I was asked yesterday “What do you do for fun?” I had to think. Spend time with my kids. Sit on my stoop. Host dinner parties. I couldn’t come up with a typical ‘hobby’ though. My work is my passion and is FUN.
And then this morning, I read this Tweet:
Creatives, if you ever have the luxury of your profession and your passion aligning to where you now get paid (in part or in full) to do “your thing” I can’t recommend enough the importance of finding some other hobby/interest on the side for pure leisure and rest.
— Patrick Michael Chin (@iampatrickchin) May 30, 2018
I need a hobby.
I try to select a new “challenge” every few months – I find I need a project or goal to keep myself motivated outside of work to do more than work out and sit around watching tv all evening. My current one is reading all the books on my bookcase in alpha order, which is going very slowly haha. Some others have been watching the John Green world history videos, and organizing the photos on my phone. Good luck!
May 31st, 2018 / 5:35 pm
Hosting social events such as a dinner party may not be a conventional hobby, but it still counts. Hosting a successful gathering requires skill as well as providing enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment. Aren’t those the things someone looks for in a hobby?
May 31st, 2018 / 11:43 pm
I knit
Jun 1st, 2018 / 8:36 am
I go kayaking on a nearby lake… totally relaxing, and exercise!
Jun 1st, 2018 / 11:09 am
I’m a design engineer, I make parts in 3D, create products. When I started working in the Medical Device industry, I couldn’t bear with the amount of documentation required by the FDA to sell a product. I’d recently sold my house, and having no exciting projects to work on, or space to execute large projects, I started to paint.
Without that boring job, I’d have never picked up a paint brush, or started throwing paint. Finding a creative outlet where I had zero expectations for myself, and allowed myself to simply play has changed my life.
That thing, where you don’t care whether or not you’re getting paid, and you can’t believe how much time has passed.
Jun 1st, 2018 / 12:15 pm
Oh, don’t worry, you already found it!
It’s called esotericism.
It goes like that: Be nice, be kind, be grateful, be aware, be present, be clear, think positive, meditate, do Yoga, love the universe, love people, what you resist, persists, unicorns poop rainbows & confetti and so on & on & on …
Don’t worry, you found it: Sitting on your stoop, watching people, talking to people – and reading an esoteric book!
Jun 1st, 2018 / 4:30 pm
If you feel something is lacking, yes, of course – explore your possibilities. And, if you’re worn out, mentally or physically, absolutely take a break. But you should never feel that you’re somehow not doing things right because you have a full, happy life. You collect people and ideas and see how you can mix and match them in new, happy ways. That’s your hobby and it’s a great one. Just be true to yourself, lady. It’s all good.
Jun 5th, 2018 / 7:30 pm
I do knitting but also recommend gardening. I love knitting because the feeling of making something with your hands is wonderful, especially if you spend a lot of your day looking at screens. I think you should consider gardening, however- helping something grow sounds incredible and very relaxing and soothing.
Jun 6th, 2018 / 5:20 pm
I love love pottery so much. Gardening too (indoors and in pots as I live in an apartment). I’ve just picked up these hobbies in the last couple of years to have a creative outlet and release that allows me to play with no pressure. They have helped me feel a peace that is different to my creative work which I love (currently full time mum, pay is not monetary). You may have hobbies already in sitting on the stoop and entertaining people in your home. Your needs may be already met by these things and by your daily life which is full and beautiful and purposeful. Go with what you feel is right for you at this time. If you want to try something new, i highly recommend pottery or gardening. So therapeutic. x
Jun 9th, 2018 / 12:16 pm
A good way to discover something you like doing might be to try a method from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The creativity program’s media deprivation week, where you can’t consume anything (including books, minimal email, etc), but rather just have to “do”, helped my writer/wordsy/cerebral self discover that I actually really like to draw.
Jun 13th, 2018 / 3:24 pm