Take a Breath. It's Important!

When I began feeling a "burn out" coming on a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to stop and pay attention.  Those of you who are crafting your own business (literally and figuratively) know what I mean.  You get weepy.  You're exhausted.  Your spouse/loved ones can't say or do anything right.  You're tense and the slightest thing will make you want to throw a plate against the wall.

Yup.  You know what I'm talkin' about.  It's time to take a break; maybe even analyze how you got here and what kind of changes need to be made.  In my case, I have a husband who is building his own business at the same time so to think we could have two people experiencing burn out at the same time is not a pretty picture.  I knew it was a situation I needed to grab hold of and handle quickly.

Some family circumstances found me actually taking almost three days off last weekend.  Merely by coincidence we had family in town from California ~ a Saturday lunch and a little field trip to my local gallery.  Sunday my beloved daughter-in-law was presented her Master's Degree and graduated from Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine (complete with after-party, of course!).  Monday was my son's (her husband's) 32nd birthday and we enjoyed a relaxing lunch at funky "Hamburger Mary's" in Denver.  Not that I could do that every weekend, but it proved to be a much needed break!  By last Tuesday I was refreshed, re-energized and ready to return to a full schedule of work.

So, yes, a three day weekend every week is out of the question.  But I did think about what I could do to incorporate some time every day to step away from work, out of the studio and renew.

The answer was right in front of me.  I have walked my dog every day (well, with few exceptions anyway) for the 14 years she has been with us.  Up until the last couple of years (duh - when I started my business) we walked in the 880 acre State Park that borders our neighborhood.  I couldn't remember the last time I did that.

[In an effort to fully disclose - I also had recently taken a break from my daily step onto the scale.  Just to see what would happen.  Two weeks without weighing in was an eye-opener.  Five lbs. of an eye-opener!  That's how crazy fast things can happen when I - literally - take my eye off the scale.  So I am once again indentured to the scale, back to recording every morsel that passes my mouth on SparkPeople and amping up the exercise.]

So the other day I packed water, my camera, the lens of the day (they vary) and my Boo and headed to the park.  It was early ~ about 6:45 am.  Our summer days in Colorado are still running in the high 90's, but early morning is still cool enough to warrant a hoodie.  So just as the sun was breaking the horizon, we headed down the path.

We fell right back into the wonder of nature we had been missing.  I stopped to take the occasional shot - framing it just so.  Boo stopped to smell almost every weed and blade of prairie grass along the way.  Patience is not my strong suit; but she's 14 now (that's 98 in people years) so I showed a little more patience with her.  She seemed to appreciate that.

And I have to admit, I found myself really being in the moment.  Oh, alright, at points I was writing this post in my head; but for the most part there were no thoughts of work, no thoughts of any personal situations ~ I didn't look at my phone once ~ we just enjoyed the beautiful Colorado scenery and a lightly cool breeze coming off the lake.

So, if I may be so bold, don't wait till you feel that burn out just minutes away.  Devise a plan to take time - every day - to step away and just be.  It has made me a better wife, a better pet-mama and a better producer in my own little studio.

Do it.  You deserve it.

Sundays

I think the answer to unblocking my creativity is to totally remove myself from my work space. To actually stay away from my studio.

Movie night out last night (literally out – an outdoor double feature in my son and daughter in law’s side yard!); a relaxing morning walk in the park today with my mister and my dog and a scrumptious breakfast prepared by aforesaid mister… All of which has served to relax me, make room in my head for some ideas and remind me that awhile back I had promised myself to take Sundays off. Everyone really does need down time to renew, refresh and not burn out!

I am also reminded that when I was growing up Sundays moved at a relaxed, slow pace. Stores were closed; the only one working on Sunday was our minister. Sundays meant church, followed by a big noon meal, visits with family, “The Wonderful World of Disney” at 6:00 and popcorn for supper. A little different from Sundays of 2009... So the mister and I are making an effort to slow down our Sundays. Our church is nature, so we walk together. A late morning breakfast is our noon meal. Watching “CBS Sunday Morning” (which we tape) is our “Disney.” And rather than family visits, we visit each other – something we don’t take time for during the week.

And because a little free time not only sparks my energy level, but also my imagination, I jot down ideas to implement on Monday. Take the catnip pictured here, for instance. I did a little clean-up in my garden-on-the-deck this morning (fall is definitely in the air) and decided it was time (perhaps past time) to harvest my catnip. I grow it every year for my cat, A-choo. During the summer she likes to roll around on the leaves I bring in and drop on the floor for her. As summer winds down, I harvest what is left of the catnip; I dry it; smush it up with a pestle and mortar; store it in a covered bowl; sew little pouches; stuff them with the catnip and there ya’ go ~ A-choo and her friends are set for the winter.

Three people have suggested I should add a line of pet toys to my shop. I have been designing dog toys in my head and now I’m expanding… (she jots a note) ~ this year A-choo will be sharing with a wider audience. ;-)