On the joy of (non-monetised) hobbies
Learning and loving something simply for the sake of learning and loving something.
I have this theory that there is a bit of a slow unravelling going on.
Blame it on the climate crisis, lingering effects of the worst years of the pandemic or late-stage capitalism. Politics. Whatever the culprit(s), people are exhausted, they’re despondent and they’re starting to realise that whatever they thought they signed up for in life (stable and affordable housing, earning ‘enough’ money and in some cases, even putting food on the table), isn’t happening for them. In fact, it may never happen.
So, where to next?
As this year heads towards its thrilling (maybe) conclusion, I have planned a two-part series, all loosely based around the taking back of time. Your time, that is. I definitely don’t have all of the answers, but I also don’t believe bending yourself backwards for work is one of them. So, here we are.
Today’s post is about the pure joy of isolating your time, any time you feel you have available, for something that interests you. A hobby that is. An entirely, non-monetised hobby.
I hope today’s missive is a welcome distraction from world news.
Let’s get started.
Recently, I was combing through my diaries from about ten years ago. At the time of scribbling, I was in my mid-twenties, working in a very cutthroat industry and living abroad.
Looking back, my life at the time seems like a grand adventure. Yet, there was one little note in a diary entry, a little goal set for myself, that made me feel a bit sad to read and reflect on.
It said:
Find a hobby.
Ten years on, I’m happy to say this goal was kicked through the window, as my life is now full of a diverse range of hobbies. I sing in a choir, and am very into yoga, wildcrafting, cooking and gardening.
In fact, the pendulum has probably swung completely in the opposite direction, from having no discernible hobbies, to way too many. Oh well. These things happen.
I also spend a lot of time wondering why I have felt the need to monetise my hobbies in the past (and admittedly, the present).
I consider writing both a hobby and a skill – and I do earn money from this skill, having based my entire career around it.
Yoga was something I once did merely for exercise and for enjoyment – then I underwent teacher training and now teach a couple of classes a week.
I think this may be because of the following (largely applicable to my own generation, but take from it what you will).
We’ve been a bit brainwashed to believe we need to ‘do what we love’
And this need to have a career that matters is a sentiment particularly prevalent in my generation (‘Y’ or Millennial, call it what you will).
In our youth, teenage years, young adulthood, we were told we could be anything, and fed lines such as: “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Then, we entered the workforce during the Great Recession; a bit of a crash down to reality where you were lucky to even get a job.
Things were certainly a lot better in Australia than they were in many other places across the world. Yet, an entire generation has had to unravel the mantras they were told all their lives… something many of us are still muddling our way through.
Enter stage left, the side hustle.
We want work that is meaningful
We’ve been raised to want a career that is worthwhile and as a result, can feel disengaged at work and actively job hop. And then, on top of our full-time jobs, we’re encouraged to set up a side hustle – because having multiple streams of income is smart! Finally, you can get paid for your passion!
There’s a lot of unpacking to do here; a whole lifetime’s worth. And it’s not to say you shouldn’t pursue a side hustle; I’ve been doing so for over a decade now, and these ventures have helped me develop skills and brought opportunities that my ‘main’ job never would have. I just have to remember that anything that turns into a paid opportunity, can probably no longer be classed as a hobby.
It’s a hard one, because we do spend so much of our time on Earth working. It’s not surprising that anyone should want more out of it. Yet, I’ve found there’s a certain power in putting a clear barrier between work life, and the rest of life (and equally, finding a job that allows me to do just this).
Adopting a hobby for the sake of enjoyment, to me, feels like a rebellion. It’s something that is purely yours, a clear demarcation between work time and leisure time.
Yes, there are perhaps ‘better’ things you could be doing – cleaning, ironing, annoying life admin. However, these things will always be there, you’re never going to fully complete your ‘to-do’ list, so why not spend at least some of your day doing something fun?
How to begin to cultivate a hobby
Set some kind of intention
Even if the end goal isn’t to make money, I reckon it’s still helpful to think about what you may want to get out of a hobby.
Although I’m loath to set goals these days, two of my favourite, long-term hobbies came out of just that. At the start of 2017, when I was moving to Melbourne, I pencilled down two things I wanted to do:
join a choir
touch my toes.
These two relatively simple sounding goals ended up being years in the making – my choir at the time, had a 36 month wait list and I had a lot of un-knitting of muscle to go through, before my fingers could make contact with my feet. Yet the pursual of these goals helped embed two hobbies into my life - singing and yoga - that bring me much joy and happiness, alongside good health.
Start with just one hobby
Don’t take on too much at once! You don’t want to get overwhelmed before you’ve even started.
It’s pretty easy to jump straight first into a gaggle of hobbies, have a great time with it all and continue to take on more and more. Then suddenly, you’re burnt out and upset, and that’s not fun for anyone.
Perhaps start with just the one thing. Sign up for the piano lessons you’ve always wanted to take, and then engage in practice around that. Or take a cooking class and give yourself time to experiment at home.
You can either then immerse yourself completely into that particular hobby, or once you’ve accumulated some hours under your belt and gotten good at it, see if you have space in your life for other fun pursuits.
Don’t fall into the trap of ‘buying into’ your hobby
Man, consumerism sure does like to sink its claws into everything, doesn’t it?
Some hobbies do require an initial investment up front. Paying for the block of ceramic classes. Hiring a guitar from your local music store. Buying a really decent set of secateurs for gardening or an excellent knife for cooking can be quite nice. I got into long-distance hiking this year, which cemented the need for things like a good-quality backpack and tent.
Yet, have a good think about the difference between what you need to succeed in your hobby, and what you’re being told you need. You don’t need to invest in a top-quality boiler suit and horsehair paintbrushes to ‘become a painter’. The act of painting makes you a painter, and you can easily achieve this in an old, moth-eaten t-shirt, wielding the cheapest paintbrush available at Officeworks.
If you’re struggling with the investment of time, trick yourself
You might find yourself stuck in a place where you still need to feel productive with how you’re using your time. That’s okay. Maybe you could look at adopting a hobby that can kind of be disguised as a chore, at first.
Exercise is the first thing to come to mind, when you apply this lens to choosing a hobby. If you’re able-bodied and can move freely, there is joy to be found in getting the blood pumping. Want to up your cardio, but hate running? Perhaps you can experiment with walking or join a dance or aerobics class.
Maybe you want to become a reader but can’t quite find the time for fiction (I don’t fully agree with this point, but acknowledge it could happen!). Luckily, there are books published on just about every topic you could want to learn about – maybe start with a few choice non-fiction books and go from there.
Gardening is also an excellent gateway hobby, as on surface level, it feels productive. Gardens are a lot of work to maintain! Even a collection of pots or herbs on a kitchen counter require pruning, fertilising, watering and such. Yet, the payoff is wonderful – nothing beats the feeling of seeing a flower bloom on a plant YOU HAVE LOVINGLY TENDED TO or eating produce you’ve grown WITH YOUR BARE (OR GLOVED) HANDS.
Eventually, you may switch from doing the thing because you feel you need to, to doing the thing because you want to, or simply must.
Don’t feel like you have enough time?
It can certainly feel like life’s demands are squeezing everything out of us. Yet, I love the idea of incidental hobbies, borne out of a need to get things done.
Perhaps you start listening out for bird calls on your walk to work, and realise spending time with feathered friends sings to your heart.
You could learn to embroider or knit during Zoom meetings. Cooking is a chore most of us have to engage in, but perhaps you could borrow out a fun looking cookbook from your local library and slowly make your way through it. You might even find you can squeeze ten minutes out of your time before or in bed to meditate.
Try to let the things you don’t need to do fall to the wayside
We’re kinda tricked into thinking there are things in life that we absolutely must do. Your house must be clean. You need to exercise every day. Meal prepping is of paramount importance.
I made fun of all this recently in a post that examined the perfect morning routine. But - real talk - the secret to having time for hobbies is not staying up until 4am, doing what you actually want to do.
It’s having a real hard think about your priorities.
What do you need to do to get through the day? Feeding yourself and dependents, your paid job, caring duties, time with pets, etc.
What do you want to do? Your hobby or reserving the right to do nothing at all.
And what can fall into the wayside? Most other things.
Hobbies are not just for retirees, children, or men who like to wear lycra on the weekend. They’re for everyone – particularly women, too.
Feel free to abandon your hobby if it’s not serving you
And last but not least, if you no longer have an interest in a hobby, feel free to close it off as a chapter of your life, and move on.
We all have enough icky things in our day to day that need attention. Don’t add another one to your list.
Okay, that’s enough from me this week. I’d love to hear about your hobbies in the comments (the weirder and wilder, the better).
I’ll see you next week, where we take a good, hard look at the very rebellious act of resting. Update, here it is:
‘Til then, stay well and well-fed.
-Celine
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Great advice…along with great photos! Sometimes hobbies (such an interesting word!) just present themselves don’t you think? You may be watching something on TV or chatting to someone about something they are doing and suddenly you think…I wouldn’t mind learning more about that and bang…so begins a foray into a new venture!
Very timely writing!