I have just come back from a very relaxing break in the Lake District. My girlfriend and I rented out a cottage and did lots of walking, reading and thinking.

A picture of Coniston, the village we stayed in, from the other side of the lake.

It was nice to get away from the Internet for a while, I had no way of accessing email or RSS readers so the temptation was not there.

I think I really benefited from getting away from development. Not thinking about programming and new ideas for a while gave me a chance to recharge. I feel ready to get back to it and try to work at some of my new ideas to get something built.

I would definitely recommend shutting down your ‘web factory’ for at least a week to avoid burnout.