As a full time Web Developer its easy to become over worked, pulling 10 – 14 hour days is something that tends to happen when it a deadline approaches. How does a professional avoid this? I have a few ideas that have helped me and I hope they will help anyone else looking for some advice.

Work on a personal web project

Working on a personal project, whether it be a cool new web app idea, or just a site blogging about loving to knit , it’s a great way to escape the daily grind, while still updating your skills. Its something I tend to do very often on my movie review site.

Don’t be afraid to take a break

Taking a break from working can really help avoid burnout. Watching a movie when you would normally be working, taking a walk, anything to basically pull you away from working even if its just for a few minutes can make a world of difference. It may not be as easy if you work in an environment that won’t allow you to take these types of breaks, but finding little breaks between your day will help.

Take a vacation

The last idea would just be to take a one or two week vacation, and you don’t work on anything related to the web. When I’ve taken these types of breaks mid way through I find myself trying not to start doing little bits of work because I start to miss it.