Sometimes You Just Need a Slug Day!

On the beach with a LUMIX GX85 and the 12-32mm kit lens. Taken at sunset a few days ago - f3.5 @ 1/100 ISO 200

"Each person deserves a day in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. 
Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us."
Maya Angelou

"What, me worry?"

At this point in my life wearing my blogger hat, there aren't a lot of topics I haven't written about. So, when Sunday mornings roll around, and it's time to write Reflections, it gets harder and harder to share something relevant that's new. Well, I think I found a topic this morning more of you need to work on - learning to be a slug!

And this isn't new either - I've written about it three times over the last five years. However, each day there's something new in our lives. Technology, social media, the economy, consumer trends, and our growing responsibilities all contribute to the stress in our lives. Sometimes it feels like we're caught in a nonstop perfect storm.

We all live busy, hectic lives and I'm betting each of you wear multiple hats as photographers, business owners, volunteers in your community, parents, spouses, friends, family members, lovers, and the list goes on and on. Most of the time you're going non-stop. You answer the phone every time it rings and every email that comes in. You comment on issues that come up on Facebook, tweet as often as you can and share images on your website, blog, Instagram, Pinterest and even LinkedIn. Your thoughts are interrupted numerous times throughout each day, and sometimes you feel like all you're doing is putting out fires. Sound familiar?

If you're like me, there are days when you need to pull the plug! And that's precisely what Sheila and I did yesterday - we had a slug day. We did absolutely nothing that would change the world or our little part of it. We kicked back, hung out together, had great music playing all day, floated in the pool, watched the butterflies in the garden, fired up the grill a couple of times and watched a few classic movies, including Animal House! We never bothered to even watch the news, except for tracking the story of the kids trapped in the cave in Thailand.

In my younger days, and I only need to go back a few years ago, I would have felt guilty. In fact, I'd be embarrassed to even write about being nonproductive for a day, but here's my point.
 
All of us spend our days multi-tasking. To avoid "hitting the wall" and going into overload, you need to take a slug day. You need to recognize when it's time to unplug from your business life for a day. Slug days are about recharging your battery and having an Alfred E. Neuman smile on your face and more importantly in your heart. You don't worry about anything, especially whether or not doing nothing for the day is honestly going to change the world!

Wishing all of you a terrific Sunday, and if you need it, make it a slug day! The business will all be there tomorrow morning, and it's a new week! If you're feeling the stress of deadlines, the challenges of running a business and you're starting to procrastinate more than be productive - then walk away from it for a day. Clear your head and take the time to dream. Build up the energy you need to follow your heart more, and business-logic just a little bit less!

As always, go for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs with the people most special in your life. And, don't focus on anything except a smile on your face and having joy in your heart. (I know it sounds sappy, but you'll be amazed at the energy a great attitude can help create!)

Happy Sunday everybody - thanks for joining me!

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