What to Do After Writing The End

My friend, Jill Kemerer, had a great blog last week about three things we should do after finishing a manuscript - they're all great tips and ideas. Most of them I do (in my own version), but a few were new-to-me tips. Last week I finished two projects - one full manuscript and another proposal - so the blog was especially timely for me because I was in that just-finished place.

One thing I do that Jill doesn't mention is take a break. It's a short break, usually a day...or if I turn something in on a Friday, it's the weekend. Here are a few of my favorite just-finished-a-book day off treats:

• Get out of the house. When I'm on deadline, even if the deadline is weeks away, I spend a lot of time indoors. Researching and writing and promotional planning all take time, and while the book is fresh in my mind is when the best ideas hit, so after I write The End, I make a point to get out of the house for a while. 
• Go on a hike. I'm lucky that we live in an area with several nature trails, and a few long stretches of beach. Or, if it's nasty out, I'll walk our mall or stay around our neighborhood, but a long walk has a way of helping me reset. New ideas, new recipes, new exercise plans...they all circle around in my mind and make me happy.
• Avoid the computer. One my post-book days off, I avoid all things tech. If I can, I won't turn on my computer. I won't play games on my iPad or iPhone. I will binge on a favorite show occassionally, but I try to give myself a solid break from my office, my desk and my chair. That, too, helps me reset. 
• Roam the stacks at our library. I haven't done this one in a while, but I'm thinking once bebe's in school, one of my first stops is going to be the library. I pick out a stack of books, find a quiet corner and settle in. Some books I'll check out, some I'll skim and put back, but there is something very relaxing about reading in a library. 

There are more options: I'll have lunch out with a couple of girlfriends, I'll go on a date with RadioMan, or bebe and I will have some mommy-daughter time, get a mani-pedi. . .what about you? What are your favorite ways to reset your writer's clock after finishing a book?