If you are reading this article, it’s quite likely that you are a programmer. Although programming is a noble calling, having some hobbies besides programming can bring great impact to your personal and professional life. I recently googled and found a survey at raywenderlich.com and here the results they found out the top 5 hobbies that programmers love!
No. 5 Cooking
According to raywenderlich.com, 28.1% of survey respondents chose cooking as a hobby. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweets often and generate a lot of speculation about future projects, or even...baking.
Cooking is actually quite a pleasing thing. You prepare the ingredients, put them together, and make it into something delicious. Well, it might not be always delicious =0 Anyways, you smell the aroma when you cook, and it makes you feel great. Cooking is a pleasure, especially you cook for friends or family, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
No.4 Reading
As it is an ever-changing industry, it is a must that programmers keep updating their knowledge. Besides, reading is the best way to learn almost everything. According to raywenderlich.com, 47.4% of survey respondents had read as a hobby.
Have you ever felt that the novel is always better than the movie? Of course! As you can imagine it in any way by reading, while adaption seems always a limitation. For programmers whose work involves a lot of imagination, they must prefer reading.
No.3 Video Games
This is just not a surprise to me that programmers love Video games. They invented and created video games, and they are involved in the whole ACG industry. It is an activity that will not be affected by the weather. You can play it by yourself, or invite friends to play at your place or via the Internet.
Over half of the survey respondents took this as a favorite activity.
No.2 Sports
Sports got a few more votes than video games. As sports is very refreshing and reviving, it is natural for programmers to choose it as one of their favorite activities. For a long day sitting in front of the computer, I would like to stretch my back a little bit.
I also found one article that is very interesting. Programming is a sport. You can't beat that, can you?
No.1 Music
This is a universal hobby for almost every programmer, as it is often seen that programmers work with their ear pods in. Listening to music can block the outside distraction, so programmers can be more focused on thinking and coding.
Not only does listening to music contribute to programming, but also playing an instrument makes a developer. According to Weird, "In many labs doing electronic media around Chicago, the programmers are often musicians who began programming computers late in life, and had none of the normally associated background education (i.e. mathematics)." Wow!
Reference
https://www.raywenderlich.com/139237/top-8-programmer-hobbies
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/hobbies-programmers-dont-involve-code/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-hughes/composing-code-why-musici_b_10714288.html
https://www.wired.com/2006/08/do-musicians-make-good-programmers/