Many working adults have little time to spare for hobbies, and often only get the chance to do so when they retire. It’s doesn’t have to be the same for you. Despite your busy schedule, here’s how you can find and make time for your passions.
With a full-time job on top of other life responsibilities, many working adults have little to no time to engage in their hobbies, much less learn new things. However, even if you seem to have the busiest schedule in the world, there is always a way if you want to do something.
Whether you want to take piano lessons or engage in an old hobby again, here’s how you can do so despite a jam-packed schedule:
1. Stop wasting time
Analyze your daily activities and see where you’re wasting time. Even if you have a full-time job and other responsibilities at home, you might have unproductive moments that you can use for your hobbies instead. Do you often find yourself in an endless Netflix binge each night? Is your free time spent on scrolling through your social media feeds?
Identify those moments that can be used for something productive and take them as opportunities to engage in your hobbies, even if it’s just a few minutes every day.
2. Bring your hobby to work
If your hobby or passion is something portable, like drawing or photography, why not bring it to work? Use your breaks to catch up on reading, take some street photos, or draw on your sketchbook. In this way, you can use your free time at work wisely instead of spending it on your phone or chatting with your co-workers.
3. Engage in hobbies while socializing
When you finally free your schedule to hang out with friends, take the opportunity to engage in your hobbies and share it with them. For example, invite your friends to a baking class or hot yoga session; maybe attend an art exhibit or an underground concert. If you want to relax at home, try working on a project with your friends while letting a movie play in the background. In any case, lumping your social activities and hobbies together will save time and make it twice as fun.
4. Embrace multitasking
Try practicing a new language while doing the laundry or baking some cookies while you work on a spreadsheet. With multitasking, you can easily incorporate your hobbies into your schedule without actually making time for it. Just make sure you don’t burn yourself out while trying to do multiple things at once.
5. Use waiting times
Even as a busy person, you might sometimes find yourself idle, like when you’re taking the train to work or waiting for a meeting to start. What do you do when you find yourself in these moments? Do you spend it daydreaming by the window or staring at your phone in silence? If you’re simply idling during waiting times, try using it for your hobbies instead.
For example, bring a book with you so you can read on the way to work. Or if you’re trying to learn a new skill, watch videos or read educational blogs on the Internet while you wait.
6. Plot your hobby in your schedule
If you want to do something, you should make it a priority, along with work and other obligations. Hence, if you want to learn something new or finally finish that project you started eons ago, dedicate some time each week to your hobbies.
If you have trouble squeezing in your hobby sessions in your schedule, you can whittle them down into shorter times. For instance, instead of spending a full hour on knitting, spend only a good 20 minutes on it every day.
7. Take advantage of technology
Can technology make it easier for you to engage in your hobbies and passions? For example, some apps can help you learn a new language or stick to your workout routine. There are also digital solutions that can make your hobby more portable, such as digital sketchpads and SLR-level smartphones.
8. Don’t try to do everything at once
You might have a lot of hobbies that you want to do, and even more new hobbies that you want to learn, but it’s best to focus on one thing at a time. In this way, you will get to enjoy your hobbies instead of becoming stressed because there are so many things to do.
Working a full-time job and having a lot of responsibilities is not a dead-end for your passions in life. If you think that you don’t have the time to engage in your hobbies, maybe you don’t know how to make time for them, so don’t be disheartened. With these strategies, you can dip into your hobbies again without sacrificing your other essential obligations.