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Ashlee (she/her)
Ashlee (she/her)

Posted on • Edited on

Yes, You Should Have Hobbies Outside of Code

I came across an excellent tweet last night by Twitter user Amycruz:

This is such a great point. I see many devs talking about how hard it is to cope with the insane amount of information online. On the one hand: it feels a little bit competitive. Who can learn the newest framework the fastest and build a super cool app and start making money? On the other hand: it's hard to choose which things to learn in what order because you're scared of falling behind.

Let's start by acknowledging we'll never learn everything. First of all, it's impossible. Second of all, it's not necessary. Learn the skills you need for the job you want. Then, you can fill in the gaps as needed. However, all of you learnaholics like myself might be wondering how to fit your extra learning into that mindset. The answer is balance.

You must balance learning with other activities. Without balance, you risk burnout, as is the case with most things. So, find some hobbies! I personally enjoy knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, and reading memoirs. Creative hobbies are very beneficial. You can meet new people who share the same hobby, have interesting things to talk about yourself in job interviews, and clear your mind for a while from stressful things.

Have any non-code hobbies you'd like to share? Drop a comment! :)


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Latest comments (48)

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busycaesar profile image
Dev J. Shah ๐Ÿฅ‘

I am thinking of learning Guitar!

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johnadan profile image
John McLem Adan

I watch a variety of Youtube vlogs, some anime and Korean dramas, play arcade and online games :D

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developarvin profile image
Arthur Vincent Simon

I am very interested in your time management skills! You seem to get a lot of things done!

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kosenshou profile image
Louie Aroy • Edited

I go cycling, play guitar and learn piano and playing online game consumes a chunk of my time xD

I gave up my love for Anime and Korean Dramas because it eats so much of my time xD

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lmbarr profile image
Luis Miguel • Edited

I do mountain climbing. There's nothing more peaceful than climbing a mountain and meet nice people at the top.

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nuculabs_dev profile image
Nucu Labs

I've started getting into a pixel art course recently and after I finish that I'll get into drawing. I also want to combine those tho with video games, making video games is much more interesting than your average coding project and since there's no pressure on me I can just work on my own pace and enjoy it.

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originaljonze profile image
OriginalJonze

Nice article ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿพ

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amrutaranade profile image
Amruta Ranade • Edited

Dungeons and Dragons! We play (almost) every Sunday afternoon 1-5 pm. I treat it as my sacred time and do not allow myself to schedule any work/side-project activities in this timeframe.

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cjbrooks12 profile image
Casey Brooks

I've been getting into woodworking lately, and am currently building a coffee table for my wife.

Inspiration

Plans

Progress

Tabletop

Barn Doors

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badrecordlength profile image
Henry ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ’ป • Edited

In terms of completely non-computery based activities I like to grow my own chillies and veggies ๐ŸŒฑ and maintain a couple of little greenhouses (even that I've had urges to integrate arduino/pi tech into), I also enjoy cooking. Inside the realm of computer based stuff I also have the nerd prerequisite clichรฉ hobby of gaming ๐ŸŽฎ.
Edit: I forgot guitar!๐ŸŽธ