Development
5 Hobbies for developers to develop their programming skills
Did you know hobbies can refresh the mind and help you become a better programmer? Well, it does. So here’s a little list of hobbies you should practice.
Programming requires a lot of concentration. During this pandemic, it’s still challenging to find the right work-life balance, especially when working from home. And the motivation.
True, work has evolved recently as a part of our daily (and even personal) life. But it can be easy to go down the rabbit hole of working hours.
You spend 12 hours coding, and all you do is eat and sleep? This routine can impact your physical health and your mental health too!
Don’t worry, we’re here to help.
Did you know hobbies can refresh the mind and help you become a better programmer? Well, it does. So here’s a little list of hobbies you should practice to sharpen your programming skills.
1. Writing
Writing completes your programming skills. It’s a good way to express your opinion and share what you are working on. And we mean writing articles (not just a tweet here and there). As developers ourselves, we try to give back to the dev community by sharing the problems we encounter and how we solve them.
A good way to start writing is by creating a blog. We’re pretty sure you got some tips and tricks under your hat that would benefit the code newbies.
If you don’t want to do it for them, at least it can allow you to write down what you know and what you are good at (or not). It’s a pretty good exercise for your self-esteem so you can permanently improve both your writing and coding skills. If you don’t want the hassle of maintaining a blog, platforms such as Medium are a great place to start.
Also, you’ll probably need to read a little bit more than usual if you want to write quality content, but hey, you’ll get to learn something in the process so it’s a win-win!
2. Music
Just like programming, music is all about concentration, organization, and rigor. A musical practice will bring you balance and appeasement. If you already play an instrument, that is great! Spare at least a few minutes a week on it. It boosts your creativity and stimulates your brain. Plus, it can drain all the bad emotions accumulated in your day.
If you don’t practice, why don’t you spare a little bit of lockdown time to start learning the piano or the guitar? There are tons of apps to assist you. Big plus, it will impress your date!
Music can accompany you throughout the day. A lot of developers declare that listening to music helps them concentrate on their tasks. Not something too loud, just instrumental music.
3. Dancing (or exercising)
It’s not breaking news, every doctor on Earth would tell you to exercise to improve your life.
Just find the right sport that works for you. You don’t have to go beast mode like the Rock! Why don’t you express yourself with some dance moves? Here’s a tip: if you want to be ready when the club reopens, update your dance moves!
4. Board games and Video games
The undisputed programmer hobby! Even a myth. Apparently, programmers are addicted to screens so video games are obviously the uncontested favorite pastime. (do you feel the sarcasm here?)
On a more positive note, board games and video games are great hobbies to relax. Whether you play alone or with your friends, you gain acuity and dexterity, perfect skills for programming!
