Personally, I believe it’s important to have a hobby…preferably, several. They keep you interested in the world and hopefully out of the desolate pit of boredom. For me, my hobbies have lead to new found passions, but sometimes they’re just time fillers…either way, hobbies are an essential to our wellbeing.
- Baking
When I’m bored and don’t know how to get “unbored,” I will sift through my pantry and kitchen cabinets for ingredients that have the potential to become scary, half-burnt, yet possibly delicious pastries. I don’t have a recipe book in my brain like some people with crazy cool skills do, but that’s what Google is for.
Check out one of my go-to cookie recipes: thumbprint cookies. Photo Credit: Canva
- Meditation
Meditation is one of those hobbies that I want to get into, but find myself easily losing patience for or not being able to find time to make it a consistent thing. We all know that meditation has amazing benefits such as reducing stress and improving physical and mental health. Additionally, there are a plethora of methods for meditating, making this hobby extremely inclusive.
- Starting a collection
I never thought I’d start a collection; it seemed like a weird thing reserved for…weird people? Granted, I also never thought I’d have birds and chickens. Thus, my feather collection began. Really, they just make a nice decoration for my bookshelf.
About 30 feathers stuffed into a mason jar, ranging from cockatiel feathers to a turkey feather. Photo Credit: Macey Heys
- Coloring
Coloring is a good hobby for anyone of any age. Interestingly, it has similar benefits to meditation such as diminishing anxiety and improving mindfulness. Head to your local bookstore, dollar store, or the handy dandy Amazon to find coloring books for all ages.
- Volunteering
Volunteering is a good hobby because it is both beneficial to you and those you are volunteering with/for. My favorite volunteering opportunities include hands-on engagement that typically require being outside. However, there are volunteering opportunities that don’t even require you leaving your house.
- Gardening
Gardening is a great hobby for the warmer seasons, and (usually) results in a practical and healthy reward (or flowers, which aren’t necessarily practical or edible, but beautiful nonetheless).
Gardening gives you a reason to be outside Photo Credit: Macey Heys
- Puzzling
Once again, puzzling, like meditation and coloring, has immense benefits. Keeping the brain active through this creative activity helps improve short-term memory and problem solving. Additionally, puzzles make great gifts, cute date ideas, and fun wall art.
- Painting
Painting, for me, can be extremely meditative. When I’m not pouring over each and every detail and letting my perfectionism take over, painting is a source of relief.
- Learn an instrument
I have absolutely no musical ability, but if you enjoy listening to music, you can turn it into a productive hobby by trying to learn an instrument. If I had the patience for learning how to play an instrument, I think I would want to learn how to play the guitar (it just seems the most practical, and can create a broad spectrum of sounds from intense to serene).
Photo Credit: Canva
- Working out
Getting a gym membership or simply purchasing a yoga mat and a pair of dumbbells can help you get started in this hobby, which, more often than not, turns into an addiction (the good kind).
These are just 10 ideas to get you started. If any of them sound interesting or worth pursuing, I’d recommend dedicating a little time each day to the hobby and see how it makes you feel.
Macey Heys, Managing Editor