What do you enjoy most about going on an Artist Retreat Day? For most of us it's getting away from our "normal routine", having our creativity sparked by new surroundings and having the luxury of "open time" to work on our creative projects.

A retreat gives us the opportunity to step outside the day-to-day and look at the big picture of our creative dreams. It gives us freedom from obligation and responsibilities and guidance from a facilitator and/or our artist peers.

Here are five ways to bring some of these elements into your life EVERY SINGLE DAY.

1. Call yourself an artist. Find a way to work it into conversations with new people or join and get active in an association, discussion group or other community of artists. Get used to fully claiming your identity as the creative artist that you are.

2. Enjoy and celebrate something you've already completed. Savour it, relish in it and accept it as a perfect expression of the "you" that you were when you created it.

3. Let go of one of the obligations and responsibilities on your list today. Delegate it, cancel it (respectfully and in a considerate way), reschedule it or let it go.

4. Make use of the free space you've just created. Take a small step towards making your creative dream come true.

5. Change something in your routine. Take a new route, brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand, get outside, eat your meals in a different chair or change the location of something in your creative workspace.

(c) 2005 Linda Dessau