I’ll never forget the dreaded words…
I was in the kitchen, probably formulating a candle or lip balm, & my sister snarked at me: “what are you going to feed your kids: crafts?!”
You see, I hung out a lot with my dad growing up—gardening & woodworking & doing pushups off the coffee table (or at least, attempting to!).
Those times undoubtedly influenced my endlessly curious mind & sparked my love of learning.
I could pick a weed with a flick of the wrist, but as my teen years came, I was lightyears behind my sister’s cooking skills—& she loooved to remind me about it.
There clearly seemed to be a hierarchy of skills, especially growing up female in a Latin household. I was infinitely self-conscious about my affinity toward “frivolous” hobbies & my inability to make a decent meal.
Through this, I subconsciously learned that activities were a waste of time unless they were “productive.”
Don’t worry, eventually I did learn how to cook! & now we get to host friends & foster relationships over our favorite red lentil soup or empanadas or something else delicious (I guess sometimes, you really can have it all!).
Hobbies aren’t the antithesis of productivity—they can actually be the source of it! They are the key to an intentional & enriched life, building an identity outside of your 9-5, & even making friends as an adult.
I have had a lot of hobbies in my short lifetime. Lmk if you’ve done any of these too…
- Making bracelets
- Hand lettering
- Pottery
- Ikebana
- Making lip balm, candles, sugar scrubs, & more!
- Gift wrapping
- Exercise
- Growing microgreens & sprouts
- Plants & propagation
- Photography
- Hiking
Let’s talk about 7 benefits of hobbies & debunk the myth that they’re a waste of time!
1. You get to define productivity based on your values
Just like you get to decide your own definition of success, you also get to decide what’s productive.
Yep, you read that right!
According to Merriam-Webster, one of the definitions of productive is: “yielding results, benefits, or profits.”
Who deems something as a benefit versus a loss? Who gets to be satisfied with the outcome?
YOU.
Hobbies are productive—they’re just a different form of productivity compared to what society normally deems important.
- A yoga class that keeps you physically fit, has friends you love seeing, & grounds you & makes you a more loving parent? That’s productive.
- Making a flower arrangement that will add a pretty pop of color to your dining table & be a calming sight when you get home from a busy day? That’s productive.
- If you’re home sick, what’s more productive: getting a head start on spring cleaning, or snuggling up with good tea & an even better book?
- If you & your partner get into a huge fight, what’s more productive: doing the dishes after dinner, or talking things out?
I know it’s easier said than done, but really ask yourself what will serve you most based on the things that you value.
You are not just a cog in a machine, mija.
Life depends on science but the arts make it worth living.
Professor John Martin
2. You get comfortable being a beginner & grow confidence alongside your skills
Oof, if there’s one thing that can stop us from growth…it’s our ego 😅
Does anybody else hate beeeing bad at things?
Logically we know that it takes time to acquire skills, but practically? Gosh, we don’t like starting from zero again.
We don’t want to go through the learning process, because it’s uncomfortable. We have to be willing to be beginners again…
- Going to your first yoga class & seeing the person next to you gracefully caress the floor, when you can barely reach for your knees.
- Going to pottery & having to part with your broken works of art, while the instructor perfectly curates a multi-dish set.
- Going to an ikebana class & having instructor complete redo your flower arrangement, then say “there, now it’s good!”
Sound familiar? 👀
I once heard something that stuck with me…
When a baby is learning how to walk, we watch with joy & wonder as they stumble & grip & wobble.
We don’t think gosh, why don’t they know how to do it already! We think wow, they’re getting stronger every time.
What if we gave ourselves the same grace?
What if we celebrated every little step forward, even if we face plant after the very next step?
When an experienced corporate CEO & an earthy pilates instructor go to a ceramics class, both start at the basics. You can’t escape being a beginner.
As you keep showing up, you grow confidence in your skills that can transfer to other areas of life—that great “I’ve got this!” mentality.
Comfort builds ego, but resilience builds confidence. & who couldn’t use a little more confidence sprinkled throughout their life? ✨
With these hobbies, you never stop learning—you only move toward mastery.
Mastery is “the mysterious process during which what is at first difficult becomes progressively easier and more pleasurable through practice.”
Mastery by George Leonard
3. Make new friends through classes & community groups
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say that it’s hard to make friends as an adult… 😅
ICYMI, I wrote a blog post on how to make friends as an adult, but there is a section I want to highlight again.
When you’re a kiddo, you don’t just make friends because you’re naturally open & need more bodies to play tag or fill a kick ball team (of course this helps though!).
You make friends because you’re in constant community with people.
You see the people in class, then you see some of them at an after school club or in a sports league. You might see others at a cultural outing, then you all end up volunteering together.
But what happens when you’ve entered señora season?
You go to work, eat lunch at your desk, keep your headphones in at the gym, go home. Repeat.
Hobbies are the perfect gateway to finding classes or joining groups. You have the opportunity to be in the vicinity of like-minded folks again, in a casual atmosphere where you won’t be scorned if you have a side convo.
Photo by Mina Kwong.
I can almost guarantee you that people want to be your friend, too. Just like going to the gym, the hardest part is getting there.
Strike up a convo about how cute their earrings are, how they got interested in the class, how they want to use the new bowl or scarf or painting they’re making. Anything!
It is a bit more challenging to navigate varying schedules, childcare, date nights, side hustles, & everything else that comes with this season.
But tbh, if you wanted to, you would… 👀
One spring I was trying to plan a weekend hangout with one of my besties. We looked at our calendar & realized the next weekend we were both off wouldn’t be until July (like two months out!).
After we did a little sulking, we put it in our calendars. When the time came, we spent the whole day paddle boarding!
4. Gives you something to look forward to & adds to a sense of purpose
When I graduated from college, I felt…
Empty. Sad. Bleak.
I had spent my entire lifetime in school, & I had gotten used to working hard during the semester & then having a well-deserved break. There were clear goals & end points.
Once I started working, there wasn’t this ebb & flow anymore. It was like I had been doing sprint sets with walking breaks, but then I was expected to run with no end in sight.
What was I supposed to be working toward—retirement?? That didn’t light me up…
Hobbies give you something to look forward to.
- You can come home & get back to knitting. You know you’ll have a new cardigan soon.
- Or go to pottery class & get excited to try to make a new type of vessel.
- You could even book something like a writing or yoga retreat, working extra hours to save up & knowing you’ll get some repose soon.
Depending on how mindful you are & what your hobby is, it could also add to your sense of purpose.
- Maybe you crochet hats for people going through chemo.
- Maybe you audition for a play with your partner so you have some fun together.
- Maybe you create pottery & it’s really grounding for you!
You don’t have to do one specific hobby for it to be exciting. Honestly, sometimes that’s all frame of mind!
5. Becomes a part of your legacy (& maybe another source of income, too!)
Last week I finished my first ikebana class.
In the first session when we were discussing materials, my instructor said that if we bought high quality kenzans (flower frogs), we could even leave them for our children one day.
How cool would it be to have your kiddos or nieces or great cousins have such a special piece of you? Your favorite knitting needles, the protractor you used to draw, the compass you traversed mountains with.
Imagine your kiddos growing up seeing you explore your passions & knowing that there is more to life than earning an income & doing some chores.
Imagine them seeing you grow in your art, push your own edge of what you thought possible.
Imagine your work impacting others to also go after their own passions, creating a ripple effect that spans several families & several generations.
Woah, that gives me chills.
Imagine your hobby eventually being an extra source of income, bolstering your life-savings, funding soul-nourishing retreats, or even paying for a weekend getaway here & there.
Don’t get me wrong, your beloved pasatiempo doesn’t have to leave a legacy or create mega cash in order for it to be “worth it” (please see the other six points of this blog lol!).
AND…
If this is something that inspires you to take it more seriously, then it could be a helpful opportunity to aspire toward.
6. Your day is structured around an actionable declaration of self-love
You remember how I told you that after college, I was feeling a bit blah?
Well, I ended up going to see a therapist through my job’s EAP. To my dismay, she told me that one thing likely contributing to my sadness was that my days had no structure.
On my days off, I woke up & didn’t really have anything to…do. I didn’t have friends yet. My workouts only took 30 minutes. My family was across the country. It was winter in the midwest, so it’s not like I could easily go on a hike.
Having a hobby adds structure to your day. It gives you a reason to fully savor life on a random weekday, not waiting for the weekend to finally do something enjoyable.
I look forward to pottery on Wednesdays & movie nights on Fridays & sunsets when the weather permits.
& importantly, your days aren’t structured over someone else’s priorities: your parent’s expectations, your kid’s practices, etc.
You might be thinking, yeah yeah Samantha, you’re just encouraging me to be selfish…
& tbh, yes. I am.
Because like I talked about in my blog post about margin, the proverbial saying rings true: you can’t pour from an empty cup.
YOU need time to refill, recharge, nourish & nurture. Through that, you gain energy to give to others.
So show yourself some self-love—commit to a hobby that will make you light up any day of the week!
7. You address multiple spheres of wellness at once
In the blog post What is Wellness?, I talked about how there are 8 different spheres of wellness: physical, emotional, spiritual, professional, environmental, social, intellectual, & financial.
Hobbies can address multiple spheres of wellness at once—if that’s not “productivity,” I don’t know what is!
Don’t believe me? Let me prove it to ya…
Physical:
- It can be something that is seen as traditional exercise (rockclimbing, yoga, etc)
- It can be something that involves movement & strength, like gardening or using a ceramics wheel
- It can give you motivation to take care of your body better so that you can continue doing the thing you love
Emotional:
- Through the grounding nature of the hobby, you can lighten your emotional load
Spiritual:
- It can be very grounding & meditative
- You get to participate in creation
- It can be something related to a formal religious tradition
Financial:
- Of course, it could potentially make you income (through selling the items you make, becoming an instructor, etc)
- It can make you more resourceful so you find ways to afford the hobby you want to pursue
Social:
- I think we covered this one enough 😅
Professional:
- The confidence you gain can translate to confidence in the workplace
- You could meet people who might have new opportunities for you
- You could join a professional organization you’re passionate about
Environmental:
- You could be around cool, inspiring folks
- You might want to move to an area that has more access to what you like to do
Intellectual:
- You flex your mental muscles & learn something new
BAM! Wait, could improving your overall well-being be as simple as finding (or re-committing to) a hobby you love? 👀
You’ll have to see for yourself! 😉
Apparently I’m verrrryyyy passionate about hobbies, because I have truly seen the positive impact they’ve had on my life!
Do you have a fav hobby? How can you make it more social?
Are you on the hunt for a new hobby? What’re the options you’re dreaming up?
Lmk in the comment section!