Finally dive into my never-ending list of bookmarked blog posts
I know I'm not alone—a lot of developers have those mile-long reading lists lurking in their browser somewhere.
Week after week, I tuck away posts from umb.fyi, the official Umbraco blog, 24 Days in Umbraco, Matt Brailsford, Owain Williams, and who knows how many others, telling myself, "I'll read that later." Well, "later" stacks up fast, and before I know it, there are dozens of unread gems waiting for me.
A slow holiday morning, coffee in hand, feels just right for catching up. No Slack pings, no urgent emails—just me, reading what other developers are doing, how they're thinking, and what they're building. It's wild how new approaches leap out when you finally find a quiet moment to learn from someone else's take.
Catch podcasts during long walks
One of the best things about holiday walks—whether it’s through city streets, along the shore, or up in the mountains—is the excuse to throw on a podcast.
There’s a ridiculous number of great podcasts out there about .NET, cloud stuff, AI, and sometimes Umbraco sneaks in, too. It doesn’t even have to be 100% about the CMS. Sometimes hearing folks talk about architecture, productivity tricks, or the latest technology gets me thinking in ways I never expect—ideas that often end up back in my Umbraco work.
And you know what? It never feels like studying. It feels like wandering somewhere new, listening to smart people, and just soaking it in.
Open the docs just to explore
I know it sounds odd, but I really do enjoy flipping through documentation.
Not because I’m hunting for a quick fix—but because, honestly, that’s where I stumble on cool features I missed the first time around.
The Umbraco docs get better with every release. Browsing release notes, API updates, or those migration guides, especially when I'm not working under pressure, actually helps me see the bigger picture. Instead of combing through looking for an exact answer, I get to wander and see what's new.
I’ve lost count of how many times I've found a feature buried in the docs only to wish I’d discovered it months earlier.
Think about architecture and not just code
When I’m glued to my laptop, all my energy goes into troubleshooting the immediate problem.
But on holiday, with no keyboard in sight, it all shifts. There's this freedom to step back—not just on code syntax, but on how projects fit together. Could I simplify that content model? Would Libraries or Elements save time down the road? Are editors really getting the most seamless experience? Is there a smarter way to design reusable content?
Some of my best ideas for projects showed up when I was nowhere near a computer. Just space to breathe and really think.
Build up a stash of blog ideas
If you follow my blog, you’ll know I just started writing about Umbraco. But I enjoy it almost as much as I enjoy developing with it.
Here’s the thing—good ideas rarely show up when I want them to. Instead, they pop up while I’m sitting at a café, killing time in the airport, or just chilling by the pool. Suddenly, a topic pops into my head and I know I need to sit with it.
So I type it out. Sometimes it’s just a catchy title, other times it’s a rough paragraph. Every once in a while, that random thought becomes an article that takes off around the Umbraco world. Inspiration’s funny that way—it doesn’t care where you are or if you’re logged in.
Browse GitHub with zero FOMO about not coding
GitHub isn’t just a place to get your own code reviewed.
I love scrolling through the (Umbraco) repos to see which issues are being hotly debated, what features people are proposing, and just keeping an ear to the ground about what the community cares about now.
Honestly, those conversations and feature threads often reveal more about Umbraco’s direction than any roadmap ever could. You start to see why decisions happen. And that's priceless when you’re planning your next steps.
And nope, you don't need Visual Studio open at all.
Drop in to help someone out in the community
One of the reasons I keep coming back to Umbraco is the people. The community makes it easy to stick around.
Discord, the forums, mastodon, LinkedIn—you name it. There are always developers wondering how to get past roadblocks. Sometimes all it takes is five minutes to link someone to the right resource or share a little tip you’ve picked up along the way.
You can answer a question from your phone, sitting on a bench by the sea. You don’t have to fix a gnarly bug—just nudge someone in the right direction. It’s such an easy way to stay connected, even if you’re technically “out of office”.
Revisit Codegarden
Codegarden was packed with amazing talks and new ideas. What’s funny is, once the event ends and I’ve had a little distance, some sessions suddenly click in ways they didn’t before.
It’s worth rewatching a video, peeking back through your notes, or flipping through old photos. Suddenly, details you’d missed pop out.
And don’t skip over the memories of chats in the hallways or in between sessions. Sometimes those quick side conversations leave the biggest mark—ideas that stick long after the slides are gone.
Play with AI on your phone
AI slipped into my workflows ages ago, and honestly, that doesn’t stop just because I’m in vacation mode. I’m not cranking out code on my phone. Instead, I tinker with prompts.
How would I model this tricky bit of content? Is there a cleaner migration approach? Could that Block Grid be more organized? What would another developer do here?
Even if I never write a line of code, these casual back-and-forths spark ideas that I end up bringing to life once I'm home.
Give yourself permission to do...absolutely nothing
This one really matters!!! We developers excel at staying busy—there’s always another package, a pending release, a half-finished side project.
But sometimes? The smartest move is to do nothing at all.
Stuff the phone in your bag. Play a game with the kids, read a novel, take a swim or wander through some new city streets. Hang out with your family and just be. Your brain doesn’t stop working—it’s making connections in the background.
I've had solutions to gnarly Umbraco issues hit me out of nowhere: on a trail in the woods or while lingering over dinner in a new place. Funny enough, these ideas never hit when I’m glued to my monitor.
Sometimes, simply taking a real break is how you become a better developer.
Wrapping up
It's tempting to think becoming a sharper developer means spending more hours hunched over the laptop. I just don’t buy that.
Learning happens everywhere—while reading, listening, reflecting, chatting with other devs, and sometimes just sitting still and letting your brain do its thing. So, yeah, my laptop’s staying home this year.
I'm coming back with memories, a phone stuffed with notes, and if the past is anything to go by—a mind overflowing with new Umbraco ideas.
Hope you have an awesome holiday, wherever you end up and see you in a couple of weeks!
#H5YR!