Ask HN: Hobbies and ways to keep the mind engaged?

As we grow older, we tend to do things with intentions. We want to make the best use of our time and be productive. However, what we often need is not to keep the mind engaged. We need to relax and play. One thing I found helpful is to think of some outdoor games or activities you used to enjoy in childhood, then do it without purposes in mind. Just for the sake of doing it.

>This is a good space for a hobby of some sort, perhaps, so I'm wondering whats some hobby like things you do after work, if you do anything at all?

...

>Usually after I finish work, I've got about an hour or so to fill in before I go about making dinner for the family.

Take a walk

Your mind will still "be engaged" - but in a different direction

Take the time to take a break from work and get yourself in a good headspace to spend time with family

The physical activity will get blood flowing, reoxygenating your muscles (and brain), and the change in scenery will help you settle everything that's been going on in your mind all day, letting it sink in and gel, and allow you to focus on things that need your attention (ie your family) without being distracted with work

I have had some success with letting myself be bored. In similar situations, taking that time to lay down on the floor in a random room in the house and look at the ceiling and admit I’m bored. Some idea or fun thing invariably occurs to me eventually.

Random things that could fill this if you’re looking for more hands-on type of things is wood or metal work, designing and building something physical. Bicycle, roller blade and focusing on improving some aspect of it, or walking around outside intentionally observing your surroundings and seeing what you can learn from them. Music, very good keyboards/digital pianos can be had with headphones. Language (verbal/written) learning. Hope this helps!

Spend time with your family. Communicate with your spouse. Do all the human things that later on you'll regret you didn't do because you thought time was better spent mentally chewing on bullshit.

Try juggling. In juggling you make progress very quickly, because you can have many attempts in a short time span. Also, you'll always know the limits of your abilities and it's never boring.

There are many good explanations of all the different tricks on the internet: https://libraryofjuggling.com/

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (a large percentage of my training partners happens to be in IT).

It's a fun sport that keeps you fit but is also very cerebral. In a way it's a lot like playing a computer game where you level up your character. You program yourself to execute certain moves in certain scenarios. I have countless notebooks full of flowcharts and notes. Can highly recommend it.

Board games could be good. There are quite a few board games you can play solo, especially that have come out since the pandemic. Just beware it's quite the rabbit hole and it's easy to fill up your home with games that don't get played much because you have too many of them raises hand if you're not careful.

Here's a list[1] voted on by solo board gamers of the best solo board games. Be aware that several of the top ones are long thinky games with lots of setup and probably not a great choice for 'I have an hour to kill before I make dinner", but there are quicker games in that list. This discussion on reddit[2] has some good ideas for quicker options. There's tons of videos for all board games on Youtube, so for any game that sounds good you can look up either a how to play video, a quick overview + review, or a playthrough (even solo playthroughs), separate videos for each with multiple channels offering them, so you can get a good feel for how the game plays.

My personal recommendations for quick soloable games would be Bowling Solitaire (can play using a standard deck of cards, but it's good thinky fun), Orchard, Hostage Negotiator, The Lost Expedition, Super-Skill Pinball 4-Cade, Finished!, and if you want something that looks complicated but isn't really too bad once you pick it up, and still plays in under an hour, I'd recommend Hadrian's Wall.

[1]: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/291071/2021-peoples-choic...

[2]: https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/mxm4j5/favorite...

Another option is to get some Sudoku, Hidato, Strimko, or straight up Logic Puzzle books and work through them. For Sudoku I especially like the Killer Sudoku variant. Sudoku has several levels of techniques you can learn to use. I'd say I know most of the intermediate techniques, but struggle with advanced ones still. You can see how weird and creative some Sudoku can get by watching Cracking The Cryptic on Youtube[3] (a lot more strange than I expected). They even have a book with their channel's puzzles in it.

[3]: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrackingTheCryptic

photography is nice... while still being a tech-hobby, you get outside. It takes some time to learn the principles and is still fun, when you advance. Besides that it can help you improve your tech projects, because the self created pictures and movies can be used on websites, etc.

You could start with a very cheap used camera (e.g. the Sony A6000 about 300 bucks including lenses), and if you like it, upgrade to more professional ones.

woodworking, especially hand tool wood working. is great fun, and its neat to see something take shape before your eyes. its mentally stimulating but in a less cerebral sense, more visceral.