[kqr]

Another way to do this that isn't about escaping from your boring work is... well, making your work more interesting.

Have a good idea? Coordinate with the right people and go for it. Even if nobody asked you to.

You should never feel like you need someone's authorisation to do a good job.

Becoming free anywhere, even within one's regular work, is not about asking for freedom -- it's about insisting to act as if one is already free.

Or, as Grace Hopper put it, "it's far easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission."

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Sometimes this will lead to wonderful things.

Sometimes, sure, this will get you into a mess, but honestly, weren't you sort of already? Spending a 25 % of your life somewhere you are unable to engage is messed up.

[imbnwa]

This is what I try to do, but at the org I work for there's a low key assumption that Devs are too stupid to do anything but what can be implemented in a sprint, no matter the complexity of the problem (which obviously leads to poor engineering outcomes). Teams are criticized when there're no 0-burndowns by people upstairs so everyone adapted by vastly simplifying solutions/work to fit that expectation.

[ornornor]

Be careful. Stay at one of these places too long, or work at too many in a row, and you’ll end up so burned out that you won’t be able to even entertain the idea of programming ever again for quite some time. Been there, got the t-shirt.