Feeling lost and with no direction, what skill should I learn?
Hi everyone. I am feeling like I've lost any direction after getting laid off earlier this year (was working as an analyst in telecom and very recently landed a much lower position in healthcare data entry due to necessity). I already have several hobbies but I am either burnt out on them or they have lost their luster (similar to how life has lost its luster for me this past 6 months).
I would really love to learn a new skill, preferably using my hands to create something while challenging my brain. I'm willing to take classes, study, practice, and buy some equipment required for the skill.
Please tell me about your skill/hobby that gives you purpose. I've kind of exhausted google search which always returns the same 20 or so craft suggestions like "make custom invitations for weddings", and while that sounds good for someone, it may not be good for me.
Current hobbies: Music composition and gardening,
EDIT: trying to move away from hobbies that involve me sitting in front of a computer. I already do that way too much.
Based on what you wrote, referencing burnout, I suspect that the issue isn't that you need a hobby, it's that you need to make time to do nothing at all.
Go for walks in nature, away from technology, walk alone or with friends, laugh, tell stories, share secrets and dreams.
The more you do, the more resilience builds up, the better you can cope with stress and work.
Only then might you find joy in a hobby. For me it was Amateur Radio, but it might be different for you.
All good points. I make time with friends when I can, getting laid off from my job really messed me up. I had been there for 11 years a lot of my closer friends are tied to that job and people I worked with. I still go out to lunch or for coffee with them when possible, but I don't see them every day like I used to. I am going to double my efforts to spend time with them.
i got my amateur radio license (U.S. technician) about a month ago at a big convention. i was thinking of suggesting the hobby to the poster but first read through the comments, to check if it were suggested already. your initial advice is probably better. i'm realizing i overloaded myself and burned out during the time leading up to the test and now i'm not entirely sure why i tried getting the license in the first place. i still don't even have a radio. I think i wanted to learn more about electronics and one thing led to another. now my mind goes blank when i try to think about what to do. i'm not OP but found it to be good advice, thanks.
Welcome to the community, we're all still figuring out what to do with it :)
When you want to reconnect with the hobby, after looking after yourself, look for my callsign, VK6FLAB. I have produced a weekly article about the hobby for the past 13 years and there's plenty of suggestions for things to do and learn.
I really enjoyed learning to homebrew, and my family and friends really enjoyed drinking the mead I've made. You can homebrew all sorts of stuff, too - beer and wine of course, but also kombucha and ginger ale (edit: and cider! Thanks /u/cyberpunk007). I'm looking at professional kit for my next batch which is going to be a few hundred dollars at least of steel, but my first fermentation tubs were something like $35.
My only up-front recommendation would be to get a conical fermenter as it minimises loss when racking/bottling.
Homebrew is so fun, and I love how you can make it as complex as you want. Like, you can just mix some honey and some water (in the right ratio) and let it sit, and you’ve got mead! Or you can add flavors. Or experiment with yeasts. Or brew beer and experiment with hops and grains. It’s a hobby that really meets you where you want it to.
That sounds really cool. I am going to look into this some more.
Homebrew is a really good idea. You can get amazing results for relatively cheap investment. Take a look at the Robobrew and similar all in one kits. They're basically brew in a bag systems that work really well.
Awesome! I found https://stormthecastle.com/mead via the sidebar of the old meadmaking subreddit and still go back to reference the tutorials and recipes occasionally. Seems like the only community on Lemmy is https://sopuli.xyz/c/homebrewing (or !homebrewing@sopuli.xyz I guess, thanks bot), but it's a big one.
This was one of my favourite recipes posted on the old orange site (luckily it was crossposted to imgur): https://imgur.com/gallery/neon-knights-indigo-mead-D0IAs
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !homebrewing@sopuli.xyz
And cider! Holebrewing is a lot of fun, and you can definitely get started on the cheap.
It's really all going to depend on your tastes and lifestyle. Like I could recommend that you get a dog and start learning how to train dogs as a hobby, but that's just not going to work for everyone. What's important is that you explore things and maybe even try some hobbies that could potentially improve your well-being. Maybe you live somewhere near a good hiking spot and you could take up hiking to get outdoors and get more exercise. Maybe you could learn how to cook and explore how to make healthy meals that suit you better. Or maybe you just want to create something and you could take up woodworking or make model planes or something. The possibilities are endless, you just need to decide what you'd like to get out of it.
Personally, I spend most of my time for work indoors on a computer, so most of my hobbies involve using my hands and getting outdoors. I took up a lot of extra hobbies during covid for obvious reasons. So here goes my list of >!hobbies that will maybe give you some ideas:
Other things I've considered taking up but haven't for various reasons:
What kind of candy do you make? I make cannabis edibles. I've done gummies, peanut butter cups, caramels, and hard candies. I tried peppermint melts but they were really terrible!
I mostly make chocolate based candies, but I dabble in other candies from time to time like caramels, candied nuts, candied fruits/ginger/etc. I like to make candies around Christmas time to give to family and friends as they make really nice gifts.
I've made ginger hard candles. I want to try candied ginger and I'd really like to figure out a ginger chewy candy.
Taking your initial post and this comment into consideration, you may be in a situation I find myself in (or I may be projecting, who knows). I started out with some regular ass depression and threw in what was originally some recreational weed consumption. After a while I found myself as a daily weed smoker. My partner seems to have a much different experience as a daily smoker than I do. For me it manifests itself as you are describing, just a lack of excitement about life. I feel like my weed hangover isn’t like an alcohol one, but rather it saps my motivation to do anything productive that I’m not being held accountable for. If I was also unemployed and unable to find a job, I’m sure it would be worse for me. At the moment, I’ve cut back on my consumption and am making it a point to only partake on weedkends. Pairing that with more exercise has worked well for me in the past, but I find it difficult to get in the exercise habit with that low level of motivated energy. Finding a form of exercise where you don’t notice the work you’re doing is also helpful. I don’t much like basketball, but a friend of mine invited me out to fuck around and shoot hoops with them. Probably the easiest time I had getting in some cardio without realizing it. Nowadays, I’ve got a rowing machine that I use while I watch streaming shows. I usually find my lust for life returning when I’ve put in the maintenance on the machine that is my body. It’s a lot easier to feel alive when you feel alive.
I think you meant to reply to OP. But yeah, it can make it hard to be productive. I mostly use it late in the evening, like a nightcap.
I have a small machine shop where I make little doodads out of metal. All of my equipment is manual. If I want to cut metal on my lathe or mill, I'm spinning handwheels and engaging power feed levers. I then have to sit there, watch the beautiful blue steel chips fly, listen to the sound of the cut, and wait for the cut to be finished so I can turn off the power feed. Then I turn off the machine, get out my micrometers, carefully measure my cut, and do it again until I'm done. Then, I take the work out of the vise or chuck, grab my file, debur all of the sharp edges (I love the sound of a good file knocking off metal burrs), and get to work on the next part.
It's intensely peaceful. Machining tools are relatively quiet and stately (power woodworking tools scream like evil demons). Small hobby tools are slow, so you always have plenty of time to enjoy yourself. It requires a lot of planning and thinking, and it helps you develop a much more attuned mechanical touch. You get to make really cool shit out of the best material (i.e. metal), and it's a genuinely useful skill. I do software development, and I spend way too much time sitting at my desk. Machining is my escape.
One downside is that it can be expensive. Good tools cost money and good metal costs money. I'd guess that I have $20K invested in my shop, but I've also been doing this for 7 years now. The initial investment isn't that high. You can save a lot of money by making your own tools, which I didn't always do. Used tools are also a really great option (except for measuring tools, sometimes you have to buy those new). To get metal for cheaper, go to nearby machine shops and ask nicely if you can buy scraps from their offcut sections. If you tell them that you're learning machining, they'll be very likely to oblige!
The other downside is that it requires you to be careful. Human flesh is soft compared to metal. Machining is only dangerous if you're incautious, but I feel like it's important that I bring up safety when I recommend machining as a potential hobby.
If you're interested, check out Blondihacks on YouTube. She has some great videos on how to get started with your own hobby machine shop. I also really like Clickspring and This Old Tony. Clickspring has some good project videos on his channel, and TOT is hilarious and educational.
Here's the thing I'm most proud of making. I adapted the design of a 3D printed yarn winder to manual machining and built it from scratch. All of the metal parts started out as raw stock (everything is 4340 steel, except for the base plate which is ductile iron). The base is black walnut. The little feet are brass, with sorbothane feet on the bottom.
Honestly, that's really beautiful. I can tell you have a lot of passion for your hobby. I am going to look into this and subscribe to the youtube channels you listed. Thank you!
It's definitely been life-changing for me. I never had the "touch". When I'd do stuff around the house, I'd put in screws at crazy angles and drill holes in the wrong places on walls. I never felt like I could fix or build anything. Machine tools let you build crazy shit without relying on your visual reasoning or coordination. You want a hole at a spot? Move the handwheels to that spot and you're there. There's no fucking around. That built up my confidence, and the stuff that does require spatial reasoning (like using a file to turn a round hole into a square one) happens slowly enough that you can make mistakes and still be okay.
If you decide to get into it, I'd recommend getting a lathe first. if you can't afford a mill, a drill press is still very useful. You can do almost anything on a lathe if you try hard enough, and a drill press makes some things a lot easier. Blondihacks will have a lot more to say about it, but I believe that's her recommendation.
Ha ha, read this wonderful piece through thinking, sounds great but what would I ever make? And then omg, yarn winder. I'm a knitter, and my yarn winder is a plastic monstrosity. I mean I'm never going to do it myself, but there definitely is a market for beautifully machined yarn winders.
+1 for the channels you mentioned, plus I find Inheritance Machining is pretty good too. A goodish amount of dry wit (not as much as TOT, but often gets a smirk out of me), and I really appreciate how he incorporates his manual drawing into a lot of his videos, rather than CAD.
Clickpsring is by far my absolute favourite. I've been following him since the very start of the clock build, and loved every second of it. I like his 2nd channel too - Clickspring Clips - for the occasional 2-3min video brief of him making a single part.
I’m taking some welding classes later this year. Being able to fix or create things with a welder seems like a useful skill to have.
I suspect the intro classes are all the same regardless if you take welding into the art direction or the mechanical direction.
That's really cool. I've considered welding, seems really neat. Good luck, build something awesome!
Also, you can make really good money welding.
Gymnastics. Seriously. You don't need to be all that athletic to do the core basics. You get fitter and have fun just throwing yourself onto big soft mats.
Are you looking for a new career as well? Or just a hobby? I sit in front of a computer all day and always thought being an electrician would be kind of neat. Decent money, get to work with your hands, and still some problem solving involved.
Edit: If you're looking for more of a hobby, volunteer conservation work may also be something to look into. Something like trail work. I did a few stints in my younger years, and they were transformative experiences for me. The folks who do this type of work are super interesting and passionate in my experience, and it can rub off on you.
I'll add that learning botany and taxonomy is VERY fun and rewarding. Going out in the field and discovering new plants and wildlife is a great treasure that always gives. It adds so much value to the outdoors
Both kind of. I mean, that's the dream right? Finding something you find interesting and gives you purpose and then being able to make a living wage doing it. Its interesting you mentioned being an electrician. I have a tour scheduled next week at a local trade school to explore being an electrician. Do you have any suggestion on questions I should ask during my tour?
I recently got deep into making paper!
It's relatively simple, relaxing, and has a lot of repetitive tasks that take a while... So it's been fantastic for reading audiobooks! I also get to recycle old paper and cardboard instead of putting it into a bin and hoping that it's dealt with.
Every single piece of equipment can be made by hand for cheap though honestly I highly recommend a blender and a tub. Both of which could be replaced with hand made things but like... Why would you want to spend hours beating recycled paper to a pulp which you could put it into a blender for a little bit while doing something else.
It's also great for my debilitating RSD because even though it requires a specific touch to be gained... Every step except for literally the very last one can be repeated at any point with no downside.
If the pulp isn't blended right... Blend it more... If the deckle is unevenly covered... Just put it back in the water... Etc etc
I really think more people should do recycling stuff in general but this has been fantastic.
WOW! That's really neat, I've never considered something like that. Sounds really cool.
Some tutorials on YouTube are a LOT better than others and I've found some to just be terrible.
Different methods for paper making give very different results and despite the good method being easy... It's not the one that people seem to think of when they first start?
If any tutorial tells you to put the pulp on the mould and deckle itself... Do not listen... Put it into the vat with the water and let it settle... If you put it on the mould and deckle manually it won't be level and it'll be bumpy and way thicker than you want it to be.
Another fun bit though is that you can experiment with the actual paper itself. Ever wanted paper that glitters? Just throw glitter in with the pulp. Want blue paper? Due the pulp blue. Want paper thats better for certain art vs others? There are loads of organic additives you can put in that change the properties without removing the recycled nature of the project.
If you have a 3D printer you can even make 3D molds to put excess pulp into and make cups and such.
I love this so much
A few years ago, mid pandemic, I started collecting ancient coins. I was really passionate about it even thinking about finding ways to make it a small after-hours job or such, but I've since run into a few walls and have subsequently lost my drive. For example, I wanted to take very high resolution pictures of the coins and then compose a catalog of sorts, but while I have all the gear that I need (camera with a macro lens) my shots keep coming out wrong and I've since kind of given up on the idea altogether.
My entire life is one long succession of passionately started projects that got abandoned either midway or after heavy setbacks. If I ever find one that brings me lasting happiness, I'll gladly share it, but for now I'm just as much on the lookout as you are.
I know that feeling. You and I are on a mission to find what gives us purpose and happiness. I hope you find it, friend.
It's cliche but perhaps the journey is the purpose. I also have had a multitude of different hobbies throughout the years, but I enjoy learning new things. The aspect of learning a new hobby is often more fun than the hobby.
Woodworking. I love it. Wood is such a warm medium to work with, and it's a really easy hobby to get into, too. You don't have to buy expensive power tools, nor do you need to set a target of making fine furniture.
For me, I started out with scrap wood, trying to make as perfect as dovetail joint as possible, using just hand tools - a cross-cut saw and a good, sharp chisel.
That took me down a path of trying to learn different joinery techniques, which was a whole lot of fun. I bought a couple of joinery books from the big A and scrounged scraps from my local hardware to practice on. And, I know you said you wanted to get away from the computer, but there's some incredibly good woodworking channels on YT. I tend to avoid the ones that talk too much about what they're doing - I prefer to just watch masters at work. I find Japanese woodworking videos incredibly satisfying and enjoyable.
I don't get to indulge the hobby as much as I want - family life keeps me pretty busy nowadays - but, when I have the occasional afternoon to myself, I love spending it in my little workshop, mucking around with wood. I always come away from a bout of woodworking feeling relaxed.
I was about to say something like this, hands on work is really satisfying when you can see the results in front of you, and even show them off as well!
Wood working is very fun an obtainable. At the end all your really need is a knife and some wood! Realtically if you want to get into it your gonna need some hand planes, but its a pretty fun and useful past time.
Going thru similar shit right now myself I found an anchor in working out. I started from total zero - zero push ups, zero pull ups, zero sqats, zero crunches. I can do most of these now, with pullups to go still. But I also got into better mindset and learning discipline too. Good stuff that I've neglected for 20+ years.
Keep it up! That's great progress.
Have you deepened into jazz harmony theory? What about permaculture?
Learning buddhist meditation is also a great asset IMHO
I’ve been into 3D printing for a few years now and it’s been a really fun hobby that has grown over the years.
I started with a cheap FDM printer which basically is the most common kind that extrudes plastic onto a build plate to create a 3D object. I then began learning how to create my own objects in various CAD programs like Fusion 360 and even Windows 10/11’s 3D Builder. I started making small alterations to existing objects I found online. The first was because the object I wanted was too large for my small print bed so I learned how to modify the model on my own in the CAD software. I then began doing more complex things like creating objects from scratch to be used. I’m mostly into practical printing but there are a lot of people who choose this for miniatures like for DnD and Warhammer or for creating cosplay armor/accessories.
Most recently, I moved into resin printing (SLA) which is different than FDM in using liquid resin and lasers to create the 3D objects. This is more expensive and more hands on in terms of needing post processing and also more safety involved because resin is toxic to breathe in and also hazardous to the touch, but has been very satisfying and a joy. The level of detail is much higher quality on SLA than FDM, generally feeling like something you’d actually find in a store than something that has noticeable lines straight from a FDM printer bed. Not that you can’t achieve similar qualities with FDM, but it just will require more work like sanding and polishing.
Similarly, my girlfriend likes to crochet and we both have grown to find commonalities in our hobbies. I recently created and 3D printed a crochet hook for her with a cute little buddy on top which she has been awing over the past week.
We have gone to some local street fair events and often find people who are selling their crocheted and 3D printed stuff, usually like stuff animals and desk toys, respectively.
But if you feel burnt out, you may need something else in your life. Maybe to find a more fulfilling purpose like helping others? Speaking from experience, some of my burnt out feelings have been “fixed” when I spend time helping others and being a source of strength for someone else. I find myself most satisfied when I have been able to improve someone else’s life in some way. Just to throw that possibility out there too.
All great suggestions. I was gifted a secondhand resin printer a while ago. I don't have any post processing stuff or anything so haven't really delved into it.
Currently I am sitting on the board of directors for a new non-profit. Been trying to get it off the ground and have done some good in the form of utility relief for families in need. Its a lot though and while I am keeping at it, its not really scratching my itch to find new purpose.
This one combines with my suggestion, too. Lost PLA casting is a thing - you bed the print in sand or similar, add sprues, vents and feeders (and maybe some sort of extra drainage to be closed up after? I haven't looked too closely into it), and melt it out instead of having to manually take the mold apart and put it back together.
Then, you can have a cast in metal or glass without having to manually build the form, and without having to use a million mold pieces to achieve any kind of hollow geometry.
Skill #1: You're fine just the way you are. You aren't lost, you're still deciding where to go.
My advice is to take an SDS test (career interest) to get your Holland code and learn about all the jobs that would excite you.
Thank you for the kind words. I will look into the SDS test.
Sure thing! I think there's a fee for the real one but you might find a free version or see if a local community vocational center type thing wouldn't let you take it for free. If it sets you in the right direction though, it's worth the cost.
And just if you could benefit from some proof, people change careers an average of 5-7 times in their lives. If you haven't decided where to go next, how could you possibly be lost?
Take care, friend. I promise that you know all the answers to the questions you haven't asked yourself yet.
One of the former guitarists of thrash metal band Anthrax became a watch repairman. I think maybe he work(s/ed) on antique watches, but I might be making that part up. If you like working with your hands and challenging your mind, this could be great. I listened to a podcast miniseries about a guy who, among other things, repaired clocks. There was a lot of commentary about how reverse-engineering the original design was a big part of the job. (The show was S-Town / Shit-Town).
That sounds really cool and challenging. I am going to look into it. Thanks!
My father is a clock repair guy. He's been doing it since he was a child and switched to doing it full time during the 2008 recession.
He lives an interesting life! It's a very solo/work for yourself type of activity. He outsources some stuff to experts, like restoring dials, making new wooden gears, etc. Every clock he fixes gets run on a test stand for a month before going back to the customer.
That's cool! If i start learning now, maybe that could be my retirement job!
My mate started terrarium building.
For very little cost, you can look for second hand fish tanks and go for walks to collect moss, rocks, twigs etc. Weirdly it built more meaning to the more 'I need to move my body so I'll go for a walk'.
Now he likes hiking, and collecting moss along the way.
The actual terrariums are gorgeous too.
Thanks for the suggestion. I tried doing a terrarium last year and was just entirely unsuccessful. Had a fungus issue, cleaned it all out, tried again, had a fungus problem. I put it on the back burner and figured I would try again in the future. Shrug.
Maybe woodworking? It can get dusty and you need some room but you can also make smaller things that don't need big power tools or a lot of room. Like miniature things.
Or computer programming. Create an app. Or do something fun like follow one of the coding challenges from the YouTube channel The Coding Train
I was going to say the same. My husband likes gardening and builds all different kinds of planters - raised beds on the ground, elevated planters on wheels, small box planters with handles so he can easily carry it in/out for starting seeds.
I definitely have wood working on my radar. I have some basic hand and electric tools for home improvement stuff. Unfortunately I'm really burnt out on programming and computer stuff. I spend my work day in front of a computer doing mind numbing repetition. I know I should have clarified that further in the original post, sorry about that.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
The Coding Train
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
There are some great suggestions here already. In addition to creative stuff, I personally think it's super important to do something physical as well. I can't list all of the positive effects weightlifting has had on my life since I picked it up. I feel physically and mentally so much better in pretty much every way possible. If it interests you at all let me know I can give you some reading suggestions
While weightlifting is the go to example (and of the the most effective ones), it's by no means the only option. Yoga, a team sport, hiking, walking, biking, rollerblading, running, etc all would be great to do.
Thought of a few more.
I should mention metal scraping, surface lapping and lens/mirror figuring (like for a telescope) too, since the other forms of metalworking have been brought up. For woodworking, there's all kinds of old techniques if you're looking for something a bit different. Cooper isn't just a last name.
Stone knapping, like to make arrowheads or similar. It's tricky I hear, but you can do it with any reasonably thick piece of glass to start, and move up to actual rocks eventually.
Weaving, spinning and of course knitting and sewing. Textile hobbies are associated with women, though, and Lemmy is mostly men, so you might get the occasional weird look.
Someone else mentioned canning, and I've done that one - I'm pretty good at it, too, although it's hard work. Taking normal food and making it last literally forever is neat, you just need to pay attention to all the details.
Metal working, (although kinda expensive to get into) sheet metal bending, machining, welding. I really enjoy learning and making real world useful parts out of metal.
Wood working/whittling Its cheap to learn and can be very rewarding. Id suggest to look at local stores for discarded pallets for free wood. To make a few things out of, aim for hardwood, but lots of them end up being pine.
Potentally electronics? (Although you said you didnt want a hobby that doesnt use computers)
Photography could be rewarding Going outside to parks and just taking pictures really helps feeling grounded an in the now. And you can show others your photos!
Navigation?
Trades are great careers to be in now. Maybe cabinet making and volunteer at habitat for humanity? Learn something new that might help down the line, and do some good at the same time. Wiring, welding, or fixing an old car is another route to learn a useful and potentially employable skill.
cooking is an awesome hobbyyy
Yah! It is. I cook often, but its not really a hobby for me. I just like good food and I don't like spending money eating out.
I really want to get into casting, because it's crazy how much stuff you can make. Machining too, but that requires a lot of equipment. If you want to use metal casting to make machining tools, David Gingery's works are a classic.
Machine is a very fun hobby, but be very careful when using high power tools. Mills, lathes and surface grinders can easily bite yah. As my shop teacher once said "If it can cut metal it can cut you!" "Metalworking tools are not toys, treat them with respect and they will respect you back" "Follow the MSDS procautions and shop rules, ie no long sleeves or gloves near rotary equitment and dont roll up sand paper on the lathe"
It is very rewarding being able to show people the part you made and solving problems feels great too!
Casting can also be dangerous. It's not too surprising, when glowing hot molten liquid is involved, but it's not necessarily intuitive. Any excess moisture in the work area is a potential steam explosion, including the water in porous concrete you might not think about. Materials weaken at high temperatures, and thermal expansion of metal when you're going up that high is more than a detail. To deal with that, use PPE, your brain and Murphy's law. They say to assume everything in a metalworking shop is hot unless you know for a fact that it isn't, for example.
Machining is also cool because you can get microscopic precision with pretty standard equipment, and quite often need to if you want something to make something like a smooth-rolling bearing. That makes it a lot more of a science than more common skills like woodworking.
I did not know about water expantion being a hazard when casting. Wow go figure. Casting is pretty neat, ive had a few buddys cast alumium and its hot as balls when pouring into a mold, but has alot of compontents that you really dont know unless your into it. Like water expantion, thats pretty cool thanks for sharing!
You're on Lemmy, why not try your hand at contributing to an open source project that catches your interest?
Drawing. It's seen as a skill reserved for an elite few, but in reality anyone can develop it. I learned it at school from lessons very similar to how Peter Gray teaches it (see this book for example on the Internet Archive).
All you need is a pad of paper, a few pencils and an eraser. And then sketch away, plants, people, landscapes, characters, whatever you want to explore.
Definitely a good idea. I've never been talented in drawing or painting, but that doesn't mean I can't develop it.
I recently got into video game development, and I’ve had so much fun, and it’s given me some much-needed meaning. I’ve solved problems unique to my game using programming skills as well as game design skills, and it feels meaningful because i can send it to my friends and they can enjoy it without needing to appreciate any of the technical aspects. I get to be creative about how people I care about can have more fun. It could also involve your music composition hobby, since every good game needs some music and sound design! I’m a programmer for my day job so most things I do there are only meaningful to other programmers, and the problems I solve there are incredibly boring ones.
Edit: I saw your comment about being burnt out on programming, and I totally understand that. That happens to me frequently. I enjoy programming as a hobby when I’m not burnt out so we’re kinda in different boats there. There are lots of skills involved in making games and the variety has really refreshed me, though I’ve still gotten sick of sitting at a computer while working on it.
I appreciate what you are doing and am glad you found something that you enjoy. I've tried to contribute music to game development before, and each time the project ended up falling apart and the game never finished. I even wrote a score for an independent film once... then covid hit, funding fell through, and the movie was left in post production hell. I've released a ton of stuff on my own, but as a big ol video game nerd, I would love to breach that medium.
How about taking a trade?
Definitely something I've considered. From my decades of working in front of computers, I would love to do something with my hands. I've looked at trade schools in my area and weighed some options.
Does art interest you? I personally really love drawing!
I've never been particularly talented at visual arts like drawing and painting, my artistic talents mostly come in music. Which I've been doing for a long time and burnt out on. I do know you can develop a talent like drawing with enough time and effort, so its not totally out of the question.
I fondly remember a time where I could only draw stickmen. I'm sure if you spend time and effort, you can do pretty much anything! If you don't mind me asking, have you shared your music anywhere?
Yeah, I've got a ton of music published, its all on Spotify/iTunes/etc. The name of my band is Giant Monsters on the Horizon. Been doing music for a long while. https://open.spotify.com/artist/4HmglWNfF7jAYQxbEjv9Xt?si=wKM8b_rATrSgx5WV7ITDdw
Holy cats - just bought Night City Redux on Bandcamp. Great stuff!
If you're burnt out on music making, have you tried other ways of creating? Like if you're used to a DAW, invest in hardware like a groovebox or a handheld tracker (my current love is the Dirtywave M8) or something. Try modular (but don't, it's expensive) or some weird boutique noise machine. Or dive into orchestral instruments and perfecting a classical music performance.
It could be a way to defamiliarise yourself and make music creation new again.
You are my favorite person, I appreciate you! :D
Seriously, thank you for supporting. I've worked with softsynths all my adult life, mainly Reason for production and arranging, Ableton for live shows. One of my bandmates is a gearhead, we've tried all kinds of his hardware including modular stuff, and it was just a learning curve that I was not really interested in. My music production time is really limited (One of my bandmates and his wife just adopted 2 kids out of foster care, and my other bandmate is a full time teacher), I only get about 4 hours a week to actually collaborate with them. Every time we've tried writing and creating with hardware, it just left us with getting nothing done during our once a week session. We stick with the softsynths we know and keep the train moving forward. So the balance struggle there is, do we take several sessions off to try something new? Or do we keep creating and being productive. Its tough.
Thank you for introducing me to a new (to me) band! Yeah, life can be kind of a roller coaster, and everyone's interests ebb and flow (as you've discovered with yourself and your bandmates). Sadly we only have so much energy to roll with it, and I'm sorry you're at a low energy area right now. Those suck, and it is VERY difficult to battle inertia and muscle back into the fray.
Art is kinda cruel in the way that it makes you choose - familiar and possibly uninspiring, or new and possibly a frustrating dead end. The reason I mentioned the M8 was largely due to its pocketability. It's not much bigger than a large smartphone but it's a whole production device with instant-on and a sensible design. Work on stuff during lunch, at the park, on the bus, etc. But there is a learning curve, so spending a lot of energy you might not have may get frustrating if it doesn't click right away.
One thing you might try is suggesting gentle deadlines or challenges for yourself and your bandmates - like write a catchy 10-second jingle by the end of the week. Or parody the chorus of an existing song by the end of your next phone call. A deadline for something silly is easier to meet, and you all would have created something and had a little fun.
There are a lot of amazing people here suggesting different things you can do, and I notice a lot of their ideas are creative activities. I think you can land on any of those and find satisfaction. There's no high like creation. No matter what, remember that things always change. If you're at a low point, it can't last forever, especially if you keep powering through it. You'll come out ahead.
Sales. If you want to starting make really good money without a masters or PhD. Learn sales. Get a bdr type role. Even part time and get some experience. After that you can start making 6 figs within a few years.
While I agree you can make good money in sales. I think it takes a certain personality and a tough skin to handle the job well. It can be an extremely stressful work environment.
I learned how to flintknap a little, and it was super fun. I heard buying rocks can be expensive if you don't live near where they're plentiful, but what hobby doesn't get expensive? I went to the class with my brother in law and he got absolutely lost in the sauce working on his flint, and didn't talk to anyone else there
It can be tiring but it's definitely fun seeing what you've made (even if you're not very good at it like me) and besides, you get to say you're hitting rock/buying rock so there's even more fun to be had!
You could go into teaching?
Yeah, when I was younger, I could always see myself as a teacher. The truth is, its not enough money and being more of a "jack of all trades" type, I don't have any expertise in anything to be able to teach someone else effectively. At least that's how it feels to me.
What about volunteering? Usually no credentials or experience is required. You get out of the house, get to be around people, and you get the satisfaction of feeling like you are doing something useful, which is rewarding in itself.
It could be anything. You have all kinds of organizations wanting volunteer help: social outreach programs, churches, scouts, clubs, etc. See if anything local catches your interest.
I'm already on the board of directors for a non-profit on a volunteer only basis. I have a passion for charity, but its pretty slow going sometimes. Its kind of lost its luster like everything else.
Nonsense, sounds like you're more than qualified to teach.
I've (more or less) got those two hobbies as well! :D
I work on cars for fun, but that might not be the most budget friendly thing to do outside of basic car maintenance. Of course, this is assuming that you or a friend has a car to work on.
What if you get an Arduino starter kit? That involves putting things together with your hands and writing code to make the hardware do cool things.
For music production, you could check out a website like Looperman or a subscription service like Splice. Then, download a few audio samples and use them as a starting point for a song. This helped me get back into music production after a five month period of minimal inspiration.
Photography (even with a cellphone) could be nice too. You could even use it as a reason to do physical activities like hiking.
EDIT: Have you been hanging out with friends regularly? If not, I think that it should be
Thanks much! I do use Splice sometimes when I need a loop quickly, or a fill, or even a decent riser. I've been doing music production for a long time and its been really good (released some stuff I really love, worked with some of the people in the industry I look up to, and shared the stage with some really phenomenal talents). Its something that I am continuing to do, but just burnt out on it is all.
Working on cars sounds awesome, but also intimidating. I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, I just don't think I have the space or materials to start that. I have a new car (so I'm not taking that apart any time soon), and I don't have a decent workspace like a garage. Its a good suggestion though and one I would want to attempt in the future.
I'm trying to move away from coding/programming type stuff. I already spend way to much time in front of my computer.
If you become a plumber or electrician it will satisfy your desire to create with your hands while challenging your brain. It pays decently good and keeps you in shape too.
As an electrician you’ll start off paid low for a year or two as a laborer, but in four or five years I think you’ll be a trade professional making good money and doing useful work.
Thanks! I have a tour scheduled next week for a trade school for their electrician program. I'm not 100% sure if I have an interest in it, but it has the traits I am looking for. Being useful, having a purpose, working with my hands, etc. I will see how I feel after the tour.
Do you live in an area where you can go sailing?
Heh, unfortunately no. I was born and raised in Ft Lauderdale, but now reside in Missouri... so no where near water, lol.
Not trying to dox myself, but I also live in Missouri and have a sailboat on Carlyle Lake in IL (about an hour from St. Louis). If you're anywhere in the area, our sailing club is doing our annual Try Sailing Day on June 22nd. Free rides on a variety of different small sailboats and catamarans in exchange for a gentle sales pitch to sign up as an associate member, take some lessons, and be able to rent out any of the club's fleet boats or volunteer to crew for someone on the Sunday buoy racing circuit.
Thats super cool. I didn't think it would really be a thing around here. I will look into it. Thanks!
Most of the larger lakes in the region have similar organizations, Perry and Smithville over on the KC side as well as the Ozarks in south central all have sailing orgs to a greater or lesser extent.
Programming. Challenging and creative in a way that is different than art & music but still somehow similar. I find it almost relaxing sometimes. Python is a great first language and you can go from no knowledge whatsoever to a working program that does something genuinely useful in an hour, like scraping a website and showing you some data from it. Mastery takes years.
If you genuinely enjoy programming, you can legitimately change the world with your knowledge. There are tons of open source projects out there which benefit humanity yet don't have enough development talent. It's one thing to volunteer your time and see a good outcome from it, it's another to volunteer your time to build a system which guarantees good outcomes for many people over long time periods and get to see that system grow and get used by people.