Backstory: This is about shaking things up. Getting out of the routine (aka rut). Nudging myself, literally, out of the nest of my own making.

I work from an office in our home. I love doing this, but I have to be hyper-aware of the toll isolation takes on me. In previous years, I made a point of going out to lunch once a week with a client to make sure I had human contact. It’s a little harder to do now because most of my clients are remote. (One of my all-time favorite clients lives in Detroit.) I spend all day, every day, on a computer, communicating with friends, family, and clients through emails and text messages. When I start talking with my Head of Security (Louie, the dog) and expecting him to answer, I know I have to get out.

Maybe I’ll take my laptop to a coffeehouse. Maybe I’ll take a folder and review it in the park (sitting in my car, if the weather is too chilly). Maybe this is the week I check out the other nearby library branch, to see if they have a cool workspace.

P.S. Whatever you do, wherever and however you work, take this week to look at your routine and think about how you can mix things up. If you’re a full-time stay-at-home mom, maybe you take your stack of bills to be paid and do them from the cute little café you’ve been meaning to check out. If you work in an office, maybe this is the week you take a 10-minute break outside. It might be just walking around the building, but it gets you out. Instead of eating lunch at your desk (I was so guilty of that back in my corporate days), you eat outside or eat at your desk then get outside for a walk for the rest of your break time. Can you review that report at a park bench? Can you take your laptop and reply to emails from a pretty spot? Do it!