So, you’ve given your corporate career the boot. You may have started your own business, you may be consulting, or you may be exploring the vast opportunities available to you now. You are no longer tied to your 9-5, or in many cases 7-7 work day. You have the flexibility you’ve yearned for. And yet, you may have created a new rut for yourself. And, it may closely resemble those structured work hours and be sapping that creativity you longed to express.

There are many way of being creative, using your time, and tailoring your day. Ask yourself…are you most creative in the morning, afternoon or evening, or even in the wee hours? Design a day that works best for you, allows your creativity to shine and allows you to make positive progress.

Consider mixing up your day. Try working in different places, like the local coffee house, a picnic table at the beach, that little French pastry café, even in your own back yard. Consider exercising at 3:00 in the afternoon if your most creative time of day is in the morning. And, if Mondays have always been your nemesis, try working Saturdays instead…who said your weekend had to be on the weekend?

One of the wonderful things that allows this kind of freedom and flexibility is the technology that is available today. If you have a laptop and a mobile phone, you really can work from almost anywhere.

Another way to mix things up and to extricate yourself from a rut is to simply do things differently. If you don’t like the results you are getting in your life, it doesn’t make sense to continue to do things the way you’ve been doing them. And changing small things can sometimes make a huge difference. Some seem silly, but they break up the routine and cause you to look at things in a new light. Try some of the following:

• Choose different types of food whether you are dining out or in
• Eat in different areas inside and outside your home
• Go out late/early and do something unusual for you
• Work in different geographic locations
• Relate to another authentically
• Don’t smile if you don’t feel like it, or do
• Dress up – get out of those sweats – get a makeover
• Ask a friend to go for a hike instead of lunch
• Try being Auntie Mame for a day
• Do something that you fear – like giving a talk
• If you are tidy, let your house become a mess and use the time to do something fun; if you are untidy, clean up your house and celebrate.
• Try some daring lingerie
• Paint your toenails black
• Spray some temporary vivid color in your hair
• Write a letter to the editor or your newspaper
• Give yourself only $25 dollars to buy a new outfit and visit consignment stores
• Plan a treasure hunt for your friends

Because you are trying new things, you may meet new friends and colleagues, get new ideas, develop more self confidence, or simply have more fun.

Remember…same actions, same results. If you want something different in your life, you’ll have to do things differently. And, by taking simple steps you may find a new world opening to you…a Fabulous new world!