Fun Friday Question for Freelancers (Say that Three Times Fast)

photo by: kevindooley

It’s the end of another long week freelancers. And on this freelance Friday, I must ask, “What do you do to decompress?”

I know how it goes. You’re toiling away at your computer, making phone calls, coming up with creative queries, networking, marketing your services and spending the spare time you have left on Facebook or Twitter. With all of that and your ever growing to-do list, do you ever make time for yourself?

In Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance (Artist’s Way), author Julia Cameron suggests artists make a weekly date with themselves, write daily in a journal (what she calls morning pages) and take a walk. I try to do at least one of those a week and when I don’t, my writing libido falls and inspiration starts to wane.

As a fun Friday, please share your own experience on what you do to keep yourself motivated. As for me, I’ll let you in on my own little secret. When I’m feeling really uninspired, I do what I’ve done since I was in high school…I go straight to the car wash.

For just about under 6 bucks, I get an exciting amusement park ride, a 5 minute trip to the spa and a psychedelic trip all meshed into one. You might be surprised to know I’m just going to a regular, pretty ordinary car wash. What makes it exciting is my ability to transform the experience by concentrated, conscious focus on it.

By being present in the moment, the sounds of water splashed onto my car reminds me of a waterfall, the methodic rhythm of the brushes hitting against my window puts me in a meditative state and the colorful bubbles sprayed onto my car feels ethereal. It’s the reason why I get claustrophobic on a small plane, but being in my tiny two door car in a car wash makes me feel completely relaxed. Even the rude lady at the front fails to reckon with my mood.

I think it’s all about being aware of the ordinary moments around you. When you stop and pay attention to the little details of life, you’ll gain something greater than another check-mark off your to-do list, you’ll gain perspective, insight, and clarity. You might even give yourself the space to let more inspiration and ideas flow in.

So now it’s your turn: When life gets too overwhelming, what kinds of things do you do to bring back fun?