What hobbies or activities do you do for a break?

Adam Ladd
Adam Ladd Posts: 287
in Type Design Technique & Theory
When the tedium parts of the process set in, or your eyes and head are fatigued from concentrating on the screen and details for too long... what do you like to do to help 'reset' and refresh?

Just curious to hear and compare. I find I need to be off anything screen-related and do something more tangible or loose, like a bike ride.

Comments

  • Miles Newlyn
    Miles Newlyn Posts: 271
    I like to go for a swim. There's a big pond close by so I'm lucky to be able to leave for a swim and be back at my desk in forty minutes.
  • Nick Shinn
    Nick Shinn Posts: 2,324
    I frequent thrift stores, looking for interesting books and vinyl to acquisition, and I play squash quite competitively (training and tournaments). I used to cycle a lot when I lived in the city, but now only in the gym, as I find the countryside around here less engaging than downtown Toronto.
  • Mirco Schiavone
    Mirco Schiavone Posts: 5
    For a quick break away from the screen I take a walk without any technical devices such as a phone or headphones. On the regular gym and running are my go-tos to keep a balance for the mind and body.
  • John Hudson
    John Hudson Posts: 3,577
    Mostly walking in the forest or on the shoreline. Helpfully, I have a dog who comes and tells me when it is time to do this.
  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 2,038
    I get up at 4:30 am and go to the gym. Most days I walk the dog. If I have time I fool around with a guitar or bass.
  • Ermin Međedović
    Ermin Međedović Posts: 94

    Same as Miles, my main reset is swimming. 3–5 times a week, usually longer distances (3–5 km on weekdays and more on weekends). After the first kilometer everything shifts to autopilot, and it becomes meditative. It clears my head better than anything else. I also climb, though less than I did in the past. A different kind of presence and focus. No space for overthinking.

  • Mark Simonson
    Mark Simonson Posts: 1,772
    I go for a half-hour walk every morning. The last few years, I've made an effort to do drawing or cartooning at least once a week, most recently caricatures, something I learned to do in my early twenties. I also play guitar sometimes.
  • SCarewe
    SCarewe Posts: 13
    I play the (jazz) piano and transcribe solos to take my mind for a jog. Otherwise, I have linguistics classes every day, which luckily force me to pay attention to something else than type. I cycle a lot in the summer and am an avid ice speed skater in winter.
  • Fie Clarke
    Fie Clarke Posts: 6
    When I need a screen break, depending on the weather, I like to pop into the garden - touch dirt, or, read a chapter of my book  
  • James Montalbano
    James Montalbano Posts: 135
    Having stepped back from the work I no longer need a daily break, but during my long career, practicing and teaching the Chinese martial art Shingyi Chuan (xingyi quan, yen yee kun) and playing bass in rock bands in the NYC club circut kept me sane.
  • John J. Blair
    John J. Blair Posts: 37
    I enjoy my train collection.

  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 2,038
    Urban hiking took up a good deal of my time before I moved to a flyover state. Dog breaks could last ten minutes or five hours. It’s easy to walk into alphabet city. Then over into something like SoHo, head into the east village, tack back up to union square, hit up Strand and get some street food, then wander to Madison Square, turn right, and head back to Peter Cooper village. I didn’t get much work done some days. But I made my dog very happy, so that’s probably a better use of my time.
  • Brian Dove
    Brian Dove Posts: 14
    Above my office/studio I have a ramshackle recording studio, so for breaks I often go upstairs to play guitar or drums for a bit. Weather permitting, I'll go outside and take a walk in the woods, look for mushrooms, or work in the garden.
  • bojjoe
    bojjoe Posts: 5
    When I don't look at more letters (read), I like caring for plants but also I got a dog to get me out the office more throughout the day. Greyhounds are perfect. Solid 18h sleep a day.
  • Paul Hanslow
    Paul Hanslow Posts: 192
    Cycling. period. 
    I know of a few other type designers who indulge in it, too. 
  • Thomas Phinney
    Thomas Phinney Posts: 3,104
    walk the dogs

    board games

    Genealogy and family research. Eventually found my sister after several hundred hours of research, so that was cool.
  • Delve Withrington
    Delve Withrington Posts: 18
    Walking most days, gardening as needed.
  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 2,038
    My new thing is walking on a treadmill with a steep incline while wearing a weighted vest. While watching educational videos on an iPad. I just burned over 400 calories and watched two lectures about macroeconomics.
  • Itu
    Itu Posts: 1
    Quite interesting that listening to music, as opposed to playing didn't get much mention here—perhaps because it's a constant presence while working
  • Stephen Coles
    Stephen Coles Posts: 1,033
    @Itu Yes! There’s a thread on that.

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