Personal innovation isn’t just a buzzword for boardrooms and billion-dollar startups. It’s something you and I need in our kitchens, our side businesses, and our Monday mornings, too.
Let’s start with Uber, because this is an innovation most of us have lived through. Before Uber, taxis were a regulated mess. Certain cabs could only pick up fares in certain zones. You couldn’t just get one to show up at your house. You called a dispatcher, gave your address, and then waited by the window like you were expecting a suitor in a Jane Austen novel. (My wife will love this reference).
Then Uber came along and disrupted the entire model. Suddenly you could get a ride anywhere, anytime. And on top of that, a whole new pool of people—parents driving a few evening hours for extra cash, retirees who wanted flexible income—got to participate in an industry that used to have a locked door.
That’s innovation. And here’s the thing: it’s not just for Silicon Valley. It’s available to you, right now, in your actual life.
What Personal Innovation Actually Looks Like at Home
We’ve all heard the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. And yet most of us run the exact same broken routine every single day and then act shocked when nothing changes.
If your mornings feel like a stampede, that’s not a character flaw. It’s just a process that’s never been innovated. One simple fix may be ironing your clothes and laying them out the night before. Or pack the kids’ lunches—or your own—before you go to bed instead of during the 7 a.m. scramble. Neither of these is groundbreaking, but both of them can disrupt your routine just enough to change how your entire day feels.
Personal innovation doesn’t have to be huge. It just has to be meaningful.
My Not-So-Glamorous Innovation
What has this looked like in my life? One big innovation I made was hiring someone to do my lawn and yard work.
I dreaded that chore. It ate into time I needed for other projects, and when I traveled a lot, I could never find a dry, available window to actually get it done. My yard looked embarrassing, and I was constantly frustrated about it. So I innovated. I outsourced it.
Now it’s simply handled. My stress went down, my time went up, and I get the bonus of supporting a small business in my community while I’m at it. That’s a personal innovation win on three different fronts.
Three Steps to Innovate Your Own Life
If you want to make changes in your life, that personal innovation that can stimulate growth, here are three steps you can take.
- Notice what’s not working.
Look for the tasks or projects that feel clunky, dreaded, or stuck—usually something you do regularly without ever questioning it. Sometimes the thing that needs innovating isn’t a task at all. It’s your mindset. Either way, this is your target.
- Brainstorm without guardrails.
Chances are you’ve never actually tried to fix this problem. You probably don’t even call your morning routine a “routine”—you just do it, day after day, on autopilot, which is exactly why it never changes. Remember, Uber’s idea was wildly out of the box. Give yourself permission to get a little wild and crazy here, too.
- Experiment and refine.
Try the new approach. See what happens. Tweak what needs tweaking, and scrap what doesn’t work. Once you find something that clicks, fold it into your regular process—and then go find the next thing to improve.
I’m a little obsessive about this, honestly. I have a system for everything, including a system for loading the dishwasher that fits more dishes per load. I look for ways to improve your daily routine in places most people wouldn’t bother looking. But that’s the fun of it. The bigger the process you innovate, the bigger the ripple effect on your whole life.
So here’s my challenge to you: pick one thing this week that’s been driving you nuts and innovate it. You don’t need a Silicon Valley pedigree to be a disruptor. You just need to be willing to try something different than what you did yesterday.
So go ahead and Dream big…even about your dishwasher.
Feeling stuck and not sure where to start innovating your own life? Let’s talk it through together. Book a free 20-minute strategy call, and we’ll find the one shift that could change everything.