Writers need a break between finishing the first draft of a new novel, and editing their work. To get a little bit of distance, means a clearer mind when it's time to put on the critique-reading glasses. Plus, by taking a break, the writer gets some much needed time to recover from the hangovers, after celebrating finally finishing that first version.
It's not hard applying this taking-a-break technique to photography. The lesson is simply this: Have (at least) two photosessions going on at the same time. By that, I don't mean actually shooting on two sets simultaneously. Instead, this is how it works: You shoot session A, go home and unload your images. And leave them there. Then, you open up the photos from session B, which you actually shot two days prior to session A. You spend the next couple of days with these photos, and by the time you're done with B, you'll be ready to review A (and you'll have shot C).
This is a good tip for those who shoot huge series, with lots of images to process and look through. That's when you can get to that point, where you're just sick of fixing the same three pimples on the same model's face on photo after photo (or maybe you just want to break up your upload stream of bugs on flowers and mix in a few sunsets). But if you take a break between shooting and processing, there will be less grinding of teeth and clenching of jaws.
Rasmus Rasmussen is on loan from iStockphoto, where he is part of the image inspection team.