Pursuing your Hobbies

Hobbies are constantly seen as a pastime, something to help you destress from times of constant workload or just to keep you entertained. We all have hobbies, some may be passive whilst others are more active. Despite this, your hobbies help to define the type of person you are, so you should begin to pay more attention to how your hobbies influence your work and social life. work life and social life.

Hobbies help to distract us from the problems we face in the world, keep a routine, and keep us grounded when our mental health begins to decline. Although we may face failures or we might get stuck on the game that we’re playing, hobbies help to reinforce transferable skills that we can use in the world. For example, playing video games and an instrument such as the drums If you take playing video games and playing an instrument like the drums as an example, you’ll notice that these both use eye-hand coordination to work well. The better you are at these activities, the better you are at having good eye-hand coordination. They often say that drummers are good at driving and that is due to them that is as a result of them having good eye-hand coordination. Not many people realise that the skills gained from different hobbies are transferable so you can see them being used in real-life scenarios. Especially if you maintain a routine with your hobbies, it shows resilience and good time management.

Unfortunately, when it comes to picking a hobby, you may find yourself dancing between multiple options. I find myself picking up multiple hobbies whenever something gets too difficult with what I am currently doing or I believe I am working too slowly. Also, because I find a lot of things interesting, I want to try to do all those interests at the same time without having a stable understanding of at least one. There is nothing wrong with doing multiple activities but you must consider how it affects your time management and your dedication to other events or responsibilities in your life. 

I soon learnt that I needed to find a couple of hobbies that I would focus on first before I move onto something else. Not that I was neglecting any of my interests but rather I was focusing more on them I was making them more focused so I would be able to dedicate more time to them later on. I soon realised I could use these hobbies to make extra income. As a result, I realise from what knew with the hobbies I focused more on I could use that to make another stream of income for myself. As a university student with a heavy timetable, I wasn’t able to find myself having time for a part-time job, therefore making money from the accessories and toy animals I created from knitting, made it easier for me to have some money on the side for me to treat myself with or even buy more equipment for university. I also learnt how to manage my time with other responsibilities, so now my time management is much better than it ever has been.

My advice when it comes to hobbies would be:

1. Pick a set of hobbies you’ve focused on recently more than others and use that to occupy your main time. Focusing on a maximum of three hobbies is enough to keep yourself entertained as well and grounded alongside your other responsibilities. You only need a maximum of three so you can rotate between them when you feel that you’re getting exhausted or frustrated with that particular hobby.
   
2. Set a couple of tasks that you’d like to achieve with your hobbies so that you’re not feeling at a loss with where to go next. Deadlines, tasks, and goals are good ways to motivate you to move onto the next stage of something in your life. Don’t try to be too harsh on yourself when it comes to these goals, however, remember that these are still your hobbies, don’t set yourself tasks and deadlines that make your hobbies become more of a burden than something you enjoy.
   
3. Look for ways you can make money with your hobby. For example, if your hobby is playing an instrument maybe you can become a session player from time to time, teach other people to play that instrument or even make music on the side. If your hobby is something like knitting, painting or drawing, perhaps you could sell your work on websites such as Depop and Etsy. Handmade items are becoming more and more popular so finding an audience that will like what you produce will encourage you to create more.​
   

Don’t forget that your hobbies help to make your character. As your hobbies begin to evolve so will your skills and personality. You’ll find yourself having more to say about who you are and hopefully become a more well-rounded person. Hobbies don’t need to be just limited to a pastime or distraction, see them as something that helps you progress in life and that way you’ll be more determined to improve in all areas of your life. There is always more you can do with your hobby so continue to explore all the different possibilities and see where it can take you.

-Tabitha