At least once a year I try to take a complete break from the Internet, which means no reading other sites, no posting in fora or on my sites, and no answering email for a month. For the most part I'm not even online at all during that month, as I'm out and about doing other things, like testing lenses, scouting locations, writing future articles, thinking about my site design, cleaning my office, fixing something at the house, and more. My iPad is now in "read books and watch Netflix mode," the iPhone is off, the office Mac is also off, and the only thing I'm doing on my MacBook is working on photos and sometimes writing new ideas and articles.
By not dealing with the always-on Internet during these rest periods, my brain gets some much needed relaxation and freedom from perceived or absolute deadlines. I always end my off-the-Internet periods more clear minded, more creative, and more energized.
This year's first break begins when the moon obscures the sun today, April 8th, and lasts until May 9th. During that time I will not be posting new articles and will not be checking email. Yes, I know there's a major convention (NAB) in that time period (the press releases are already piling up), that the Tokyo business press will be active reporting company's year end results and talking to top executives about strategies, plus some significant cameras and lenses may even be introduced while I'm offline. As usual, I'll do my best to catch everything back up when I return, though that kind of article probably won't appear until May 13th or so, as it takes a bit of time for me to do that catching up myself.
Consider this also a rest for you: instead of my prolific firehose of output, my month off will absolutely lessen the number of things you need to read and ponder.
See 'ya on the other side.
