What developers do in free time?

Mostly Netflix and Chill or having a good time with my wife. Nothing too heavy on the brain, just relax.
And since I already have passed the 40, I try to hit the gym twice a week and at the weekend I go for a run, to fight the deterioration of my body.

I also read mostly SF/F and listen to podcasts/audio books.
Currently I am rereading the Dune Cycle by Frank Herbert.

Love to see so many fellow readers in the comments on this post <3 <3 <3

I'm a big reader. I read pretty broadly, but the last couple years I've been really into horror and science fiction. I also play video games while listening to audiobooks. It feels almost like relaxation multitasking!

In the last six months I've been playing a lot of Stardew Valley, Darkest Dungeon, Papers Please, Hollow Knight, and Celeste. All great games for getting into the zone with a good audiobook. It also helps if you have some cats to keep you company.

When I was earlier in my career I used to feel a lot of guilt about not doing more programming things in my spare time, but it's really essential for my mental health to have that break from work.

Side note, I've noticed that, often, when I'm working on a lot of side projects outside of work, it's because I'm unhappy at work for some reason, and I'm getting my code fix elsewhere. So when I notice myself spending a lot of time on side projects it's usually a good time to check in with my manager to see how to improve things in the workplace :)

At this moment of my life, I feel like I am stressing out too much and everything going in the wrong direction. So in my free time, I try to spend as much as time possible with my friends or family.
Watch some Netflix, some youtube. Read posts in dev.to, try to read some tech articles here and there.

I picked up cycling about a year and a half ago. This saturday I'm taking my first jab at Yerba Loca (translates to Crazy Grass) - a hilly route of about 70km and 1500m of climbing. Fun stuff!

In weekdays, mostly watch some Netflix, exercise and chill.

I love astronomy so I usually see astronomy related videos and I'm also reading "The grand design" by stephan hawkings & leonard mlodinow.

Also, sometimes I go out to see planets and stars (though very few are visible from mumbai but planets usually shine bright so can see them)

I really enjoy reading a good book.

Practice, practice, practice. Try to find new challenges or projects to do. Doesn't already have to be new, but could be useful like some sort of automation or bots.

Recently I've found that building smart home devices from scratch with Arduinos and RPis is a great way to keep things interesting when you feel you need something new and interesting to do. Connect those to a server, put some hookd in there to connect to those devices to the internet and boom!, You got a house full of smart devices you can control from your phone.

I used to push myself to learn new technologies every day, but as I started to burn out I realized that I needed to offload my brain from my workday in order to come back with fresh ideas and enthusiasm.

I workout 4-5 times a week with free weights(I'm no powerlifter but I like to look good)

I watch movies and read quite a lot as well.

Make sure you hang out with friends and go out every once in a while to maintain a social life. In our profession, it is really easy to get caught up in learning and not take time for yourself.

I'm an anxious person. I'm being a full-time Web Developer for almost 4 years now, mostly all of this time I couldn't get real free time for me, it's until now that all that is costing, both mental and physical health, that I realize how much important is to be disconnected in order to have some real free time. We are full-time developers in our minds, but we don't need that to be a good developer, in this path we just burn our self out.

Between family, friends and the office, free time is a myth.

However, I'm currently on vacation - first week was the all-inclusive adrenaline based activities (parasailing, jetboarding etc). This last week, I hired a boat & dive equipment, and spent more time below the waves than above them.

Back in the office next week, I'll start reading emails on Monday morning.

I usually work on my personal coding projects, but I do try to avoid staring at the screen all day.

I love reading Sci-fi novels and Calvin & Hobbes comics. Last year I've read through all 6 Dune novels.

I also play guitar, cook and I want to create stuff from cardboard. On some occasions, I watch plays at the local theatre, go to movies or simply go out with my friends.

Play games, watch talks and tv shows + anime on netflix👌

Well, its already a nice thing you are doing from the comfort of your own interest. If I say so I would always love to have a cup of coffee. Writing my own blog to share the knowledge.

Work is worship for most of the mortals. I always tried to work in office hours and left the work in office when I leave the office in the evening.

Oh! Yes I am freak about watching movies goes to hangouts. And before going to bed I command my mind to walk up early and plan your day to know the things to do.

Health is always first, I always prefer to workout at least 3-4 times or more in a week. To keep myself healthy. I love to cook for myself.

Everything matters but the gaming matters to me the most. Ahh! I am not a gamer, but I always found energetic t play games and know about what is actually trending. And playing the new games at least once gives me a really good satisfaction.

Moreover, everyone loves sleep so I sleep in the weekends.

I'm working on the stack overflow review queues alot in my free time/when im bored :P

I try to spend my time to my family and fire fighting.
In the weekends I try to go for a day in the nature.

But it happens a lot that I'm behind my computer tryout some new stuff, just because I like it