Programming is about dedication and concentration. This job can also be extremely hectic and stressful. That is why every programmer should create a perfect work-life balance.
As programmers engage themselves to a hobby, they can have a relaxing and coping mechanism. If the hobbies do not involve coding, it would be better. Below are the best hobbies for programmers:
Table of Contents
Music
Everyone loves music, especially listening to it. For sure, every programmer has special songs that can trigger fond memories, or some of them love to sing in the shower. Whether it is listening to music or playing an instrument, music is a rewarding hobby.
Programming requires high concentration, so we need something which distracts from this task. When we develop programs for several hours a day, music becomes really important in order to relax your brain from stress of coding. Most importantly, listening music helps you get rid of boredom from repetitive tasks that occur while programming such as testing and debugging.
Listening music has benefits for mental health like fighting depression and developing social skills also help relieve workplace tensions when discussing about music.
Video Games
Video games have been a popular pastime for many years. It is not that hard to imagine that programmers partake in such an activity. Playing video games offers many benefits and can even be considered a hobby of sorts.
Playing video games offer a relaxing experience to programmers by fragging their friends. This hobby can bring them to the virtual worlds. No matter the weather or how close their friends live, they can enjoy playing video games whenever and wherever they want.
Video games are an excellent way to keep your mind sharp and relieve stress after a long day of work. Studies have shown that playing video games can improve cognitive skills for short periods of time. So next time you’re looking for something fun to do while relaxing on the couch, pick up your controller or mouse and get gaming!
In order to play a game, you need to test your skills in paying attention and thinking critically because these two abilities are important characteristics of coding which helps in the process of development software’s.
Reading
After curling in their favorite chair, programmers can start reading to find out whodunit and other genres. There are indescribable things that their brains imagine while reading books, and it helps them escape from stressful life for a moment. After all, they can choose from a plethora of reading materials.
Reading books is not just a hobby, but rather, an essential part of everyday life! In fact, it’s recommended that you read at least 30 minutes every day so that you don’t neglect this important skill. I’m sure you’re already reading plenty on your own time since it’s an excellent way to relax… so why not take things one step further? Take pride in knowing that you have a well-rounded education by reading as much as possible. The more books you read and understand, the better off you’ll be when it comes to communicating with other programmers who share similar interests.
Cooking
Cooking is one of the best ways to awaken many senses and can help to release endorphins. They can touch different textures, feel things with hands, or smell spices. Whether programmers love Asian or American, or European cuisines, they can recreate their favorite foods in the comfort of their homes.
Cooking can be considered as an art because it takes a lot of concentration and creativity. Cooking is not just putting ingredients together, you should be creative to make something new and tasty recipe. If you get bored from programming, cooking can be a great hobby for you because it saves your time from spending in the kitchen. Moreover, when we cook at home we learn how to use several different utensils of kitchen which will come in handy while working during interviews.
Art and Illustration
Programmers do not need to know how to draw or paint portraits or realistic human figures. All they need is a simple adult coloring book or a sketch pad, and they can start drawing cartoons and smiley faces. While it helps them express their creativeness, it relaxes their minds.
Art illustration is like drawing pictures with computers by using software’s such as Adobe Photoshop or Sketchup etc. This hobby helps to develop creativity while coding becomes boring and repetitive. It has many benefits such as improving cognitive skills and developing artistic abilities.
Blogs or Dev Logs
Blogging is like a personal diary where you can document your daily life. It is an opportunity for you to express your creativity. Moreover, when you blog about topics such as technology, coding or programming, it can be used as a resource of information and documentation for future references.
If you are a programmer, DevLog is like a track of your development. It provides you with the opportunity to express your creativity and at the same time can be used as an educational resource for others who want to learn from your experience. Devlogs help developers to share their knowledge regarding software’s and programming languages.
Sports Activities
Finding time for sports is not easy due to busy schedule, but it has lots of benefits such as improving athletic abilities, staying in good shape physically which helps in maintaining healthy life style, and most importantly relaxing brain from stress of coding. It improves health conditions such as reducing cholesterol levels and blood pressure thus keeps our body away from diseases such as obesity or diabetes.
Learning New Language
Learning new language gives us a competitive edge in the market because it helps in adding another skill to our resume. While we program computers, our competitors learn this coding skill and leave us behind. In order to keep up with our competition, learning new language can help us become better coders than our counterparts. It is important for every coder to continue their education.
Learning New Techniques(Programming languages)
Learning new techniques or programming languages can help us become better coders then our counterparts. Sometimes we may find it difficult to solve problems in our code. However, when we learn new techniques or programming language it helps us in solving the problem that is giving us headache.
Yoga And Meditation
While coding stress can build up and cause frustration. In order to deal with this frustration and remain focused on work, yoga and meditation are perfect hobbies because they help you relax your mind by keeping it calm from negative thoughts.
Are you still unsure which hobby will suit your lifestyle? If so, you can try any or combination of the hobbies above.
