Working to Live: The Importance of Hobbies
Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought millions of people to a standstill. As a result, people have more downtime than ever, but the question of how to divide this downtime into something meaningful has perplexed those who are used to working full shifts at a place of business. People should have a work-life balance so they are not working too much or having too much leisure time. Hobbies can even improve your life in ways you wouldn’t think of, such as improving your mental health. With infinite options, there is bound to be a perfect hobby for you, maybe even more than one!
At PeaceX, our goal for the pandemic is to reflect on ways to improve positive peace. Therefore, we’re delving into hobbies; how they can bring about positivity, improve one’s feeling of productivity, and how they could lead to professional connections and work opportunities into the future.
Who Says You Shouldn’t Have Hobbies?
All work and no play can be just as bad as no work and all play.
While work is important to gain money, experience, and ultimately increase your value, having hobbies can lead to similar outcomes. However, there are institutions and parts of society that don't seem to agree with this. School, for example, pushes students towards strong work ethics and assigns a great deal of homework and studying that sucks up time and energy. School already takes up a large portion of the day, so the after-school hours spent on homework and studying leaves very little time for other activities. Some may argue that there are after-school activities to prevent this, but these clubs and sports teams interrupt unstructured playtime, which promotes social skill development, problem-solving skills, and creativity. Furthermore, it creates an even more complicated schedule for students who need to juggle school, activities, sleep, a social life, and unstructured playtime.
Dr. Harpreet Kaur, a licensed clinical psychologist for kids and teens at CHOC Children’s in Orange County, California says, “When kids are too overscheduled and stressed, they’re more prone to anxiety, irritability, tiredness and destructibility,” but this can be prevented if schools promote a better balance between work and play.
A second push away from people developing hobbies comes from social stigmas that have been developed around who can participate in certain hobbies. Why do boys need to be on sports teams and girls participate in dance or arts and crafts? Are certain people too old to learn how to play video games or learn a new language? Should handicapped people be left out of activities because they may struggle with them? The answer to these questions and others like them is no, but unfortunately that’s not what everyone believes. What’s even worse is that this can cause people to self-stigmatize, which is particularly damaging, and is said to occur when individuals internalize stigmatizing social attitudes and come to believe the negative societal conceptions and stereotypes associated with their condition.
People should feel free to be passionate about whatever they want and spend their free time doing what makes them happy, such as gardening, writing, art, and many others. So go and try any hobby that you find interesting, even if you think you are “too this” or “too that.” Having a hobby is too valuable to give up because of the way others think.
Why You Should Have Hobbies
Hobbies are a great way to decompress after a long day at work or on your day off. When life becomes too overwhelming, your hobbies can help you relax. Doing something you enjoy outside of work can be beneficial for your mental health. Having hobbies can lower anxiety, lower your stress level, and help cope with depression.
Hobbies help you form a life outside of work. You are just relaxing and doing something you enjoy without any of the pressures of the outside world. You don’t have to do something as structured as you would at work or school. You don’t have the added stress of attending on time to participate, or working with a group, or completing a task by a specific time. These aspects are what make hobbies have such a positive outcome. When you are stressed, you can go paint, exercise, read, or do a plethora of other activities to lessen the amount of stress you have.
Hobbies can also increase your interaction with people and the value you can bring to each other. Participating in hobbies with others can sometimes make the hobby more enjoyable because you are doing something you enjoy with people who have the same love and passion for the activity that you have. This can also impact your interaction with your family. When you find a new hobby, you can share it with your family. This gives you more time spent with your family and you are doing something you all enjoy.
Another reason why you should get a hobby is to gain knowledge. Hobbies often teach you things that can have a positive impact on your life. The knowledge you could gain from a hobby will stay with you for life, meaning you could use this knowledge when you are 35 or when you are 85. After you figure out if you want to get a hobby, the next step is finding the right hobby for you.
Finding the Right Hobby for You
It’s easy to understand how hobbies may benefit your life, but not every hobby will be a good fit for you. Choosing a hobby is all about what interests you outside of your work life. For example, if you work at a desk all day but love being active, you could choose a hobby that allows you to indulge in your active side. Some hobbies that you could partake in are hiking (especially if you love being outdoors), dancing,exercising, yoga, and swimming.
What’s also great about hobbies is that a lot of them can be done by yourself or in a class setting. For example, with yoga you can likely find many group classes in your area, but you can also do it from the comfort of your own home with the abundance of yoga videos on YouTube.
If physical activity isn’t your preferred way to spend your free time, there are so many other hobbies to pick from. You could try your hand at cooking or baking (everyone loves food!). If you’d like to get involved with your community, try researching volunteer opportunities in your area. There are many remote volunteer opportunities available now as well due to the pandemic if you don’t feel comfortable with in-person volunteer work. The list of potential hobbies goes on.
Whether you love reading or painting, learning a new language or learning a new instrument, or journaling or gardening, it’s all about what is most enjoyable to you. If you’re still struggling with choosing at least one hobby to pick up, take a bit of time to reflect on what you are most drawn to. It’s never too late to pick up a new skill!
Conclusion
With the rise of remote work, the divide between our work and play schedules is becoming less and less distinct. Having hobbies you’re interested in helps maintain a balance between your professional and personal life so you’re not spending every waking hour focused on your work. Take a break from work and the stresses that come with it. There are many activities and hobbies to try, so explore and find what interests you.
To learn more about how to keep yourself busy and what you can do during these crazy times, sign up for the Peace Innovation newsletter here!
Written and edited by: Catherine Quinn, Neil McNair Jr., David Gerstenfeld, Dieondra Garner, Raaghav Seth, Jake Lieberstein, and Inesse Hanna