[anigbrowl]

Maybe you need a vacation if you haven't taken one. Guilt vacations where you don't get anything done for a while aren't as good as deliberate ones where you post up 'no support for two weeks, snoozing on beach/gone fishing/Vegas Baby.'

But if you're still into the niche, then maybe the answer is to stop writing code and and focus on business development & QA. You don't need to be always working at the coal face yourself. Perhaps get the freelancers to start maintianing your code base and switch your attentions to product and busines development, plucking the most promising contracters to become employees?

Whichever, don't beat yourself up. It's Thursday now, so I suggest clearing your urgent emails and then taking the rest of today, tomorrow, and the weekend off (ie away from the computer and preferably from your home) to think about what you'd like to be doing each day of the week. Lots of luck!

[failingburnout]

Vacation would be difficult at this point. I have made promises to my wife and myself that I would make progress on certain things. I am supposed to be working right now. I don't feel I have the freedom to take a vacation. It wouldn't impact the bottom line, but I'd take a hit in other ways. I'd have to know it would break the block I'm having.

I do have other projects and aspects of the business that I can work on, but I think I would be working on them if I could work. Weird, I know. It's not something I'm choosing to do... smack talk myself on NH vs. working. It's just gotten that bad that I don't know what else to do.

[matheweis]

"I don't feel I have the freedom to take a vacation."

This is a sure sign that you need to.

[anigbrowl]

OK, but you're no good to anyone if you get stuck, and since you don't know why you're stuck, exhaustion is a possibility. At the least I would recommend changing your environment for the weekend. Good luck again.