Sometimes all you need is some distance

Go for a walk and clear your head instead of ploughing on in frustration. Take a coffee break with a colleague instead of powering through, and vow not to do any complaining. Work from home for a day, meet a friend, take out your aggressions in the gym, cook an awesome meal or try something new. Get out of there for a while. Jump head first into something else entirely. Sometimes you have to drudge through the drudgery to get where you’re going, but putting your head through a wall never helps. Go find another perspective, course correct just a little along the way, force yourself to focus on something else. The so called insurmountable problem will often appear in a better light if you do.

A few months ago, a colleague told me the following:

“It might look like I’m just walking around, chatting with people, drinking coffee and eating bananas, but in here *points to temple* I’m solving the problem. I just think better that way.”

Amen to that. Step away from the canvas and give yourself a chance to figure out what you’re actually painting before charging ahead.
 
Click through to read some of the latest and greatest by Gav of Zen Pencils.