If you’re like many these days, you’re probably spending a lot of time seeking new business and slogging it out with client work to pay the bills. Solo PR Pros, like the rest of the world, are under more pressure than usual, so we need to make sure we occasionally have a little fun to avoid burnout.
To truly appreciate the joys of being your own boss, I suggest you indulge yourself in at least one “guilty pleasure” a week. It doesn’t have to be time consuming, and something as simple as a quick mid-day walk outside can do wonders to clear the cobwebs.
When it comes to guilty pleasures, we’ve all got ‘em! Here’s a (mostly anonymous) list from some of my Twitter friends, with a few of mine thrown in for good measure:
- Take a lunch break and watch questionable television shows you’ve Tivo’d (The View, Judge Judy, and VH1’s Metal Mania were among those mentioned)
- Maria Johnson suggests enjoying “the secret pj's and the 10 step commute”
- Visit Urban Dictionary and check out their Word of the Day for a chuckle (sometimes not for the easily offended – yes, this one’s mine!)
- Take your dogs for a walk – to the beach, if you’re lucky
- Bake cinnamon swirl bread or oatmeal choc chip walnut cookies
- Take a power nap
- Run errands/shop in the middle of the day to avoid the crowds
- “Forget” to shower
- Take a silly quiz on Facebook
- Call a friend to chat about nothing at all
So if your derriere is sore from sitting at your desk for too long, it may be time to take 15 minutes for yourself. To run a successful business you need to take care of the boss – you!
How about you? What’s your guilty pleasure?
Dog Beach and The View (only Hot Topics section, of course) are the way to go! I can’t wait to check out the Urban Dictionary now. Thanks for the tip.
If you’re a consultant and now doing all of the above, you aren’t doing it right.
Gotta run to CostCo before the crowds beat me 🙂
Jen Wilbur’s last blog post..rockstarjen: @CubanaLAF somehow i think you KNOW.
While not a solo pr pro (yet?), I would LOVE the opportunity to go for a bike ride in the middle of the day! It gives me such cabin fever to sit at work in my office while the sun is shining knowing that I could be pedaling away. I also come up with some of my best ideas on my bike!
Very jealous of your flexibility!
@amymengel
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@Jen- I am routinely jealous of your ability to go to Dog Beach! I always admire your commitment to having balance in your life.
@Amy- Thanks for stopping by (and perhaps indulging your fantasies of solo-ness?). You raise a great point that taking time out is often key to getting the ideas flowing!
Can’t beat the mid-morning dog walks, and I think my dog would agree! Ummm, old episodes of 90210 are also on at noon. (Did I just admit that?) 🙂
Christine Hartter’s last blog post..A Flash of Bad Publicity?
@Christine- Ah, now you’re after my own heart. Watching silly television while lunching is indeed my favorite guilty pleasure! The great thing is, we can have more than one. 🙂
I’d love to sit out on the deck with a book…
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