We live in a culture that quietly insists everything should be productive. Even our spare time is supposed to be a side hustle or self-improvement. Against that backdrop, a hobby done purely for enjoyment can feel almost guilty, a waste of time that could be spent more usefully. That instinct is doing us harm.
What hobbies actually give us
A hobby with no goal beyond enjoyment is one of the few things that pulls us fully out of work mode. It provides flow, the absorbing state where time slips by and worries recede. It gives a sense of progress and mastery that has nothing to do with our job. And it often connects us to other people who share the interest.
Research on wellbeing keeps finding that people with absorbing leisure activities tend to be less stressed and report higher life satisfaction. The hobby is not stealing from a productive life. It is part of a healthy one.
Permission to be bad at it
The key, oddly, is to let yourself be mediocre.
- Choose something for the doing, not for an outcome
- Resist the urge to monetise it or turn it into a goal
- Let yourself be a beginner without judging the results
- Protect the time as you would any other appointment
The reframe
A hobby is not the leftover scrap of time after the important things. For your mind, it may be one of the important things. Painting badly, growing wonky vegetables or playing an instrument no one else hears is not time wasted. It is time spent being a person, which turns out to be rather good for your health.