I was about to title this post "Post-Mortem." Since no one died simply because I stepped away from the computer, that would make a rather morbid headline. So I chose "weekend update" instead so I could invoke SNL-style humor. Anyway...
I highly recommend taking a "Golden Weekend" to fight burn out. Even though I returned to three unsigned contracts (contract negotiation = my favorite!! NOT) and several unwritten assignments, it was just want I needed to recharge my creative batteries. Over the course of the weekend, the s.o. and I even came up with a few article ideas, which I jotted down and promptly forgot about so I could enjoy my break.
Speaking of jotting down ideas, lately I've been pondering what type of notebooks work best. I used to love cute little pocket-sized ones for their portability and their style points. Then one day I unexpectedly ran out of paper at work, which forced me to open the black hole known as our supply closet (we also have a snack closet, but I actually know how to find stuff in there; Ranch Doritos and I are intimately familiar, toner cartridges and printer paper not so much).
Horror of horrors... we only had a large, ugly, half-used legal pad. But to my surprise, I actually liked writing on the legal pad, because it's ginormous size gave me plenty of space for making lists and mapping out fabulous ideas for taglines and web copy. It seems like the larger the size, the more ideas I have to fill the space. Maybe next week I'll try one of those giant easel pads that we use for brainstorming sessions. Actually, that might work well for novel-writing purposes to get the juices flowing... What's your secret weapon?