Adding Travel to Your Work
One way to shake up your routine is by adding travel to your work. This can be anything from landing an all-expenses-paid travel-writing assignment to simply driving an hour to conduct an interview that you might otherwise have done over the phone. The point is that sometimes, you need to force yourself to break out of your routine in your home office, and travel arrangements of any kind can be an excellent motivator.
Remember that running errands, doing the grocery shopping, and picking up the kids from school does not count as getting out and breaking up your routine. It's important that, on occasion, you allow yourself time to go wandering or to the movies or to a friend's house for a glass of wine.
Making travel arrangements doesn't have to mean flying to Kenya to board a safari in a game preserve. It can simply mean making an appointment with another person to meet someplace at a certain time, thus giving you a little peer pressure to actually get up and go. If you can't see yourself taking a long vacation right away, at least consider planning a single day away from your home office when you don't turn on the computer at all.
A Day Out Can Do Wonders
If you decide to treat yourself to a day away from the home office, make sure it includes fun things that have nothing to do with chores or tedium. This is not the time to get your car detailed or your cat groomed. Instead, it's time to go see a cheesy movie or eat ice cream in a park on a hot summer's day.
You may feel a bit guilty during your first hour or two away, but by the end of the day, you're likely to be kicking yourself for failing to take the much-needed break from work sooner. Most writers find that simply seeing new sights, even if through the car windshield during a meandering drive, helps the creative side of their brain re-engage. And that's the first step toward getting back on track with your magazine-writing business.
A Few Days Away Are Even Better
If you have the ability to take a break for more than a single day, you should absolutely go for it — especially if you have felt bored and lonely for a long period of time. Consider turning off your cellular telephone and ignoring your e-mail completely, and instead focusing on the important work of getting your mood back in order.
If you find yourself feeling bored and lonely for longer than a week, consider consulting your family doctor or a psychologist. Sometimes, boredom and loneliness are symptoms of psychiatric problems such as depression, which can be far more serious than writer's block and require more treatment than just a day away from the computer.
Above all, remember that being in a bad mood is bad for your writing, and that being a bad writer is bad for your business. Thus, allowing yourself time to take a vacation is not goofing off; it's investing time in ensuring that you will be up to the task of completing future magazine-writing assignments.
