A method includes: storing, at a mobile robot, a local repository of self-assigned task definitions; determining, at a processor of the mobile robot, that a local activity metric associated with tasks assigned to the mobile robot by a central server meets an idle criterion; in response to determining that the local activity metric meets the idle criterion, selecting, by the processor, one of the self-assigned task definitions from the local repository; and initiating execution of a self-assigned task corresponding to the selected self-assigned task definition at the mobile robot.