Bit of a different question than most of what usually gets discussed on HN, but I find myself occupied with work a lot and while I enjoy it a lot, it's draining.
On top of that, I have ADHD, which makes it more difficult for me to really relax.
I walk to the park during slow hours, sit on a bench, wait for a bunch of sparrows to come, and then I give them some sunflower seeds. Sometimes -but not often- a magpie will approach too. You have to be quiet for birds to come near and fairly calm for them to approach you at all.
Others can only be spotted from a distance. Wagtails are quite timid but can be seen running around sometimes, and the blackbirds can be heard a lot even if you don't see them. I've also spotted a couple of woodpeckers. And once the park fell suddenly still and I looked up and there was a kite passing by (they have been spotted nesting in a much larger park a couple of miles away).
If the park is busy, then I'll watch the dogs, people going by. I ponder about the futility of life. Just sit there silently, doing nothing.
- Programming and/or documenting personal projects
- Tabletop games, though probably 90% of this means either tinkering with games (as opposed to playing them, e.g. creating inserts or new pieces for them) and/or hanging out on BoardGameGeek dot com.
- Reading, mostly anthologies of fiction from Wildside Press which collect many works from the early/mid 20th century, purchasable DRM-free for $1-2 each (for anywhere from 300 to 1500 pages). (Not associated with them, but am a long-time happy customer.)
My job is social and deadline driven. Here's what works for me:
Lifting some weights in a deserted gym - no music or people.
Stretching for 20 minutes before bed each day.
Getting a full night's sleep.
Going to a favourite restaurant once or twice a week. The rest of the time a simple, high fibre diet with lots of water, no alcohol, cigarettes or drugs.
Doing a part-time postgraduate course to boost some depth and variety to the often-times surface-level demands of work work.
Assuming you work from home, if not doing already, separate your workspace from living area. Do not sit with your laptop on the couch. Just listening to your own breathing pattern itself is one simple technique to reduce stress and relax. Then, you can definitely follow all the other suggestions in this thread.
When i feel i need to totally turn off, I'll turn on a podcast of something im somewhat interested in, and play a game that commands just a slight amount of attention, and pay a slight amount of attention to both things.
In weekdays, laying on the couch after eating a healthy and tasteful dinner after an intensive strength training session at the gym.
Weekends usually allow more freedom and I have more cognitive energy available too, so besides "usual" weekend activities I work on some side projects while discovering cool ambient music or study some interesting topics (usually CS).
Try to actively relax, not passively. Go for walks, socialize, do hobbies. Don't get sucked into to algorithms, it will fry your brain and you will never have time to rejuvenate.
Baths/Sauna/Sports also work, do something that genuinely refreshes you. The mind/body is an ecosystem, not a linear battery.
I play airsfot every Sunday it's the perfect reset. Equal parts sport, adrenaline, and pain from getting hit by those little plastic balls. But honestly, there's so much laughter that you forget the bruises. Highly recommend if you've never tried it.
I used to run long distance, no music, no headphones, no trackers, no watch. Let your mind drift, or focus on the rest of the course. Or go swimming and count laps. Or go bouldering (in doors), pick a route and focus on it.
It might sound strange, but the best relaxing time for me is that sometimes I go to the office on Saturday or Sunday, turn off email and phone and write a blog post or make a short video about our product.
I don’t understand why, some people have fun doing their job and feel joy when blogging about products they create and believe in, for me it’s a hubby.
I find watching and interacting with animals brings me back down to Earth. If I could talk to them I know all of the things I worry about would seem so strange to them. They just live in the moment and when I'm with them I live in the moment through them.
Other things I do I find my mind is still in worry mode – walking, reading, cooking, sleeping, etc.
Something about observing animals, thinking about what they're thinking and interacting with them turns that off for me. It's temporary, but it's nice.
I go watch trains. I often wander around while I'm waiting for a train to show up. I think about things, pray, look around. Sometimes I bring a book to read.
I play ultimate frisbee. The read-and-react way you play that game was a nice reset from the push-my-brain-through-concrete-walls character of my work.
Before I retired, I started taking smoke breaks at work. I don't smoke, but if smokers can go outside for 15 minutes, so could I.
Others can only be spotted from a distance. Wagtails are quite timid but can be seen running around sometimes, and the blackbirds can be heard a lot even if you don't see them. I've also spotted a couple of woodpeckers. And once the park fell suddenly still and I looked up and there was a kite passing by (they have been spotted nesting in a much larger park a couple of miles away).
If the park is busy, then I'll watch the dogs, people going by. I ponder about the futility of life. Just sit there silently, doing nothing.
It reminds me a lot of the YouTube channel "life in jars", he normally makes videos about microbiology and freshwater ecology in... jars!
But on top of that he also had a short series on gaining the trust of and befriending crows in his city.
Good incentive for me to try this out!
- Tabletop games, though probably 90% of this means either tinkering with games (as opposed to playing them, e.g. creating inserts or new pieces for them) and/or hanging out on BoardGameGeek dot com.
- Reading, mostly anthologies of fiction from Wildside Press which collect many works from the early/mid 20th century, purchasable DRM-free for $1-2 each (for anywhere from 300 to 1500 pages). (Not associated with them, but am a long-time happy customer.)
Lifting some weights in a deserted gym - no music or people.
Stretching for 20 minutes before bed each day.
Getting a full night's sleep.
Going to a favourite restaurant once or twice a week. The rest of the time a simple, high fibre diet with lots of water, no alcohol, cigarettes or drugs.
Doing a part-time postgraduate course to boost some depth and variety to the often-times surface-level demands of work work.
Baths/Sauna/Sports also work, do something that genuinely refreshes you. The mind/body is an ecosystem, not a linear battery.
https://www.pragmatech.it/blog-home/all/index.html
https://youtube.com/@pragmatech-srl?si=k5Dvw855pE3int4s
Wish you joy and happiness in your live.
I find watching and interacting with animals brings me back down to Earth. If I could talk to them I know all of the things I worry about would seem so strange to them. They just live in the moment and when I'm with them I live in the moment through them.
Other things I do I find my mind is still in worry mode – walking, reading, cooking, sleeping, etc.
Something about observing animals, thinking about what they're thinking and interacting with them turns that off for me. It's temporary, but it's nice.
* converse with my cat and dogs
* play games
* refactor personal code
I play ultimate frisbee. The read-and-react way you play that game was a nice reset from the push-my-brain-through-concrete-walls character of my work.
Before I retired, I started taking smoke breaks at work. I don't smoke, but if smokers can go outside for 15 minutes, so could I.