8 Things Programmers Can Do at Weekends

Numerous countries have adopted a two day weekend over the past several decades. Weekends are an important time to unplug from the day-to-day job and get recharged. They are also a good chance to think more deeply about things.

Programmer(Developer or Software Engineer) is very special occupation than others, even though a lot of jobs require the use of computers. Inspired by “14 Things Successful People Do On Weekends” written by Jacquelyn Smith, in this post I summarize the beneficial things programmers can do at weekends. Hopefully, if you are a programmer and planning for your weekend, this can provide you some ideas.

1. Make time for family and friends.

Programmers in technology field are normally very busy at weekdays, so weekends are important time to be with family and friends. This is common with people in other areas.

2. No-computer day.

Some people have tried no-tech day, which means do not use any technology during the day. It may be not realistic to be totally disconnected with computers, but at least some can be avoided. No-computer basically means no computer-related work.

3. Outdoor activities: Hiking, Biking, Running, Fishing, Boating.

Whether you can do those activities or not may depend on where you live. However, state parks are everywhere, you should be able to do some of them at least.

4. Activities at Home: Cooking, Gardening, etc.

Those are things that can be done with family at home.

5. Reading books for fun or for technology.

Research has shown that reading is good for brain. It can not only make you an empathetic, sexy, cultured and all around more interesting human being, but also can provide benefits to your mental health, sharpening the mind as it ages. If a peaceful environment is necessary for you to read, you can go to a school or public library to be a bookworm for a little while.

6. Writing journal/blogging.

Writing can help organize thoughts, attain clarity and keep your inner space clear.

7. Draw some diagrams and make the difficult things simple.

If writing is too old fashion, you may also draw some diagrams for fun. You can draw it on paper. There are also a lot of nice tools online to make beautiful diagrams, such as Lucidchart, infographics, MindMeister, Sea Quail Database Diagram tool, etc.

8. Network.

Network is important, not only for business people, but also for programmers.

Please leave your comment if you have good ideas.

原文：http://www.programcreek.com/2012/10/8-things-programmers-can-do-at-weekends/