Mental Vacations

We all need them, especially when the creative well dries up. But what if you can't take time off from work or you don't have the means to fly (or sail or drive) off somewhere? One alternative is to close your eyes and take that trip in your mind. I polled friends and acquaintances to find out favorite mental vacation destinations:

• Town in Tuscany: Sun-baked houses with red-tiled roofs embanked on a sunny hillside with clusters of olive trees interspersed.
• Caribbean Paradise: Vivid turquoise sea, diamond sand, waving palms.
• Green Pine-y Forest: Better yet, with a crystal-clear glacier lake.
• Sidewalk Cafe in Picturesque City.
• Imaginary Spa: Hot water for soaking, a massage, lovely scents...
  
• "My Grandparents' House."
• Seaside (Oregon) in Winter: Cool, misty and solitary, tide out, breakers rolling peacefully.

What's your favorite mental picture or visual memory? What calms you? What makes you happy? Choose some favorite images for a mental photo album. When you're feeling stressed, tired, sad or depleted, close your eyes and get outta there, even if only for a few minutes.

Doldrums

We all get them. For me, August is doldrum month: it's too hot outside and inside to get anything done, I'm working extra hours & feel chronically tired, and the block's too noisy to sleep at night. For one of my friends, January's her black hole, when the fun of the holiday season is over and there's nothing to look forward to but months of gray skies. What's a working writer or artist to do?

• Take a break. This might be a good time for a mini-sabbatical. Even if you can't get any time off work because you've used up your vacation days, take time off from all other commitments. Use your off-hours to spend time with family and friends, read, go to art museums, concerts, antique stores or wherever you get inspiration, and daydream a lot.
  
• Change your daily routine. If you usually work on projects during the morning, try evening instead, or vice versa.
• Switch projects for several weeks. Start a new one or return to an abandoned one.
• Go somewhere new, even if it's only to an unexplored neighborhood in your own city.

Happy recharging!