How to rediscover yourself in a new place

[slideshow]How I needed a vacation this spring! Oh yes, it has been a long time since I spent any amount of time creating anywhere but in my studio.Suddenly I was off to another place with my  sack of supplies, and heavy load of books. I was on a beach. I slept. I read. I painted. I drew.

My work was reinvigorated. You can do this too.

Find a place to go that you love.

Give yourself the gift of time to listen to your internal voice. I need quiet space and early morning hours to listen.When and where do you listen internally?

Leave time and quiet space to meditate. Make sure you have designed some time with no obligations to anyone but you. How can you kindly and judiciously isolate some uninterrupted time?

Bring simple materials to work with. I needed books, paper, pens and pencils watercolor and water. I actually didi bring too many books! They made traveling arduous. What do you need to bring?

Keep your goal simple. Mine was to sketch every day as necessary with the measured regularity of sleeping and eating. It would be a process, like breathing, not an event, like a party. If you limit yourself to one goal, what would it be?

Reflect on what you have learned.

From taking too many books, I learned that I need to make more time to read in my regular daily schedule. They weighed down my bag and my psyche.

You can do this in a small scale each day without going away. Going away can help you to stick to your goals because you have changed and temporarily simplified your environment which helps with focus.

If you would like more ideas about minimizing what you need  visit  this specific post by Leo Babauta in Zen Habits . To explore the benefits of working regularly, check out the inspiring post by Phillipe Benoit  at The French Easel.

What turns your creative intelligence on? I would love to hear some of your suggestions!