Balancing Busyness and Joy: Tips for Pursuing Your Hobbies
Four takeaways:
While difficult to do amid the stress of our daily lives, making time for hobbies and activities that bring joy and fulfillment have been shown to reduce stress, prevent burnout, and enhance overall well-being. Long term neglect of these passions, however, may lead to boredom, dissatisfaction, and even depression.
Here are some key tips for making sure you make the time for your passions:
- Prioritize Your Time– Look at your schedule for spots of 30 extra minutes or small windows where you might be able to fit in some time to read up on or practice your hobby. Look for meetings and weekly tasks that can be grouped or consolidated to free up time in your schedule.
- Set Realistic Goals– Once you’ve found time in the schedule, do not waste it by setting unachievable goals. Start slow and do not expect yourself to master a hobby or passion overnight. Doing so will negate the positive effects of pursuing the hobby, and make it far more likely that you stop pursuing it in the long term.
- Combine Your Passions with Other Activities– If your schedule is packed to the point of inflexibility, look for ways to bring your passions into other activities. Listen to audiobooks as you commute or do less mentally strenuous work. Incorporate your hobby into your social life, if possible– scheduling activities like group hikes or knitting circles.
- Make Your Hobbies Portable– Bring your passion with you wherever you go. If you are an erstwhile writer or poet, bring a notebook with you. If you are a yoga enthusiast, be intentional about bringing your yoga mat with you on business trips, or to and from work– and then find a place to practice is that is easily accessible within your daily routine. This helps you maximize your opportunity to take advantages of small, but important windows in your routine.
Your hobbies and passions are an absolutely essential part of who you are. Making time for them is essential to your selfhood, and will have positive effects on all other aspects of your life.
By by Mindsol
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