Denise Gershbein needed a break from routine, so she did the obvious and took a brief sabbatical.
In this GOOD article titled Why to Take a Sabbatical Denise writes about the benefits of taking a break and refreshing yourself ‒ and your creativity.
What stands out in the article isn’t necessarily how or why Denise took a sabbatical, but the tools she used to help refresh her creativity. Specifically: Denise writes about how notebooks and journals she had written in the past were a source of inspiration and guidance. She says:
After reconciling whether I had been doing good work, I asked myself whether I had been doing the right work… .The only way for me to do this was to reconnect with my past interests. I had brought with me all my grad school notebooks, thesis work, and journals. I scoured them, rediscovering hidden gems of insight and ideas for projects. I was happy to see how many of them still held up after eight years. It dawned on me that the topic of my thesis was embedded in my current client projects. I’d been doing the right work after all!
If you weren’t aware: writing ideas down is a phenomenal idea, the creative rewards of which are like a treasure trove of inspiration.
If you don’t currently keep an idea journal with you: start carrying a small notebook around daily. Whenever you feel creatively stuck or unsure with yourself, open up your notebook for inspiration.