It can be difficult to focus on a problem, or to come up with a creative solution, when you’re working on your own project. Creativity often comes much more easily when you’re being creative on behalf of someone else — and it’s much easier to think up new ideas if the problem is further away or more imperceptible. When you mentally remove yourself, think about the problem as if it belongs to someone else, or as if it’s many months down the road. You’ll then be able to approach the situation from a more refreshed perspective and come up with new, abstract ideas.