4 ms·

Ask HN: What do people do as hobbies?

2 points by aml183 9y ago

I work a bit too much and was told to get a hobby. What do most people do in their spare time or as a hobby?

byoung2 9y ago
For me it's home improvement. I could easily hire people to do work around the house, but I enjoy learning new things and it's a chance to do something other than stare at a screen. I've learned plumbing, electrical wiring, carpentry, hvac, and more, and I now have skills I could put to use as a day laborer!
jonnyrockit 9y ago
I assume you are in tech (same as me) and I personally like getting away from the screen with my hobbies: - Mountain biking - Hike with groups (great way to meet people) - Kickboxing (competitive and strategic) - Scuba diving (cheap adventures) - Gaming
howscrewedami 9y ago
I'm guessing a huge chunk of people in the IT business play a lot of video games. I mean, people in all kinds of business play video games, but I'd say IT people play more.
shubb 9y ago
I do Yoga. Like a lot of computer folk I spent my days sitting with terrible posture, and I love how it makes my back feel. If physical exercise is missing from your day, I can tell you that for me, adding it was trans formative. It's much easier to sleep well if you are physically tired too! In a big city, meetup.com will have a lot of interesting things happening every week, so rather than pick a hobby you might want to just make a point of doing a couple of those a week until you happen on something you want to do again.
rootbear 9y ago
I've recently gotten back into electronics, a hobby from my teens, thanks to the Maker movement, the Arduino, the Raspberry Pi, etc. I'm interested in doing some home automation projects. I like to read science fiction, science popularization, tech history, some biographies, etc. I've been active in the local SF fandom community for decades and I used to belong to the SCA (a medievalist group). I also sing choral music. I've been in some sort of chorus since 7th grade. Enjoyment of music gives me an entirely different sense of satisfaction and pleasure than do my more intellectual interests and I think that's healthy and helpful to being more well rounded.

2 points by aml183 9y ago

I work a bit too much and was told to get a hobby. What do most people do in their spare time or as a hobby?

For me it's home improvement. I could easily hire people to do work around the house, but I enjoy learning new things and it's a chance to do something other than stare at a screen. I've learned plumbing, electrical wiring, carpentry, hvac, and more, and I now have skills I could put to use as a day laborer!

jonnyrockit 9y ago

I assume you are in tech (same as me) and I personally like getting away from the screen with my hobbies: - Mountain biking - Hike with groups (great way to meet people) - Kickboxing (competitive and strategic) - Scuba diving (cheap adventures) - Gaming

howscrewedami 9y ago

I'm guessing a huge chunk of people in the IT business play a lot of video games. I mean, people in all kinds of business play video games, but I'd say IT people play more.

shubb 9y ago

I do Yoga. Like a lot of computer folk I spent my days sitting with terrible posture, and I love how it makes my back feel. If physical exercise is missing from your day, I can tell you that for me, adding it was trans formative. It's much easier to sleep well if you are physically tired too! In a big city, meetup.com will have a lot of interesting things happening every week, so rather than pick a hobby you might want to just make a point of doing a couple of those a week until you happen on something you want to do again.

rootbear 9y ago

I've recently gotten back into electronics, a hobby from my teens, thanks to the Maker movement, the Arduino, the Raspberry Pi, etc. I'm interested in doing some home automation projects. I like to read science fiction, science popularization, tech history, some biographies, etc. I've been active in the local SF fandom community for decades and I used to belong to the SCA (a medievalist group). I also sing choral music. I've been in some sort of chorus since 7th grade. Enjoyment of music gives me an entirely different sense of satisfaction and pleasure than do my more intellectual interests and I think that's healthy and helpful to being more well rounded.