
Ask HN: What do you do when you are bored outside work? - incongruento
I have a decent job. I have fun at work. It is after the working hours that I can&#x27;t bear. I am bored constantly. I don&#x27;t like to engage in mindless crap like Netflix or anything on internet TBH. And I don&#x27;t like to engage in anything too intellectually exhausting like reading novels.<p>The long term effects of this are showing up. I go to bed unrelaxed, so don&#x27;t have a great sleep. What do you folks do which is enriching and relaxing at the same time to kill off boredom?
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a-saleh
I used to go indoor bouldering. Now too tired unfortunately. I have been
climbing a bit (indoor as well) and if I could spare 3 hours two times a week,
it would have been awesome hoby :) Right ammount of strength, endurance and
puzzle-solving :P And many places have support for solo climibng as well.

These days I often just drink a pint of beer and play a simple boardame with
my wife, after we managed to get our daughter to sleep :)

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badpun
Long walks in nature. Long enough to get you physically tired. The green
surroundings are scientifically proven to have calming and soothing effect (no
music/podcasts on the go though!). However, in my climate it's viable for
maybe 6 months in a year. The other six months suck - that's when I get sad
and gain weight.

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lordCarbonFiber
In a world inwhich the gap between reading a book and watching tv is the
difference between mindless and exhausting your options are pretty limited.

Maybe weight lifting / other fitness related activity? If nothing else you
should sleep well if you're getting physical activity in.

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mindcrime
I do some bike riding (Mountain biking, road biking, and/or BMX), and lift
weights. I also like to hang out at the local hackerspace occasionally and
just talk to people there, see what projects other people are working on, etc.

Mostly I work though. Aside from the 40'ish hours a week I put in at the day-
job, I put in probably around another 40 hours a week working on my side
project. So I don't really have a lot of idle time. I do try to get some
reading in though... usually for 45 minutes or so before I fall asleep at
night, or ever now and then I'll take a long, hot, bath and read in the tub.

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otras
_" KILLING TIME!" roared the dog—so furiously that his alarm went off. "It's
bad enough wasting time without killing it." And he shuddered at the thought._

 _Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth_

Have you found anything that strikes a good balance between intellectual
stimulation and relaxation?

I've found a number of hobbies that help with this. Two that come to mind that
work for different reasons are exercise and drawing. Exercise lets my mind
wander, builds dexterity, and tires me out (among many other benefits), and I
find that drawing is a great way to relax and think in a different mode than
my day job.

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dudul
Honestly, if you find "reading novels" intellectually exhausting, you're
setting the bar pretty low :) Maybe some sport?

Personally I like to build little aircraft models, read, or play board games
with my wife.

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agitator
Board games are a good one. I recently started picking them up again after not
playing since childhood.

You get to socialize, get a varying level of mental strategy in there, and
it's fun. Depending on how tired or what mood you are in, you can pick a
different game. Also, like you mentioned, a great bonding experience with your
SO and/or friends.

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through
Yoga, meditation, music production, writing, high CBD cannabis.

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jhabdas
I haven't been to work in 2 years...

