Working at a regular requires that you take a break every once in a while, if you want to be good at it. Your brain and body need regular rest during the day, the week and the year. It’s one of the reasons why jobs have breaks every two hours, every five days, and for two weeks out of the year. Employers have recognized the importance of giving people the opportunity to recharge.

The same is true for creativity. You need to take a break from the actual work of creativity and replenish the well that you draw from. This doesn’t always mean getting fully away from a creative project. Coming up with ideas is often more like an Artesian well, if you stop the flow it may not come back.

It does mean that you need to do things that help you create better. For some people watching a movie or reading a book is a good enough rest to get them recharged and creating again. Others need to travel to their favorite destination, like Hawaii or Disneyland. Stepping away from a project is paradoxically sometimes the best way to get it completed. Fill yourself with ideas and refill when you need to.

For more on creativity, order “Disneyland Is Creativity” and “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.” Get “Penguinate! Essays and Short Stories” and improve your creativity for a better life and world. For more on the Disney company, get “Penguinate! The Disney Company.” Join us at Patreon for the “Secrets of Creativity” available only to our Penguinators.