As creative entrepreneurs, we experience creative block from time to time. When this happens to me, I look for what I like to call inspired workspaces. I change my environment or make my current workspace cozier and more comfortable.
It is as simple as using a favorite mug, or lighting a candle in the middle of the day. I can easily spend an hour in Staples looking for a new notebook or fountain pen. A little secret...a new pen makes me happy. :-) (Please tell me I'm not the only one.)
My husband and I travel a lot, most of the time to the Northeast/New England area. After spending significant time in hotel rooms working alone, I decided to venture out. I always felt "so busy", like I didn't have time to spare, but I started looking for cozy coffeehouses and libraries in the towns we visited. At first I felt I was wasting time finding these places and then traveling to them, but the opposite was true. These places were gems. I felt better on the days I went out, and I got even more done once I settled in. Plus, without this new habit of leaving the hotel, I would have missed the unique, cozy places I found, and the wonderful people I met along the way.
My environment is important to me. It always has been. It’s actually part of creating for me (you too?). Adding flowers to my table, or setting up a new desktop background for my computer. These things make a difference to me. I speak to many women entrepreneurs, and I found out this makes a difference to many of you too!
Of course, this takes time and effort. I am guilty of wanting to stay in pjs and work like that all day. Sometimes, I had to use so much energy just to drag myself out of the house or hotel. I don’t want the life of working in pjs and eating ice cream (because when you are home in pjs and stressfully working, ice cream has a way of coming to the rescue, doesn’t it?), so I made the effort to get outside. :-) You can see pictures from some of my inspired workspaces and travels in these blog posts.
Another inspired workspace for me is anytime I can work with my best friend and sister, Maria. We plan sister days to work together and they are my favorite days of any week.
I had to learn to take care of myself. Gone were the days skipping sleep or exercise for the sake of my job. Especially working for ourselves, it takes a new type of motivation to get going, no? I love what I do, but the doubt and fear sometimes are too much. Being all by myself started to make me feel depressed too. So as hard as it was to go out when I had a perfectly good space to work at home, it ended up being a lifesaver for me.
Beauty is found in the most awe-inspiring things, like sunsets and nature. And it is also found in the simplest things, like a good conversation, a coffee shop on a rainy day, or typing outside with your feet in the grass. In whatever environment you create, take some time to make it special for you.
