How do you spend your free time? Do you have free time?
Do you practice a hobby when you break from your work, your business, your obligations, or even your passion?
When you’re not working, do you feel so tired or guilty that you can’t have fun?
A hobby is an activity you enjoy doing with little or no focus on the long game or the end results. You do it for fun or leisure in your free time.
Your work or your business can be your passion. But even if you enjoy them, they are not your hobby. They come with risks and consequences that can affect your income, your reputation, and your status.
A hobby and a passion can be related, but there are subtle differences between the two. A passion is a strong feeling for something you would love to do repeatedly and regularly. It could be your vocation or calling that transcends your profession or career. It is sometimes connected to your work, life goals or big dreams.
With a hobby, it’s easier to take it or leave it, depending on what’s going on in your life. When you already have a full schedule with many obligations and demands to meet, why would you add a hobby to it? If a hobby is something you can live without, why even bother having one?
In episode 21 of The Incrementalist podcast, you will learn:
1) A hobby and a passion might be connected, but are not the same
- The difference between pursuing your passion like a profession versus like a hobby
- The difference between a secondary, casual hobby and a primary, serious hobby
2) Why maintaining a hobby that delights you is a double-win practice for life and work
3) Hobbies fall into different categories, including –
- exercise or movement
- outdoor recreation and activity
- entertainment and information consumption
- collecting things
- creative endeavors
4) The multiple reasons to find and keep a hobby you love –
- develops the meta skill of learning
- enhances your creativity
- boosts your confidence in all areas of life
- increases patience and perseverance
- builds resilience and willpower
- breaks monotony and gets you out of a rut
- recharges your energy and refreshes you physically, mentally and emotionally
- centers and grounds you
- builds connections and social bonds
- makes you and your life more interesting
- lets you have more fun in your life
5) How to rediscover or discover a hobby you love
6) Unnecessary creating is part of making big changes in small steps. In celebration of the 20th episode of The Incrementalist podcast, the accompanying ebook is now on sale for $4.99 (up to June 20). Check it out at leanpub.com/incrementalist.
Resources cited:
- Michael Hyatt & Megan Hyatt Miller, Win at Work and Succeed at Life: 5 Principles to Free Yourself from the Cult of Overwork
- Dyan Williams, The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps
- The Incrementalist podcast, Ep. 19, Create Peak Moments for a Meaningful Life
To listen to episode 21, Find and Keep a Hobby You Love, click here. Subscribe to The Incrementalist at Apple Podcasts or other apps.
If you prefer to read, download transcript of episode 21.
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Dyan Williams is a solo lawyer who practices U.S. immigration law and legal ethics at Dyan Williams Law PLLC. She is also a productivity coach who helps working parents, lawyers, small business owners and other busy people turn their ideas into action, reduce overwhelm, and focus on what truly matters. She is the author of The Incrementalist: A Simple Productivity System to Create Big Results in Small Steps.
