Well, that’s not entirely true. There are so many things I could do, that I would like to do, that I should do.

Uh-oh. There’s that word “should,” and that’s what gets me into trouble.

As a self-employed entrepreneurial creative, my Mondays frequently start out this way. I’ve often had a busy weekend (this weekend, I presented at my first virtual conference and sang at a kirtan event in the suburbs,); and I have no fixed appointments until I teach yoga late in the evening. I have the whole day available and many, many projects and tasks to follow up on and complete to continue to grow my business forward.

And yet, I find myself sitting on the futon, snuggling with my kitty, listening to podcasts, staring at a very long checklist, deciding what to do first… for 2 hours!

And I wonder, “what is WRONG with me?”

Well, nothing is wrong.

Sometimes, we need that mental downtime in order for the creative brain to do whatever mysterious things it does to regenerate after some solid output.

AND I think it’s important to acknowledge when one of these “brain breaks” occurs and then make a plan for how to maximize what comes after (hopefully a period of inspired creativity and productivity!)

Here are 3 things I like to do to bounce me out of my regeneration mode and into creative flow:

1) I listen to something inspiring – usually a podcast from someone who really makes me feel like I can do anything.

Some of my favorite “fire starters” are Seth Godin, Danielle LaPorte, and Marie Forleo. Some of my favorite podcasts for this are Entrepreneur on Fire, The Accidental Creative, Smart Passive Income and Online Marketing Made Easy.

Bonus points if I can do this while going for a walk outside or moving my body through some yoga postures!

2) I chant some mantras. This is cheating by combining 2 strategies in one: music and meditation!

One of my creative passions is singing kirtan, sacred mantras set to music in order to evoke a certain energetic state of being and connection to the Divine. This practice can be an incredible source of fresh ideas and perspective. It gets the breath flowing through my body and stimulates my brain synapses in ways I wish a neuroscientist could explain to me!

(BTW, if you are in the Chicago area and want to learn more about opportunities to do this together in a group setting, go here!)

3) I start writing. 

It could be a blog post (like this one), a journal entry, morning pages (from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron)… really anything to get my brain into creation mode.

Usually by this point, I’m back on track and, even if it is already well into the afternoon, I can still manage to do the work that needs to get done and feel successful at the end of the day.

So tell me, what’s YOUR solution for the “I just don’t feel like doing anything” blues?