Try playing a video game. So stop working for a while and just play a game. I stopped working and started playing Diablo IV. The idea was to get to level 100.
My reasoning was this I wanted to remember what it felt like spending a long time doing something I enjoyed.
It is repetitive like coding can be but I enjoyed it. Got to 100. Then did a few more characters and then wanted to get back to work.
I find it best to do play a game, only STOP PLAYING before you get tired of playing the game. Just when you realize how much fun you're having, stop playing and get back to work!
Or you'll just play the game until the game burns you out.
This is a good point. I have a similar system with reading books. I only allow myself a chapter or two, and I’ll still want to keep reading it when I get back to work, so the reward mechanism is still there.
I picked up a skateboard for the first time in 40 years and decided to relearn the sport. After a year or so, I built a 4 foot mini ramp in my back yard so I can just take a break in the middle of the day, duck out and have a quick session.
What I love about skateboarding is that it is almost impossible to let your mind wander to work related thoughts - you are totally consumed with the next few seconds of your life.
I still can't do any tricks, but I find rolling back and forth on the ramp doing the occasional FS and BS kick-turn incredibly soothing.
For me, I choose a field that I was not particularly well-educated about, and dove in - medieval history. It's a fascinating and deep topic, and I began to collect a library of the significant histories. Went off the deep end and collected more books than I read. But the reading was fascinating, as was trying to determine who the best historians were, finding their books, and reading them for comprehension.
In short, collecting.
I suppose any type of immersion in a collectible thing might do the trick, but for me, it was both collecting the books and reading them that took my mind off burn out (and a troubled personal life).
Honestly getting away from technology in general. I go out hunting or fishing every weekend and just distance from anything related to technology. It works great if you’re into being outdoors.
