I can relate to that - I felt the same way when I was still doing web programming. (Mainly servlets and Oracle-related stuff.)

For me, it was always only supposed to be an interrim phase, I never planned to do programming for a living. I always wanted to be either a dirctor or a writer. However, grad school wasn't much fun at the time, so I thought I might earn some money for a couple of years, doing some fun stuff.

After 2 years, the fun was gone, and thanks to the stock market crash, money wasn't all that good, either. So when I realized that my working hours went through the roof while my personal life and my health were going down the drain, I took the emergency exit: I quit and started film school; now I'm studying screenwriting, and I'm glad I'm out of the grinder.

With you, of course, it doesn't sound that bad, because unlike me, you seem to find fun and fulfillment in your day job. (Not to mention that Apple's probably paying you a decent salary.) So I'm not advocating you should quit. (How could I - I'm a Safari user, and I want a new version! :-) )

However taking things easier is probably the right way to go - there's more to life than work. And yes, even more than blogs and video games, although I envy you for your extensive collection - I'm still stuck with an old PSX.

(My plans for today: Work another hour on that story I'm writing, then take a walk outside to get some fresh air.)

BTW: You're right about the negative effects of blogging on writing: I really have to watch out to make sure I don't spend too much time blogging and too litle on my other writings.

[P.S.: I'll probably get flamed by Safari and Mozilla users for telling you to work less. :-) ]

A break is definitely good once in awhile. When you really think about it, technology doesn't matter that much in the sense of need. I'm not saying I don't love it, because I do. Technology is awesome. But when it really comes down to it, the thing that really matters for every individual is their personal happiness. Don't know where I was going with this. Considering it's 3 AM and I should be asleep. But I think you get the point. A little break is good once in awhile.

You can tell i'm tired. Just repeated my first/last sentence there.

P.S. Email is currently down.

I think you are very lucky. I like my work (I am an accountant) but not as much as you. It is very rare that I would not be able to sleep because of work (and occasionally, work sends me to sleep ;)

Keep up the good work and I hope it remains a pleasure for you.

I'm a programmer, too, and I can definitely relate to waking up in the middle of the night with a programming idea, doing some really great programming -- and then wishing that I could have just gotten a full night's sleep instead and written the code a few hours later.

One thing I've found that helps is a little valerian tea. One cup before bedtime and I sleep like a baby. I don't have it every night, but if I know that my mind is going to be restless I'll have a cup and get a good night's sleep. I get the tea on the web from Rishi Tea.

http://www.rishi-tea.com/

My favorite is their "Dream" blend.

As for leading a balanced life, I'll be totally self-serving here and let you know that my company makes a product called Life Balance, which is personal coaching software for dealing with exactly these issues. If you're interested, check us out at:

http://www.llamagraphics.com/

Best wishes,

-- Stuart

careful, man. the last thing you want to do is burn yourself out, and from what you posted, it sounds like that could be the direction you're heading.

your work is loved and appreciated by hundreds of thousands of people, and the last thing any of us want to see is that work stop because you stop loving what you're doing. better to take things slow and easy for a while. recharge the batteries.

a nice holiday, perhaps?

I recommend colouring with crayons or colored pencils. Seriously. Your analytical brain takes a nap when you color.

Get yourself a box of the fat, kindergarten Crayolas and some big sheets of paper and spend an hour drawing whatever pops into your head. Start with some game characters or something else that's familiar, then move on to draw whatever strikes your fancy.

I've found it's wonderfully relaxing to write notes or postcards to people using colored pencils and nice, plain paper.

Dave,

Out of curiosity, where'd you go to school?

Oh man, that sounds exactly like me lately. (Used to write, play the piano, draw, etc) Now all I do is program. Though, I program video games; but still.

Kevin, I went to Rice University in Houston for undergraduate school. For graduate school, I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dave,

Not sure if you are married, but marriage allowed me to finally get a life, and not work as hard. (She insists on it, but I also like spending my free time with her now, vs working on the software that is my day job).

Good for you! Having a good work-life balance is not easy, but good that you're making that choice. If it helps, you might want to have your boss read this White Paper that makes a good business case for a work-life balance:
http://www.bsr.org/BSRResources/WhitePaperDetail.cfm?DocumentID=536

And for what it's worth, although you may not think your blog is "creative writing," know that a total stranger like me really enjoys reading your blog[s] -- Safari related or not. So, perhaps all the time you have been spending on blogging is somewhat connected to your hobby.

Dude, have a few beers and take a long midnight stroll bellowing Andrew Lloyd Weber lyrics at the top of your lungs. That'll fix you right up. Or get you shot. Either way, you'll find perspective.

I used to do marketing design. Brochures, flyers, websites, video and dare I say, even a bit of flash. Work was not escapable -never let your boss "give" you a nextel. My friend tim and I started walking to lunch and eating on the roof, that helped. Finally God told me to quit my job. So after 3 months of battling His plans I did (somehow I lost the argument...I dunno) So I did and I volunteered at a church camp for a summer. It was like playing with kids all day and getting paid for it, except not really the getting paid for it part.

Without saying you should quit I'd say a good excursion is to work (play) at a summer camp for a week as a counselor. I got free co2 for paintball out of it. The kids will think you're the 'kewlist' and you'll have a lot of fun.

They'd probably call me "uber-geek" just like my co-workers do. ;)

Best solution I can think of is that you finish Safari 1.0, with full CSS3 support of course, so that it's out of the way and you can relax. I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd leave you alone for a while after that. ;-) On a slightly more serious note, I get my head wrapped around things the same way you do and wish there was a magical solution. If you find one that works, please let us all know...

Derren.

I use to be a graphic designer, after five years of doing just that, I started to be interested in the web. That was 8 years ago, and for the last 4 years I've transformed myself in more of a web/interface/programming geek guy. I even started to write my own Cocoa software to code CSS the way I want. Traditional design doesn't even interest me anymore, and life outside the web is more and more alien to me...

I guess the web has a way of sucking the life out of people.

I plan to go mountain biking this summer, haven't done that in almost 4 years, it helps a lot to breath fresh air once in a while.

Go outside but keep coming back, Apple, Safari and the Mac community needs you to continue your great work.

'one of my hobbies used to be writing fiction, and I don't do that any more'

Anything readable? Maybe you could take some time out and write some more ... everyone has at least one book in them :)