What do you want for Valentine’s Day this year?  A box of chocolates?  Flowers?  Underwear?

I’m hoping for a quiet afternoon in the pub with my husband and the Sunday papers.  And I’d love all the photographs from our wedding (which was in 2006… ahem) to be stuck in albums, with witty and memorable captions written under each.

(I’d also like to be able to fit into last year’s jeans but that’s not going to happen any time soon.)

Whatever you wish for this Valentine’s Day, whether you have an adoring partner or not, here are some gifts that will help keep your creativity and motivation on track until next year:

1. Time

There is simply never enough time to do everything on the to-do list.  So for this Valentine’s Day, make time for yourself – set aside as little as an hour a week to:

• have a bath and read a book
• call your mum for a chat
• go for a walk in the sun
• make play dough with your children
• plant some Summer bulbs in the garden
• bake with a friend

2.  Focus

When you’re juggling a home, a family and a business or job, it can be difficult to find the space to come up with new designs and ideas for new projects or clients.

3.  A new notebook

Ever since school, I have adored the feel of a new notebook.  Those blank pages just waiting in anticipation of all the lists, meeting notes and thoughts that will come tumbling out over the next few months.

I confess to being a tiny bit addicted to buying notebooks (particularly hardback ones with pretty covers….) so maybe I’m biased, but I always find that a brand new one is enough to inject fresh energy into my day.

Try it – you might like it.

4.  A chat with a friend

Working from home can be pretty lonely (today I haven’t spoken to anybody other than the women who served me in the supermarket this morning – sniff).

But yesterday I spent the morning in a local coffee shop sharing a croissant with a bubbly and enthusiastic friend – no, it’s probably not going to help me get into those jeans, but it did give me a fresh take on a new project I’m working on.  And we laughed, a lot.

Whether you meet in person or over the phone, talking to a friend can be the best antidote to creative block.

5.  New people

If you go to the same places, you’ll keep on meeting the same people.  I met my best client at a networking event that I’d never been to before – I was only there because a colleague had asked for some help setting it up, and I was a bit nervous going in as I didn’t know anyone.

But it has led to new work, new contacts and new friends.  Treat yourself this Valentine’s Day to a new group of like-minded people.  Check what events your local community offers – informal coffee mornings, artists’ brainstorming sessions, business breakfasts.

What do you long for this Valentine’s Day?  Share all in the comments below.

PS But if it is chocolate, flowers or underwear, I’m not going to complain!