Call me a homebody, but in my mind there’s nothing quite as perfect as sitting outside on a summer evening with my husband and a cold glass of white wine. It’s the blissful ending to a busy day of work, shuffling kids, maintaining the money pit we call home, and trying to snag a bit of “couple time” before collapsing on to my pillow.

It may be boring to some but it’s my kind of dull. In fact, sometimes, I look forward to it so much that I turn down the opportunity to try something different -- let’s say a concert or one of the many festivals that happen all summer. Quite honestly, the raucous just doesn’t call to me.

Recently, my dullness made me hesitant to bite on a wonderful gift when my hero hubby offered to treat us to an overnight in The City. Since he seemed so enthusiastic about going on this field trip, I smiled with reticence and said “Yes.”

That afternoon, we packed an overnight bag with dress-up clothes and headed downtown for a night of wild debauchery (aka: dinner and music at a jazz club). And against every ounce of my homebody-ness, the minute we checked into the hotel for our sleepover, I felt a spark of sumthin’ in my soul. It was a simple change in venue. Believe me, our hotel was not the Four Seasons or anything special. In fact, the view was a rooftop with some microwave dishes on it.

When we got all dressed up and went to dinner, I felt a lightness in my step -- even though our plan for the night was very much like what we do at home. I think we were asleep no later than 11:00 p.m. (How’s that for wild?)

But, somehow, something helped change my attitude. With all of my heel-draggin’, I’ll be darned if our downtown getaway didn’t help get me out of my self-induced summer rut. And you know what? I’ve been re-energized and more creative ever since.

My call to you is to get out of your own rut. It doesn’t have to be a wild night of throwing caution to the wind (like mine). Instead, take a field trip and go visit the nearest location where field techs are working in the elements to upgrade the infrastructure for your customers. Or, if you’re out in the field too often, go to your company’s corporate office and get a feel for those who go from meeting to meeting to cubicle without the pleasure of seeing the great outdoors for 9+ hours at a time.

Or, even better, get out of town for FREE! Register to attend OSP EXPO® 2010 (visit www.ospmag.com/expo). It doesn’t cost a dime to register to attend, so all you have to do is get the guts to ask the boss to send you there. Tell her/him that you’ll attend several of the free 25+ seminars and bring back a stack of educational handouts for your team. You’ll even host a lunch-and-learn session for your colleagues after you return. Now, that’s working outside the zone!

The key is to mix it up. Try something new. Remember the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting things to change.

What is your experience with this? Tell your fellow readers now!