Ride road bike for at least 3 - 4 hours at moderate to just below time trial pace. This will exhaust you, normalize your hormones, improve your mood (high from endorphins), reduce your stress, and reduce your aggression levels (adrenalin) etc. Eat to recover and feel great for at least couple of days.<p>This is also better than indoor exercise because of the long sun and fresh air exposure.<p>I have been doing this (cycle every day) for 24 years now. And nothing else does it for me better than this.
At the risk of painting myself in a negative light: I drink. I go out with friends, throw back some tasty cocktails/beer/Scotch/wine, and vent about my day/week/whatever.<p>Depending on my mood, I'll either be one-on-one/two/three with a few close friends and lay it all out, or go out with a larger group and just use the alcohol to take my mind off things.<p>Healthy? Jury's still out. Effective? Yup.
I play video games. Usually an hour or so is enough for the 'steam to get blown off', but sometimes I do get sucked in and lose track. I try not to play competitive multiplayer games when I'm riled up, as they can get me more riled up, but I love to pick up one of the 10s of unplayed critically acclaimed single player titles lying in my Steam (ironic?) library I got as part of some bundle. It really takes my mind off everything, and reminds me of the magic that software can create, and makes me want to get back to creating it.
I step away from work and focus on fixing little tiny things around the house I've been putting off for a while.<p>Switch lightbulbs, clean drains, vacuum the attic, etc. 2 hours of this and I'm happy because:<p>a) I took my mind off work.<p>b) I fixed up my house something fierce.<p>---<p>I would love to buy and ride a bike but I would get run over by a car or stabbed here in Bolivia.
Smokin da Ganja. ;) Usually I'm super overly focused and concentrated the whole week, like in Zombie mode. This helps to get back into the normal world. ;)
I lift weights. Used to listen to Death Metal. But mostly, I've learned that it's not really necessary. Just makes us feel powerful, recently started meditating with teh Headspace app and that works a lot better.
Short term: I go take a walk. 45 minutes to an hour of brisk walking around the city in places where I don't have to stop much for cars.<p>Longer term: I'll just take a day off, email cow-orkers that I'm out that day, and go motorcycling in the mountains. I started doing this 25 years ago; having a hobby that has <i>nothing</i> to do with computers helps a lot. (I'm not a crazy rider, I wear all the safety gear, have a bike with ABS and so on).<p>Vacations: I like to go somewhere and read books for a week. I seldom get to have this kind of vacation, but it's my ideal one.
I sleep. Its going to sound really weird but over the years i have constructed this alternate reality. A whole universe over the years i have built up in my mind, and whenever i am angry, or depressed, i lie down on a bed, pretend i am in this alternate reality and it helps me relax and slip into a peaceful slumber :)
Home improvement and woodworking. It is a good change of pace, at work I shuffle bits and like to create new functionality (or improve the performance of existing software); but it isn't tangible. It is nice to look at a vanity or the like and know that you made it, and know what challenges there were along the way; whether it is something simple like getting the drawers to fit properly, a doing a bead on the inside of a flat panel door's frame, or something more complex a bow front. It is intellectually stimulating in a different way than software development.
Ride my motorcycle on the track. For 20 minutes every hour I get to think about nothing but what I'm doing at that moment. A day at the track resets my mind better than a week on vacation.
Bouldering and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are great pass times for that. Not only to blow off some steam, but also it's possible to easily get in great shape if you hate running/gym as I do.
Depends on the mood, but it's either video games or working out. Generally video games work for me if I need to shut down for a while, without distractions. Working out helps re-adjust my mood, likely due to the endorphins and the feeling of accomplishment. My workout is quite broad, I like to kayak, hike, or simply lift weights. Whatever strikes me at the moment....
Intense exercise early in the day, before doing anything "real": Reduces the boiling point.<p>Playing music later in the day or when stuck. Electric guitar 12 bar power chord blues with amp set on raunch or viola aiming for tones of delicate beauty, depending on mood.
Exercise works well for me. I do Muay Thai (AKA Thai kickboxing) which is a high-energy, high-impact, quick, always-on-your-toes sort of sport. When I spar, I find myself in a state of psychological flow and that whatever was bothering me just melts away.
I run. I usually come back from a run with sticky code or business problems solved and things I need to write half written in my head. There is definitely something about being on my feet and out in the fresh air that allows my brain to sort stuff out.
Soak a dish towel, old t-shirt, or the like in water. Then wring it out over the bathtub, HARD. Wring it out hard, like you're wringing out blood from your enemies. Grunt while you are doing it.
Music: <a href="http://unmode.com" rel="nofollow">http://unmode.com</a><p>A good route to the flow state. Still spend altogether too much time staring at computers though. Bouldering is fun.
I played/sang in a garage band and smashed a lot of cheap guitars during sessions.<p>Nothing beats shouting your ass off for few hours then smashing the guitar on a peak of an adrenaline surge.<p>Genre matters.
Running, fixing up the car and/or bike if it's needed, sketching, and actually biking all work for me.<p>And drinking with friends, but not in ridiculous excess.
Running 6 days a week training for marathons. The high from endorphins puts me in the right mood.<p>3 hour run on a Sunday evening gets you ready for the Monday morning
I build twitter bots<p><a href="https://twitter.com/simplenewsbot" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/simplenewsbot</a><p>while drinking a nice bourbon
tai-chi tanglang kungfu.<p>I learned it years ago and teached it for a few years. Even if I don't practice as much as I should, the moves come back very naturally. An one-hour training makes me happy whatever are the circonstances.
play with the dogs, woodworking, work on a greenfield app, play video games with friends (something non-compete [unless I know I'll beat them :P])