Tales of the Sunday Monkey

I have this theory called "Sunday Monkey." It came about during my last days at design school.

Picture this: Our intrepid designer, Sarah, is finishing her portfolio and preparing to graduate from college. She is working 30 hours a week at a regular job to boot. She is stressed to the max and trying to come up with a solution to a tough design project. It's Sunday, and the project is due mid-week.

Time is ticking away... Her graduation is dependent upon completing the project.

She is feeling tired, and less than creative. Frustrated, she takes a break from her project and plays around with her new circle cutter. There's a green file folder on the table, and she soon finds herself immersed in playful creativity-- cutting circles here and there until, Voila! The monkey appears to her! She hangs it on the wall proudly-- a neat monkey icon made from circles and rectangles.

She feels a sense of renewed creativity and goes back to her other project with gusto-- finishing on time.
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The monkey was similar to a Eureka moment, except instead of finding the solution to the problem I thought I was working on, I found the solution to my underlying problem-- burnout and stress. This is a very simple experience that has helped me immensely in my work life. Sometimes, we just need to take a break, re-frame our perspective, and see if that mountain is really just a mole hill.