Your local repo is the equivalent of the development branch. Yes, that means you don't collaborate with others on development branches, or go for weeks committing only to a branch.
If you save up a bunch of work, dump it on the main branch, then start a new development branch that lets you escape from the integration pain of your big merge, then trunk becomes a dumping ground that nobody wants to (or can) work on.
If you save up a bunch of work, dump it on the main branch, then start a new development branch that lets you escape from the integration pain of your big merge, then trunk becomes a dumping ground that nobody wants to (or can) work on.