Why it matters: We've been taught that productivity equals value- that our worth comes from output, optimization, and checking boxes. But what if the real measure of a life well-lived isn't how much we produce, but how deeply we experience?
Novelty isn't just about fun, it's about rewiring how we perceive time, deepen our relationships, and find meaning beyond the metrics we've been handed. It's about choosing what we value, rather than letting work choose for us.
“I just need a plan!”
It was the end of 2024, and I had been trying to make plans with someone who kept putting me off- again, and again, waiting until the very last minute to lock in time, date, and activity.
This had become their new pattern, and I was fed up.
For someone who is type-A in her work life, and generally considers herself a “go-with-the-flow” type for everything else, I had reached my limits.
“Apparently I’m not as spontaneous as I thought,” I lamented to a friend.
That thought stuck in my head, rolling through what I knew about myself.
Was I spontaneous? I had thought so, but this breaking point clearly showed me that I wasn’t quite as loosey-goosey as I had believed.
So why then, did I think I was? There must be something about spontaneity that connected with me. I did spontaneous things. Like impulsively deciding to go to a Bingo rave. Okay, fine. That was still planned in advance and tickets had been purchased.
Or deciding to drive to the mountains and back in one day, 4 hours away one way, to get a cup of coffee at our favorite spot. Although now that I think of it, I had enough time to plan and get a friend to come with me.
Proof the Bingo rave happened!
Were these experiences spontaneous? Or just highly-planned adventures?
That’s when I stumbled into research about novelty.
Novelty is experiencing the new, unusual, or interesting. And it has some really fascinating scientific findings.
When we look for, and engage with, novel experiences, we program our brains differently and two really important things happen.
First, novelty slows down time. It provides us with time markers, allowing us to look forward to events and ideas, plans and hopes. It marks the time as it passes, giving us recall years later, aiding in a sense of fullness for our activities and play.
Second, it establishes deeper bonds with those we experience novelty with. These kinds of experiences mimic childhood play, where creating a unique world all on your own allows for unique threads to bind you together- from insider language (like nicknames), to collective memory (shared storytelling and recall), to imaginative engagement (imagining a different kind of life than the norm or expected).
As I would come to learn, novelty also has some incredible benefits to slowing cognitive decline, enhancing your ability to be a high(er)-achiever, and so much more.
There’s much more that novelty can bring to you, as a leader, a worker, a friend, a human.
And that was the start of my 2025, when I set off to intentionally look for novelty.
All year I looked for, wrote down, planned for, went to, and enjoyed novel events. There were human-robot fights, glow-in-the-dark painting classes, learning pickleball, starting watercoloring, tuba museums, hosting a mini-food-and-beverages themed gathering, and so much more.
Some of the novel things I did in 2025
I found that while I looked for novelty, my priorities shifted, my spirits got lighter, my productivity rose, and my brain felt clearer. It had space for new ideas, conversations, people, opportunities, and accomplishments. It was proving all the science to be true, while giving me an outrageously tall-tale type of year.
Next year, in early January, I turn 40. I have decided that not only do I want more novelty in this decade, but I want the life that comes with looking for novel things.
And I’m asking others to join me.
For me, I will be doing 100 novel things. I’ve already been planning them, looking for them, and asking others to join me in them.
For others, I will be running 30-day challenges, to help others discover the beauty of the life that they can live when they too focus on novelty.
Each month will have a different focus, from January’s local month (spoiler!), to arts, outdoors, collaboration, and so much more. Each week I will send emails to those who are part of the crew, giving them a breakdown of how to look for themselves, what to look for, journal prompts, action items, and behind-the-scenes views, along with special events all year long.
At the same time, I’m researching the value we place in time, and how that shapes how we form our communities, and our life. I’m focusing on novelty, and you can too.
Together we can create deeper bonds and a slower, more meaningful passing of time. Together, we can be part of the same crew, with the same novelty mission.
Join me as I learn what it looks like to not just be human-centric at work, but human-centric at home. Join me, in the Novelty Experiment.
Talk soon,
Rachel
Leadership trainer, novelty junkie, and human being
Dig a little deeper: Want to understand more about how novelty reshapes your brain? Check out these resources:
Join early access here, or
Listen to one of the podcasts on Spotify where I break down what these human-centric ideas actually mean.
What’s next: Become part of the crew, in the Novelty Experiment, to get early access to the monthly challenges, weekly insights, and a community of people choosing their own definition of success. All of that can be found here.
Join the Novelty Club!
I'm doing 100 novel experiences this year to learn what it means to be human-centric at work and at home.
Join me on the adventures by becoming part of the Novelty Club, and get behind-the-scenes information, special invitations, access to join me in 30-day challenges, and more!
Thanks for joining me on my search for novelty and one human-centric leaders's journey towards a more balanced life.
