This is expounding a bit more on last week’s Hammock Driven Development post. This one will deal more with taking longer breaks (vacation or holiday).
I typically don’t take many breaks. When I do, it is rarely actually for vacation purposes. It is usually in order to get more time at home, to work on home projects. It isn’t that I don’t get much time off; we have a fairly generous time off policy. I just do not make much use of it.
There definitely is a need for taking longer breaks too. It helps in the same way the shorter breaks do. You get a chance to clear your mind, focus on other things, and come back with new perspectives. The longer breaks help you to forget about some problems entirely, which can also be very useful.