This question reminds me of the one from a few days ago about why people choose to work on side projects. My side projects do feel like tinkering, so if it's ok

This question reminds me of the one from a few days ago about why people choose to work on side projects. My side projects do feel like tinkering, so if it's ok I'm going to repost my answer here with just some small wording modifications. I have a few reasons for liking to tinker. Tinker in this context being work on software side projects with no super clear deadlines or goals. 1) It's what I'm used to. I don't remember a time since I got my first computer that I didn't have some hobby/"tinker" project on the side. If I didn't have a side project I don't know what I'd do with myself...I mean I have other hobbies, too, but my side project _is_ my main hobby. 2) To learn. I'm self-taught and the aforementioned always-having-a-tinkering-side-project point is how I learned and keep learning. I've gotten (I believe) very good at retaining information I gain through tinkering and working on my projects, and I've become proficient at picking challenges that are the perfect difficulty for me to absorb more new knowledge in areas that are relevant both to my personal interests and (sometimes indirectly) my job. Sometimes if I am not understanding a certain concept or I read something I want to grasp better, making a small project out of it or incorporating it into an existing project and trying to actually implement something helps me digest and internalise the concept. 3) It's fun. I originally started learning to code in order to be able to bring the ideas in my head to life. Those ideas haven't slowed down, so neither has my desire to bring them to life through my side projects. It is fun to work on them and I feel a sense of accomplishment in being able to turn what's in my mind into something real. 4) It helps me de-stress. My day job can be stressful and demanding, with long hours around deliveries and cert deadlines. Even though my side projects and my day job both involve programming, working on my own thing helps me de-stress after a hard day of work. Having my own project to tinker with on the side helps me avoid feeling like my entire life revolves around my job. I have something fulfilling that is just entirely mine. This could be a longer list as there are other reasons, but I think the four I outlined above are the main reason I choose to work on side projects/tinker. Habit, learning, fun, and stress management.