Queue up a handful (maybe an hour or two) of YouTube videos from my subscription box. Not that it's all that different from the typical "flop on couch and veg in from of the boobtube until you pass out" but if you have a diverse subbox you almost never run out of stimulating, fresh content that does more for you than typical Netflix-style content would.<p>Here are some of my favourites:<p>- AvE: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWv6Pn_zP0rI6lgGt3MyfA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWv6Pn_zP0rI6lgGt3MyfA</a><p>- Cody's Lab: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6mSoMNzHQiBIOCkHUa2Aw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu6mSoMNzHQiBIOCkHUa2Aw</a><p>- Matthias Wandel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCckETVOT59aYw80B36aP9vw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCckETVOT59aYw80B36aP9vw</a><p>- SV Seeker: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj_XaV1ss-qdD-lPUtTEcXw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj_XaV1ss-qdD-lPUtTEcXw</a><p>- B is for Build: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl4-WBRqWA2MlxmZorKOV7w" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl4-WBRqWA2MlxmZorKOV7w</a><p>and I just discovered this channel last night:<p>- Isaac Arthur: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFipeZtQM5CKUjx6grh54g" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFipeZtQM5CKUjx6grh54g</a>
I know it sounds nuts, but I always found changing clothes made a huge difference for me.<p>Get home and put on a pair of shorts, t-shirt and flip flops, or at least something you would never, ever wear to work. It always made some kind of mental shift in my head.
First, spend some time getting home. Sweet spot is 30 mins. Preferably biking through nature (looking) areas. Unfortunately for me it's an hour of driving but still, nothing else to do than listen some music and think. Usually first 15 minutes I think about what I ended my Workday with but after it goes into more relaxed thoughts. By the time I reach home work is out, home is in. If you live within biking range of your work I would advice grabbing your bike instead of your car for once (maybe much easier depending on country you live in).<p>Next, eat. No TV, no devices, just family. Try to get my kid to eat her plate. After that go up and play around with her and put her to bed after reading her a book or two.<p>Finally, drop on the couch (if no sports) and watch some netflix or read a book. Have to say lately the first wins more often but for now I don't have real problems with that. I do notice that reading a book gives me a much better start the next day though. Probably because I can stay up later when watching TV. Books your eyes just fall shut at some point..<p>I try to keep working at home to a minimal (it happens, sometimes). I also try not to open a laptop for personal projects when my wife is next to me. Mainly because she likes to talk when I'm home :).
End of the day for me is when the kids are in bed, chores done, usually around 8pm. I sit on the couch with my wife, we put something on tv and I code.<p>The code sucks, I'm not some kind of uber programmer, but I find it relaxing, bizarrely. Maybe its the lack of pressure to turn in something workable and on time<p>My productivity varies with what's on. If its something good like westworld or GoT I shut the laptop. If its the vampire diaries I'm not looking up
My wife calls it "rummaging". I wander around the house putting things a way, fixing little things, folding clothes, finding things to donate/recycle, etc. Sometimes I make bread or chocolate truffles. The physicality of it all clears my head.
I check HN. It is an addiction. worse than weed. spend a lot of time reading through comments. Like you are doing now . Stop it , Go get some work done!
I go running. And I literally mean "go". I don't drive. I run from/to my doorstep. I don't listen to music/podcasts/etc. I don't think about anything in particular. Mostly I daydream. I don't schedule anything for after the run. No pressure to be done by a certain time. No pressure having to get ready for something else. I don't watch tv. I'm staring at a screen for eight hours every day, I don't want to stare at a screen in my spare time as well.
I just bought an Ableton Push. I plan on cracking open a beer and learning to use it after work. I figure if I'm going to entertain myself I might as well be learning too. I find making music to be both engaging and relaxing.
Listen to my spouse and then my spouse listens to me.<p>Then we talk about our day or whatever.<p>Nothing beats friendship and companionship.<p>We rarely turn on the tv - maybe for superbowl or storm coverage.
Work out right after work to clear my mind and reenergize, as well as get a little non-work related social interaction.<p>Make a nice dinner, shower and get warm and clean, then work on some side programming projects in my lamp-lit bedroom (which is the best part of my night because it's completely quiet, calming atmosphere, and I get to focus on learning exactly what I want to).<p>Then write down my good/bad thoughts on the day in a journal, and finally finish off the night by reading a book before I go to sleep.
Being able to commute by train really helps me. Having a routine of a 20 to 40 min train ride home creates a buffer between work and home and puts some mental 'distance' between my evening and the work day.
I think breaking a good sweat is a huge reset button if you really need to unwind.<p>If you are really feeling stressed at the end of the day, maybe there are some small tweaks about the shape of your day that can help. One that I can enthusiastically suggest: naps.
I always have a hard time going to sleep at a consistent time; it's much easier for me to stay up a couple of hours later than it is to go to bed even a half hour earlier. The two easiest ways for me to lose track of time and end up amped up at bedtime are programming and gaming, so I set an alarm 2 hours before bedtime to remind myself to stop either of those activities for the night. Then I veg out watching something stupid on Netflix or reading. It works but is definitely frustrating that I have to dedicate such a big chunk of time to winding down.
Listen to Audible and get lost in a good story. Never self help (for the purposes of the unwind - I do that during day or weekend) as it gives me anxiet so aim for good sci fi or fantasy.
3 times a week I go to the local gym and pick up heavy things. If I haven't been in a while (skip more than 2 workouts) my sleeping suffers, so it is good motivation. So usually 2 of these fall during the week.<p>On these days I'll typically also do stuff like laundry and/or reading sort-of-work related stuff; usually stuff that makes me a better engineer/mathematician/coder in one of the problem domains I'm interested in.<p>On Fridays I try to let loose a bit, either eat out somewhere nice or drink lots of good beer, with a mix of friends and colleagues.<p>Depending on weather I try to mix in other sports: windy means i can go sailing with a friend, sunny but cool is good for climbing outdoors, raining is good for climbing indoors. I try to do a social sport like this at least once a week, but that doesn't always work out.<p>I was never sporty in school, and picking it up towards the end of university has changed my self confidence, posture, strength/fitness and general feelings of self reliance a huge amount for the better.<p>I still wouldn't call myself fit, but i can run a 10k (with a lot of self-hate in the second half) and not die. Mostly I'm just happy to be having fun and making constant improvements to myself.
Draw a really hot bath, just shy of the hottest temp I can tolerate, and crawl in the tub and sit back and read for a while. Sometimes accompanied by a cup of coffee or a bottle of Coke Zero.<p>Other than that, lying in bed watching Netflix/Hulu/Prime, or reading.
I go to the gym, if time allows. If time also allows, I like taking a salt bath. It's really calming. I usually catch up on my Feedly during then. I also like taking long bike rides, but travelling every week has made that impossible.
I take a long bike ride out of the city and back, take a shower, and have a bowl of soup while I chat with friends or watch videos/read/play games.
- Change clothes
- Cook and eat dinner
- Catch up on my YouTube subscriptions
- Catch up on my Reddit subscriptions
- Watch something on Metflix
- Sleep
Firearms, Motorcycles and Drugs. Not concurrently.<p>You people who spend all day on the pc, just to go home and spend your free time there too confuse me.
I don't. Putting kids to bed. Chores. Sleep.<p>Instead I unwind at lunchtime. Walk through the city or in parks. Go to a coffee shop and read a newspaper alone.