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As we mentioned in our last post there are plenty of negative effects of burning out and not having a balance between your "work life" and your "home life" (i.e. your life outside of work). In our WFH Series post no. 3 we talked about how staying busy can improve your mental health, specifically in the context of the mandated lockdown for COVID-19. Some people stay busy by working more, but our WFH Series post no. 4 aimed to make it clear that keeping busy all the time with work isn't healthy. So how can we stay busy with something in a healthy way? You guessed it, hobbies!
First, let's define what a hobby is. As per the dictionary, a hobby is defined as "an activity you do for pleasure when you are not working"[2]. So technically, anything you do for fun can be considered a hobby. That being said, psychologically speaking, there are a few important distinctions that can be made to increase the benefits you can get from having hobbies. A study in 2010 developed a statistically sound psychological measure of health benefits in those with a hobby. Some of those benefits included: better physical health, more sleep, lower stress, higher levels of happiness, more friends, longevity, and improved work performance[3]. Another key component that makes a hobby meaningful is having a sense of purpose in the activity. Simply going through the motions of doing it isn't enough unless you are challenging your mind and/or your body, and creating purpose in what you are doing to help you tap into its benefits.
So, let's unpack this a bit more and take a look at some of those key details.
Most obviously, hobbies that keep you active or moving will have a positive impact on your health by keeping you fit and reducing the risks of obesity and health related complications. Sports or exercise related hobbies have the ability to increase your happiness by releasing endorphins, help boost your immune system, improve your cognitive function, strengthen your muscles and bones, improve your gross motor skills and much more [4&5]. Hobbies in this area can include but are not limited to organized sports (such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis etc.), solo exercise activities (like running, swimming, biking, skiing/snowboarding, skating etc.) or even group exercise activities and classes (yoga, crossfit, zumba, pilates, ballet, dance etc.).
Activities that are creative in nature, such as playing or listening to music, painting, drawing, embroidery, sewing, pottery, writing, etc., use the right side of your frontal cortex. Much like anything else, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. Believe it or not, there are also plenty of health benefits from getting your creative juices flowing. Engaging in creative hobbies have shown to reduce your chance of dementia, boost your immune system, and increase levels of happiness.
Believe it or not, your pets can also be your hobby! Most pets take up a lot of your time, but can also bring you a lot of joy and lower potential feelings of loneliness. Especially with pets that require time outside, it automatically leads you to get some physical exercise in your day and has also shown individuals to have lower cholesterol and blood pressure. However, just owning a pet isn't enough to consider them your hobby, but for many people owning a pet means taking them to classes, taking care of their health, grooming them, intellectually stimulating them, and providing them with a safe and comfortable environment. All these things take a lot of time and responsibility. So, pets can be like your hybrid-hobby in that they can tap into benefiting your physical health as well as challenging yourself to take responsibility in training and taking care of another live being.
Cooking and gardening can also count as hybrid-hobbies as they can be both physical and creative in nature. Don't tell me you've never worked up a sweat over the stove when making a nice roast for a party or digging up a flower bed and pulling weeds! Some people like to have two hobbies, one physical, one creative, some would rather have one over the other, or some can knock two birds with one stone and be creative while being physically active. Ultimately, whichever type of hobby you choose creates time for yourself and for the things you enjoy to do the most!
One of our Managing Partners, Nic Chu, has a huge hobby of cooking food. During this quarantine, he challenged himself to try making bread from scratch. Take a look below as Nic teaches us step-by-step on how to make a sourdough starter as well as a bonus recipe in making green onion pancakes!
In conclusion, as easy as it can be to busy yourself with work, it is just as important to keep busy doing something for yourself and having a hobby or two. In order to make sure you are making time for your hobbies in your daily routine, our next post will talk about intention setting as things slowly start opening up and we try resume into our 'new normal'.
[1] Purposeful Activity - Hobbies
[4] 7 Surprising Benefits of Exercise
[5] Here’s how Creativity actually Improves your Health
