Ask HN: What do you do on weekend nights? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What do you do on weekend nights?

2 pointsjimmygrapes3 comments

It has been eating at me for a few years now that on Friday and Saturday nights, the nights that would traditionally mean that a weekday warrior would unleash and unload and take advantage of the lack of bedtime and next-day obligation, on these nights the Internet dies. There are less posts on forums, less comments, less chats, less interaction overall. I thought for a while people were spending their time with family and friends, going out to bars and clubs, preparing for brief travel or weekend adventures, something along those lines... but when I encounter them on Monday and inquire, it turns out they didn't do anything different at all. Didn't sleep early, didn't go out partying, didn't do anything substantially different than Wednesday and Thursday nights, yet the Internet is dead.

Am I imagining it? What do you do, dear reader, on a weekend night, that differs from the other nights?

In my city, there is an island a ferry ride away. So for less than $20 for two, on any given weather-permitting weekend, you might find me and my partner somewhere along the beach or around one of its ponds or other features. Other times, we walk our dogs to one of the many local parks, or the ravine. Sometimes we spend the weekend doing housework (how glamourous!). And a lot of the time, we just hang around and appreciate the fact that it is weekend and time to unwind. Last weekend we made hot sauce.

What we don't do is anything that resembles our professional work, or involves anyone who is connected to our professional work. To do so is a guaranteed way to eventually burn out.

Ironically I can tell some people in my industry are bored on weekends, and wile away the time troll bating on Twitter. That's not my style (the one activity I'm perfectly happy saying "I'm too old for that" about), and I always think they need to find their version of a weekend island haunt, too. They are clearly in the early grips of burnout.

Relax. Unwind. If people are telling you they did "nothing" for the weekend, they may have done exactly that. Or they may have done something like a trek to the island, but don't care to mix that experience with work.

Code on a few side hustles. Affiliate marketing on authority blogs that are subsidized by my 9-5. I own several high traffic blogs which are sprinkled with affiliate links. All on reputable shared hosting providers, with a CDN that I pay for, alongside the domains which I keep renewed to a max of 10 years (ICANN's arbitrary limit).

i. Watch a movie/show

ii. Group-call with friends

iii. Outings (not frequent as it depends on my group's availability, the weather and coursework related workload)

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