When you work for yourself, you tend to work a lot. Ok, let’s be real … you tend to work ALL the time. Days, nights and weekends can be, and often are, completely taken up by your business tasks–trying to meet a client’s deadlines, getting work ready for a show, or just trying to keep up on orders (and bills!). Having this happen occasionally is just part of the gig. But if it’s happening all the time your life,and work, will suffer.

I had to learn this lesson the hard way, and I’m still working on it. I’m a workaholic. I really do not like to be idle. I have worked myself sick and have, on several occasions, almost ruined my closest relationship because of it. I thought I was going to need a 12 step program! But the solution was a lot simpler than I expected.

Creating under pressure and just creating something for yourself are two different things. So don’t make the mistake of thinking, it’s not like regular job stress because it’s creative. It’s still stress.  You really need to take time out to do things that are purely to feed your soul (or spirit or imagination, or whatever you want to call it). It may be social, artistic, adventurous, vegetative, or zen. It doesn’t matter what it is. The important thing is to get away from work and live life.

In our society we are often made to feel like we’re in a race. But as someone’s mother used to say (my mother didn’t have sayings … she just had ‘looks’) “Haste makes waste”. Extend that idea to working too much and too hurriedly. You will burn out and kill your creativity as well as your motivation. Get out of the race and refuel. You will be more efficient, more successful, and more energetic if you do this regularly. And you will be happier. So will your family.

Consider taking time out EVERY day to do something for yourself, spend guilt-free time with those closest to you, or just to do nothing much. Set one day aside every week where you are not allowed to do ‘work’ and go kick back with friends or have adventures. Get out of town, even for just a day, at least once a month. And have regular vacations–like 3-4 times a year.

You might be thinking to yourself “I don’t have time for vacation!” but consider when you have gotten away from it all, how the new sights and experiences you had got you so jazzed or how calm you were when you returned. You need that, just like you need food and shelter. And for creatives, time out and new adventures is absolutely imperative to keeping your creativity from going stale.

So, go ahead, take time out right now and go plan a vacation or do some creativity work just for yourself. Then notice how you feel when you get back to work. Thinking of it as feeding your creative being and don’t starve yourself.