Summertime Blues

Remember when you were a kid and you'd spend each waking, sunny moment of summer running barefoot through the grass, skidding down steep hills on your bike or chucking water balloons at your pals?

Of course you do. How could you forget, when there are dozens of kids skipping down your street in childlike bliss while you're slaving away at your computer, licking envelopes and developing an acute pain in your right temple?

Depending on where you live, being a homebased entrepreneur can be more than a bit trying during those glorious summer months. The thought of meeting deadlines and drumming up new business can quickly turn into a case of the summertime blues, when you'd like nothing more than to abandon your work and join those youngsters on the swings at the park.

Obviously, you can't blow off your business--but you can't let yourself reach the point of mental breakdown either. Instead, you'll need to balance the two extremes and find ways to make the best of things.