Getting Away From Screens as an IT Professional

As an IT professional I spend quite a bit of time looking at screens and in my personal time I am also looking at screens, I might as well call them my friends.

After working in IT for a number of years, I had acquired a fair bit of skill and knowledge and so with that my responsibilities in the company I worked for grew, and after some time with these bigger responsibilities I found myself working too hard and was unable to properly manage my workload, and I then experienced a period of burn out.

I looked into burn out and from what I learned, one of the things I needed to do is, to get some time away from computers, mobile phones, and technology in general, so I looked around at what to do, and soon after I started to adventure into the big wide world, no, not the world wide web, I said it correctly the first time.

Here are some of the things that helped me on my road to recovery and what I think all IT professionals should engage in outside of technology, to help with the mind and soul and have a better quality of life:

1. Swimming - Swimming is something that will quickly make you feel good. I live in the UK and I traveled to Bournemouth in mid-April a few years back and fortunately, it was a sunny day with no clouds to be seen, so I decided to jump into the English Channel, and it was cold, I thought the sun would have heated it up by now but no, it was cold enough for me to want to get out. I had not swum in years and even in that cold water, I tell you it felt amazing, I had a smile on my face throughout. Even though I forgot how to swim properly, it was just a positive feeling I had throughout the experience and I felt so good at that moment. After my travels ended in Bournemouth I continued to swim at home, where I live in London, just at the local leisure center and yes I continue to enjoy it. I highly recommend my fellow IT professionals and all other people to try swimming if you haven't yet done so, it will lift your spirits.

2. Walk in the Park - Who doesn't like a walk in the park, it's refreshing and calming and great for the mind. Taking your eyes off your mobile phone or the television and just sitting back on a park bench, watching the sun reflect on the water while the geese float across it, the light breeze of the wind across your body, and the warmth of the sun on the back of your head just emanates a feeling of goodness. I once let go of all of my worries sitting at the park and it was one of the best feelings ever, I felt completely content. This is definitely worth doing if you are able to, perhaps make this a regular or daily activity.

3. Eating Different Food - See I am not a fish person or someone who tended to experiment with different foods often, but after doing so I believe this is a good thing although, I would not become so adventurous with my diet. I am Bengali and brought up in London so my diet consisted mostly of Bengali and English food. When I started to eat different food styles like Turkish, Chinese, Afghan, and all sorts of other styles, it took a bit of getting used, I hated prawns and the like, but after trying different variations I gained an appetite for them, unfortunately for the poor prawns. The reason why I endorse going out once in a while and trying different foods that you have not tried yet or don't usually eat is because you have something unknown to you, something that is exciting and something to look forward to. When it's time to try the food, you either like it or you don't, and if it's that you don't there is the experience that builds a positive mindset, on the other hand, if you do like the food, then you will likely leave feeling good.

4. Golf - There is something about hitting a golf ball into the stratosphere that just feels good, maybe it's the striking of something that releases pent-up negative energy. I don't properly golf but I do use the golf ranges here and there. While this may not be for everyone, for some this is a good outing with the family or friends and can definitely help with feeling good and having a better mental state. I usually head down to Top Golf in London Chigwell as they have a good second floor to hit the balls from and I think it feels much better to do it from there than the ground floor. Winding down and just enjoying life is necessary to have a good state of mind, if you don't fancy playing golf, try a different sport like football or cricket.

5. Sightseeing - Sightseeing is great on a nice sunny day, head over to a popular tourist destination and explore and enjoy as much as you can. London Southbank was my destination of choice when I first started this sort of thing and I just simply walked around, sat and observed people, and street performers, and enjoyed watching the scenery and people just going about their business. Sightseeing is easy on the mind, there are lots of nice things to look at that ease the mind, especially in the city centers. If you live in London and want to sightsee, here are a few destinations for you:

• Try the canal paths starting from Stratford, leading into Bow and so on, all the way to Regent's canal, it's a completely different London when you are there, enjoy.

• London Southbank

• Victoria Park

• Natural History Museum

• Science Museum

• 02 Arena

• Regents Park

• Walk down Knights Bridge

• Walk around Hyde Park then through to Edgware

6. Visit an Event - Enjoy an event if you can every now and then, whether it be a pantomime or a football match, try an event that you think may be fun to attend. With so many other like-minded people there, you never know, you may just find new friends and a new passion. I went to watch a Manchester United football match in their iconic stadium and I really enjoyed this, the home team won and the fans were buzzing, as was I, I fed off their excitement, it was a great experience and I went back home feeling good.

7. Go Karting - Go-karting like golfing may not be for everyone but for those who want to try it, it could be fun and a nice way to enjoy a competitive race safely. Going with a larger group would be better but if you cannot that is fine, I have been with groups and by myself with a friend. There is something about playing competitive games that makes us feel good, I don't know what it is but it just does.