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wsowsowso

19 karma · joined September 11, 2023

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wsowsowso··on Ask HN: Turning off the programming mind during non-work hours
Hey I’m in trading - Often we go home with millions of dollars of risk on our books after 12hours at the office, so it’s a common problem switching off in the little time after work. Most of us feel the need to constantly be up to date with market news/price movements/thinking about how to best position ourselves around a certain event. Within the industry there are well known ways for switching off out of work, some have been listed here already.

* Vigorous exercise, especially cardio - ok to let your mind wander here but wary of mentally exerting yourself

* end of day writing down everything you need to do and what you have learnt

* if you have extra learning/coding side projects, do it only at the office after work but before you go home so that home is a work free zone

* have a threshold routine when you get home, e.g. change clothes or have a shower, after which you don’t think about work anymore

* controversial one but minimise talking about work with family - obviously share the nice things about your day but I pretty much avoid grumbling about work or specific stresses at work with family as it means you never get a rest from them

* consume media unrelated to work (don’t read hacker news before bed if you’re a software developer lol)

* some people meditate, never clicked for me but it’s meant to be very good

* work yourself to death when you are working so that you can properly relax guilt free when you’re not working. Honestly WFH makes a lot of these more difficult.