[G&K] Vary One's Gameplay

I find myself continually going for the tradition opener, rush to NC before t-100ish, and then just push science until a victory condition shows itself.

How do the denizens of civfanatics vary up their gameplay? Do we force ourselves to focus on dusty regions of the tech tree, do we rush for weird wonders?

I play emperor and dabble in Immortal. I want to do things that win and are not just arbitrary for variety's sake.