Ask HN: When Do You Relax? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: When Do You Relax?

2 pointsmuzani3 comments

I've tried googling the answer to this, and what surprises me is that there's no tips to relaxation. If I followed the tips written out there, I would wake up at 4 AM, meditate, go for a run and a swim, get your best work done, prepare for day job, do work, have lunch without looking at your phone, do more work, go home, hit the gym, play with kids, go to bed early to wake at 4 AM.

Where does that leave relaxation, besides sleep? It makes it very tempting to sneak time off other schedules, like work, family time, or late nights to relax. In reality, that's an unhealthy habit, and you just end up with not getting work done and/or not enough sleep and exercise.

If you could intentionally block off a few hours of your day or week to entertainment, when would it be and what would you enjoy most?

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0400? No thanks. I usually naturally wake up sometime between 0800 and 0830. I have a 0900 alarm just in case I’m sleeping heavy. I throw on pants, take my dog out into the backyard, and scroll through what came in on Slack overnight while she runs around. I’ll mark a few threads that might require my input, do about 10 or 15 minutes of mobility work on the grass and then head in and feed the dog.

I get online around 0930 or 1000. So that 2 hours wandering around the backyard and casually browsing Slack is my slow, relaxing way to start the day. I put zero pressure on myself to do anything before 0930

I take lunch around 1300. I watch TV while I eat. Usually something recorded the night before (I love The Titan Games and Ultimate Tag. easy to just “watch” w/o too much thought).

Work from 1400 till around 1830 or 1900. Now during this time, I’ll take the dog out for a few quick potty breaks and do some more stretching mobility each time I’m out.

Do my weight lifting, take the dog for a long walk, eat dinner, and then read some articles I’ve been meaning to read, read a technical book, read fiction, or just plop down on the couch and watch TV.

Long story long - I don’t try to schedule relaxing time. I fit it in throughout the day. Somedays I have more than others. It all balances out. I think if you go about your day trying to schedule every second, you’re just putting undue stress on yourself. And even in your scheduled relaxation time, you’re not really. That’s just my 2 cents...

Thanks, this is a good answer. The problem is that it's easy to start on, say, a game, movie, or the internet at 0930 and then stop at 1930. Or do hundreds of little microbreaks and get little done. 4-5 hours of real work is actually quite productive.

what's a "relax"? :(

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