Eva Bradley: Small change makes me feel million bucks

Among the many clichés I'm fond of using, one of my most favourite is that "change is as good as a holiday".

Being able to shake up the monotony of daily routines and do the same thing differently or a different thing in a samey sort of way can often be all it takes to live a life a little less ordinary.

Without waxing lyrical about boring domestic and professional details, I consider the life I lead to be about as perfect as it can be without winning Lotto or being born with Gisele Bundchen's bone structure.

Working 9-to-5 in a job you don't hate and living with a person you get on with in a home you are happy in may not seem like a lot to ask out of life but there are a surprising number of people out there who would yearn for even these simple pleasures.

So to cut a long story short ... no complaints from me. She's all good, bro.

But that doesn't mean I don't get bored with the lovely life I lead - too much of a good thing and all that.

So here I am, sitting in the sunshine on a lofty floor of the Sky City Hotel in Auckland, tapping out my thoughts while I wait for room service to bring me tea and toast.

For the next three days I am having a life swap. Instead of a stressed-out small business owner who is always one job behind on the to-do list, I am role-playing the life of a kept woman, passing the slow-moving hours with trim lattes and sojourns through the boutique shops of High St.

I am reading books, painting my nails and generally lushing out while my boyfriend is in the conference centre down below with 250 other businessmen all in possession of an extraordinary ability to find mental stimulation in discussing at length the various intricacies of roofing iron.

This week, I don't have to find mental stimulation in anything. I'm just here playing the cameo role of "wife or partner". Only a few of us are cast as such - most wives and partners predictably concluding that the Roofing Association of New Zealand annual conference is not going to solve world peace nor provide any glamorous diversions.

But for me, just being away from the gravitational force field of my studio (which has the ability to weigh on me heavily even when I'm not there) is a beautiful gift, for which I am hugely grateful.

When I do go on holiday, it is normally a whirlwind affair involving long-haul flights, foreign languages and an exhausting itinerary that requires a sturdy pair of running shoes simply to keep up. This week is a rare chance to slow down, still my mind and relearn the forgotten art of simply "being".

Like riding a bicycle, it all comes back to me easily and brings with it a sense of peace and relaxation that makes me wonder why on earth I don't do it more often.

Distance from the source of life's stressors and the routines that can make us feel like just one more cog in a pointless machine is often all it takes to reconnect with ourselves.

This morning I looked in the mirror and saw Eva - happy, chilled out and (for once) wearing makeup that hadn't been slapped on 30 seconds before rushing out the door.

"Hi," I said to me.

"Great to see you back, girl," I added.

And with a wink at my reflection, I was out the door and back on High St, feeling free and fabulous.

Eva Bradley is an award-winning columnist.