day.22