When we are young and inquisitive with plenty of time to spare, it’s easy to find something that interests you and it’s easy to make time to do that thing. Some people who are really passionate about their childhood hobbies, or manage to convert them into careers, are able to continue to spend time doing the things they love.
For most of us, as we grow up and get caught up with education and work, our hobbies fall lower down on the priority list and soon we are spending the bulk of our life working.
The little time we do get to ourselves is spent aimlessly consuming media and just recovering from a hectic work routine. Research has shown that people who have hobbies and spend time working on them lead richer and more satisfying lives.
In fact, they even live longer and have better health throughout their lives. If you want to improve the quality of your life but don’t know what to do, here are a few ideas.
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1. Electronic Skills
The future is digital and even if your day job doesn't require you to be very tech-savvy you can still start learning digital skills which will be a great way to keep yourself entertained and you will learn a thing or two. Not all electronic skills have to be approached with the perspective of making a living out of them, you could create music using software and digital instruments just for the fun of it.
There is an endless variety of digital skills and you can surely find something that suits your needs.
2. Painting
It’s something we all loved doing as kids. Whether you were good at it or not is beside the point, the fact that it is an enjoyable activity at any age is what is important.
Whether you are into making portraits, landscapes, or abstract pieces, painting can be whatever you want it to be. It's a very open-ended art form with many ways through which it can be monetized. Whether or not you want to sell your art, later on, is your choice, and the best thing is there is no good or bad art.
If you enjoy it purely for the experience, it has several therapeutic benefits which will help improve other areas of your life as well.
3. Stitching
Also a very artsy hobby, stitching can be a completely artistic activity or you could apply to it things that you can actually use in day-to-day life. More than being a skill to help everyday repairs, some forms of stitching can be very complex that can take years to master. The folks at https://www.quiltersreview.com advise that you start off with smaller projects first that won't require a lot of equipment either before you transition to larger items.
Hand-stitched items such as a quilt or a bedsheet can be extremely high quality and they are usually prized heirlooms.
Check out these stitching alternatives for a new hobby:
- Weaving: This art involves using threads and looms, inspired by cultures and traditions all over the world. You can check out these inkle looms from Thread Collective and sites like it to kickstart your weaving hobby.
- Crocheting: This hobby involves creating textiles using hooks and yarn. Crocheting is a practical hobby to create heartfelt gifts, accessories, and home decors. Crochet uses one hook for hooking the loops on the piece, which is easier to learn than knitting.
- Embroidery: This craft decorates fabric and other materials. It uses a needle with a yarn or thread. You can incorporate other materials like beads, pearls, sequins, and quills to your embroidery. Embroidery is a great hobby to decorate coats, blankets, overlays, dress, shirts, denim, table cloth, and stockings.
4. Sports
For a lot of people playing sports or doing any physical activity is a chore in itself, but this is only in the beginning.
If you can find a sport that you really enjoy, it can turn into a wonderful hobby which might even have health benefits for you.
If you don't want something too hectic then table sports like chess or snooker might be a good option. Sports are generally associated with physical benefits but there are a number of mental health benefits that you will also enjoy from playing a sport. Physical sports help your body produce a lot of chemicals and hormones which are extremely beneficial for your mental and physical health.
Not to mention that being part of a sports team improves your social relations and connections and helps you live a more fulfilling life.
5. Collections
This is another one of those hobby's that gets better the longer you do it. You can find people who have built collections of stamps, currency notes, and even small bugs. You would be surprised to see how many different things people make collections of and how large these collections can be.
It's a great way to preserve memories and it can be quite a time-consuming and technical hobby if you are preserving things that need to be processed before they can be stored.
6. Languages
The world is more of a global village than it ever was before and knowing more languages is a great way to be more of a global citizen.
In the past learning languages wasn’t always possible or cheap but thanks to the internet and the plethora of free learning platforms you can learn any language you want from the comfort of your home.
While being a useful skill to have it’s also a very enjoyable thing to do and very mentally stimulating.
Furthermore, it’s something you could do with your partner or your children and it can be a great family activity.
7. Travel
Travel doesn't need to be a hobby that takes a lot of time or requires a lot of money. Modern transport systems are far more economical than they ever were before and traveling to a destination overseas is much more affordable.
Plus, you have a lot more options besides flying there, and going by road or by sea can be a lot more enjoyable.
Considering how international travel has been restricted due to the coronavirus, you still have a lot of local options that require a smaller budget and less time.
Traveling also gets you outdoors a lot more helping you break a monotonous work routine and giving you the opportunity to explore new places.
You don’t have to look very far when you are looking for a new hobby, even something as simple as exploring new coffee shops every weekend could be a hobby.
What really matters is finding something that you are interested in and if you are married, something that you could do with your partner or family.
Hobbies can be what you make them to be, you could choose things that require very advanced skills and take years to practice or you could choose something that requires minimal equipment and is a great way to kill time.
The important thing is to start doing something and stop wasting time living a sedentary life, being caught up in the rat race. After all, we only get one life, this is time to enjoy it.