A Full Guide On How To Start A New Hobby

Introduction

A hobby can be defined as ‘an activity or interest pursued pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation’. Nowadays, too many people are so focused on their work schedule that they neglect their downtime and don’t take full advantage of it. 

Working too much can be stressful, leading to a number of different health issues. We need to learn to accept the fact that not everything we do has to concern our career. Don’t get us wrong – bettering your career is important too, but life is all about balance. 

As children, we were excellent at picking up new hobbies at the drop of a hat. However, as we mature into adults, we lose interest in learning new things and forget how much hobbies could enrich our lives. 

Today we’re going to be looking at everything you need to know before starting a new hobby, from the benefits to the different types that you could choose from. So, if you’re ready to get out of that slump and pick up a new hobby, keep reading. 

Benefits Of Having A Hobby

First, let’s take a look at the benefits of obtaining a hobby. Perhaps you thought that a hobby wouldn’t improve your life in any way, but we’re here to tell you that this is incorrect. Below are just some of the benefits of having a hobby. 

Improves Confidence & Self-Esteem

It can be daunting to start something new, as a lot of us are scared to fail. 

In fact, a survey found that 1 in 3 Americans are scared of failure. 

However, succeeding at a hobby can greatly improve confidence by giving you a sense of accomplishment that you didn’t have before. 

Even better, every time that you improve your skill level, you’ll feel this confidence boost all over again. 

As you get used to excelling at something, you will become more confident in every aspect of your life as you’ll be achieving things that you didn’t think were possible. 

Feeling good about yourself in one area of life seeps into others, giving you overall a more positive outlook on yourself and life. Positive emotions allow you to explore more options through a broadened perspective rather than negative emotions that narrow your perspective. 

For example, your emotions and self-confidence after your 10th swimming class will be much different from that of your first swimming class. Try it for yourself and see the difference in your self-esteem!  

Stress Relief

Hobbies are all about having fun – if you’re not enjoying yourself, you might want to reconsider your choice of hobby. Setting aside a certain amount of time every week or day allows you to switch off from the stressors in your life. 

Hobbies are a fun and healthy method of taking your mind off of things for a while. 

Now, you might be thinking that adding another task to your schedule will only cause more stress, particularly if you seem to have a hectic schedule all day, every day. 

However, hobbies are different from tasks that you have to do – they should be something that you want to do. If your hobby feels like work rather than fun, try a new hobby!

Exercise can also be classed as a hobby as long as you’re enjoying it, such as kickboxing or swimming. Exercise can pump up your endorphins and make you feel good in yourself, alleviating your stress for the rest of the day. 

Other hobbies are just so peaceful that stress cannot help but melt away. For example, fishing or bird watching are two incredibly quiet and relaxing hobbies that will ensure that you come away from your session feeling relaxed and less stressed. 

Helps You Meet New People

Feeling alone every time you leave work? Does it feel as though you don’t have any substantial relationships outside of the four walls of the workplace? 

If so, a communal hobby could help you to meet new people and create new friendships and relationships. 

Chances are that you’re not the only person who likes the same things as you do, so there will be new people out there to meet. This could be to do with music, sports, or arts.

Meeting people with the same interests as you can create stronger bonds and more fulfilled friendships. A great hobby to connect with new people is dancing.

Whether that be hip hop, ballroom, or samba is up to you. But getting close to others and working together to create a final product allows you to see the same people each session and get to know each other on a personal level. 

Promotes Mindfulness

Focusing on one task at a time can promote mindfulness, sometimes being even more effective than mindfulness exercises. 

Hobbies often force you to enter a flowing state, for example, knitting is a repetitive task that you continue for rows and rows. 

Hobbies take concentration to achieve a goal, such as knitting a hat or a tricky set of gloves. This concentration allows you to center your mind on the task at hand, allowing the stress within your mind to go away. 

Many believe that the ability to connect your mind to your body allows you to bring yourself into the current moment, creating mindfulness. So, if you’re not a fan of meditation, give a new hobby a try. 

Helps You Widen Your Knowledge & Skills

Skill-building can be particularly confidence-boosting and enjoyable, so a hobby can be a great way to enhance your knowledge. 

We’re not necessarily talking about skills that translate into your work life, though. You can learn things that have nothing to do with your career! 

Some people thrive off of learning new things and skills. 

This can alleviate your mood, give you a more positive outlook on life, and encourage you to continue learning new things. 

A hobby such as learning a new language can help you if you’re wanting to travel the world or become more inclusive of other cultures. Plus, being bilingual is very impressive to those around you. It can help get new job opportunities, as well. 

Widening your knowledge does not just apply to learning new languages, though. You can learn a plethora of skills with any hobby that catches your interest, so this is a great benefit of picking one up.

Keeps You Active

As we’ve already mentioned, exercise is a fantastic hobby to have. It can make you more physically fit, aid your mental wellbeing, and keep you active.

Rather than finishing work to go home and sit on the couch, what about keeping active for an hour beforehand? 

Of course, there are so many benefits that come with being active – lower blood pressure, less risk of obesity, and a healthier heart.

But it’s not just about keeping physically active. 

Don’t be discouraged if you do not want to take up an exercise-based hobby – other hobbies keep you active too. It’s simply a different kind of keeping active. Any hobby keeps your brain busy and concentrated on the task at hand, meaning that your brain is keeping active too. Studies have shown that this increases your brain vitality. 

Hobbies can build up brain muscle and make it easier to learn new things more quickly. There is even some research that suggests that this prevents diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimers. 

Can Help Your Career

Okay, so if you’re really set on boosting your career 24 hours a day, hobbies can also help aid your career. For example, if your career as a copywriter and your hobby were reading or writing fiction, the skills you learn during your hobby would translate well into your career. 

A study at San Francisco State University showed that employees who had creative hobbies outside of the office were better at problem-solving creatively during their work time. 

With a subject pool of 439 workers and military personnel, the study found that having a hobby gave the workers better recovery from their demanding jobs, an increased sense of control, and some workers learned new skills that could be translated into their work. 

Similarly, hobbies can also help you earn more income. Perhaps this is due to the fact that your increased work performance has impressed your boss and warranted a raise, or maybe you can sell the results from your hobby to generate some income on the side. 

For example, any artsy hobbies allow you to sell your designs online and create some more money. You could also get your musical ability out there and create a following which could generate you more income. The possibilities are endless! 

Choosing The Right Hobby For You

As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to picking up a new hobby. However, you are only going to benefit from these if you choose the right hobby for you. Take a look at your life and think about what hobbies would be ideal for you. 

Below we have listed a number of factors that might influence your decision on how to choose the right hobby for you. 

Your Age

Some hobbies are more appealing than others when it comes to your age. For example, younger adults might have more of a desire to learn skateboarding than older adults. Likewise, older adults might prefer to learn Jiu-Jitsu while younger adults opt for Taekwondo. This is because Jiu-Jitsu is still a martial art, but it is a more gentle form of the craft. 

Your age will also determine whether you have a busy schedule or not. Retired adults will have more free time to learn a hobby than working adults. 

How Much Free Time You Have

Linking to what we just said, the more free time you have will determine which hobby you can pick up. For example, a professional with a hectic schedule might not want to pick up a taxing hobby such as learning a new instrument which requires hours of study a day. 

Instead, they might opt for an active hobby or learning a new craft that can be picked up as and when they are free. 

However, if you have more free time on your hands and want to learn a new hobby that is very time-consuming, you have more options at your disposal. Some of the most time-consuming but worthwhile hobbies are beekeeping, origami, DIY, and calligraphy. 

What You Want To Get Out Of It

Are you wanting to learn a new hobby to meet new people, learn new skills, or make money on the side of your career? There are many reasons why someone might want to get into a hobby, each of which will affect what types of hobbies that you could take up. 

Meeting new people is best done with hobbies that are team-based, such as sports teams, dancing, or craft classes. These places are ideal to meet new people with like-minded interests like you. 

On the other hand, fishing is an excellent example of a hobby that is not the best for meeting new people. There is a fishing etiquette that you should follow, including a strict rule of not interrupting other anglers to prevent scarring their catch away. 

If you want to learn new skills, you can pick up almost any hobby that you haven’t got much experience in. However, picking up a hobby that is very similar to your career or something that you already know how to do is not going to be the best for your skill-building wish. 

As we’ve already mentioned, there is the potential to earn some money from hobbies. You can sell crafts such as embroidery or sewn garments, get money from streams of your music on social media, or enter sports competitions that have a monetary reward. 

Your Interests

In many cases, your interests directly correlate with the hobbies that you can partake in. Interests are often a desire to learn something new, which picking up a hobby can help you with. 

If you’re interested in reading non-fiction books and pick up a hobby of singing, you’re still going to have that interest but less time to explore it. Instead, you should choose a hobby that aids your interests, which in this case would be reading. 

Picking up a new hobby is an excellent way of learning something new that matches your interests. You will feel more fulfilled once you have explored your interests rather than constantly having them in the back of your mind. 

So, if you have a particular interest that can translate into a hobby, this is an excellent way of finding the right hobby for you. 

How To Start A New Hobby

Like with anything, thinking about it is much easier than actually doing it. Starting a new hobby might sound appealing, but actually putting that into action can be much harder than you first thought. 

Below we have listed the basic steps of how to start your hobby. The most difficult part of learning something new is actually starting it, so once you get started with the hobby it will get easier and easier with each session. Before you know it, your hobby will be second nature to you. 

Write A List Of All The Interests/Things You’ve Wanted To Try

As we have mentioned earlier, interests are your desire to learn something new. 

Interests can come from all areas of your life, such as natural curiosity, family or friend experiences, or professional goals. 

For example, you might want to learn karate because your child has come home from school raving about how fun their gym class was when they learned the karate basics. 

It is human nature to have plenty of interests, so write all of your interests down on a piece of paper as well as everything you’ve always wanted to try. An example of your list could be as follows: 

• Bungee jump
• Competing in rowing competitions
• Learn an instrument
• Read the encyclopedias
• Travel to every continent
• Skydive
• Knit a sweater for nan
• Volunteer for a charity

All of these are interests that could be translated into hobbies. Below are the hobbies that you could take up to help you achieve your interests or get you closer to what you want to try: 

As you can see, many interests can be easily turned into hobbies. Chances are that you’re not the first person to have an interest in something, so search for others who have had the same interests as you and have turned them into hobbies. 

Think About How It Will Benefit YOU

Now that you have your list of interests, think about which of them are going to benefit you the most.

We’ve already shown you how many benefits that can come with starting a hobby, so make sure that you find the one that aids you in the best way. 

Here is the list again:

• Bungee jump
• Competing in rowing competitions

• Learn an instrument
• Read the encyclopedias
• Travel to every continent
• Skydive
• Knit a sweater for nan
• Volunteer for a charity

For example, if you’ve always had an interest in rowing but never had the push to get you going, those extra pounds on the scales could be enough to finally get you rowing. If you want to begin exercising to improve your physical and mental fitness, rowing would be the most beneficial hobby for you. 

Alternatively, if you want to learn more information about the world and what it has to offer due to your impending appearance on a game show, you might want to focus on reading non-fiction books. This will be the most beneficial hobby for you to take up in this instance. 

There are so many ways that your different hobbies could benefit you no matter which one you choose to pick up. However, don’t rush into the decision if you think that there is a more useful hobby out there for you. 

Think About Whether You Can Fully Commit To It

Again, hobbies can be time-consuming when you have to commit to something. 

A language can take up to 5 years to master, and that requires you to study it for at least 30 minutes every day.

If you don’t want to commit yourself to a 5-year hobby, perhaps it isn’t the right one for you. 

You need to be realistic when it comes to how much time you have to practice your hobby.

Sure, it might be nice to partake in singing lessons to perfect your voice, but do you really have enough free hours in your weekly schedule to put enough work in to reap the rewards? 

People with a more relaxed schedule will be able to learn the more time-consuming hobbies while busy professionals should stick to hobbies that are fun and require less attention. While it is possible for you to pick up a time-consuming hobby, you should be careful of stretching yourself thin. 

For example, if you have a hectic schedule that looks like this:

• 9 AM: Wake up
• 10 AM: Meeting
• 11 AM: Work
• 12 PM: Lunch
• 1 PM: Client meeting
• 2 PM: Administrative tasks
• 3 PM: Appointment 
• 4 PM: Work
• 5 PM: Work
• 6 PM: Catchup with Jo
• 7 PM: Dinner
• 8 PM: Quality time with family
• 9 PM: Downtime
• 10 PM: Sleep

You only have one hour that has the potential to be a good time to learn a hobby. So, a time-consuming hobby is simply not going to work for you. Although we said that adding another thing to your schedule could be beneficial earlier, you need to keep everything in perspective. 

Sure, there is nothing wrong with adding an hour of sewing to your schedule when learning it. However, trying to cram three hours of guitar lessons into your schedule can make you very stressed and lead you to overwork yourself. 

Do Your Research

Research is important when it comes to picking a new hobby so that you know whether it is an achievable option for you.

You should research both money and time when choosing a new hobby. 

For example, fencing might sound like a great hobby for you when it comes to your interests and how much time you need to invest into it.

However, the membership fees are higher than you’d like to spend and therefore you’re not going to be able to keep up with the hobby for a long time. 

Alternatively, sewing is a relatively inexpensive hobby that is something that you’ve always wanted to take up. However, you need to put quite a few hours into this hobby as it can be much harder than you first might think. 

Another issue is whether or not your schedule can accommodate the schedule of your hobby. For example, karate class might only be one hour long and therefore a manageable amount of time to fit into your schedule. 

However, the only karate class at your gym is held at 11 AM only. Unfortunately, this is when you have your daily meeting with your work team and therefore your work schedule will not allow for this hobby. 

Before you get your hopes up on one hobby, make sure that you do your research beforehand. This will show you which hobbies you can and cannot participate in quickly to prevent you from getting too excited about something that is not attainable for you. 

Enjoy Your New Hobby!

You’ve done enough research now that you’d have a good idea of which hobbies you can and cannot partake in. You might have a list of potential hobbies, or you have found just one that interests you much more than all the others. 

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and jump right into your hobby. What’s the worst that could happen? 

Even if you’re worried about being introduced into a new group of people or not being good at a new skill, all your stresses will melt away once you get more comfortable with the hobby. 

Research has shown that people that practice hobbies are less likely to suffer from depression, low moods, and stress. They can make you more relaxed and overall happier, and group hobbies can also improve your communication skills with new and existing people in your life.

Once you get over the initial worry of starting something new, we bet that your hobby will make you much happier with a more enriched and fulfilled schedule. 

Review Your Experience

Once you’ve finished the initial session of your hobby, you should review how you feel about it now. Some people think that they are going to love something but actually end up not liking it as much as they thought, which is fine. 

For example, you might have always wanted to write a book from when you were a small child. However, after your initial creating writing class you’ve decided that it’s not for you. 

Consider whether this is because you definitively do not like creative writing or whether you were uncomfortable with an unfamiliar situation. If it’s the former, you can simply let it go and choose another hobby to try. 

However, if the latter rings more true to you then you should consider trying again and giving the hobby a few more sessions before giving up on it completely. You might find that the next few sessions are much more positive than the initial taster. 

Different Types Of Hobbies

If you’re still unsure about the best hobby for you to pick up, we have listed the most popular options out there for you to choose from. Of course, these are not the only hobbies out there to try, but they might kickstart your search to find the ideal one for you.

Crafting Hobbies

Sewing 

Sewing is an excellent skill to learn that can aid you in plenty of situations in life. Once you purchase a sewing machine the rest is relatively inexpensive and easy to learn. With so many techniques, you’ll always have more to study. 

Balloon Twisting  

A basic balloon crafting kit and a couple of lessons will get you started with balloon twisting. Not many people consider this as a hobby which makes it all the more interesting to us. 

Embroidery  

There are plenty of embroidery kits online for you to purchase to get into this hobby. There is no end to what you might want to embroider, so you’ll never get bored with this hobby. 

Jewelry Making  

All you need are some basic tools and materials to make your own jewelry. Many small businesses have earned a nice amount of money selling their crafts online. 

Leather Crafting  

There are plenty of starter kits online to get you started in leather crafting. 

Scrapbooking  

Fun, inexpensive, and you’ll be left with books full of memories that you can look back on for years to come. 

Soap Making  

Great gifts are handmade soaps. You can also avoid the harmful chemicals that store-bought soaps include. 

Woodworking  

Woodworking leaves you with plenty of skill to create your own ornaments and even furniture. 

Origami  

A time-consuming process, origami is a great hobby if you have lots of time and steady hands. 

Knitting or Crocheting  

Knitting and crocheting are fun, inexpensive, and leave you with cute little crafts that you’ve made. We love this hobby as it doesn’t require too much thought once you get the hang of it. 

Flower Arranging  

Flower arranging is much harder than it sounds. An added bonus is that you’ll always have fresh flower arrangements dotted around your house. 

Candle Making

Creating candles can be very therapeutic and leave you with a lovely smelling house. They also make great gifts for loved ones. 

Outdoor Hobbies

Hiking  

A great hobby to do either alone or with a group of people. Create a list of your favorite hiking destinations and tick them off one by one. 

Rock Climbing 

Rock climbing is a great workout without feeling like you’re exercising. New destinations are always popping up to be explored, and you can meet lots of great people doing it. 

Mountain Biking 

Again, explore your area and the beautiful sights it has to offer without feeling like you’re working out. Just make sure you have a high-quality mountain bike. 

Camping 

Camping is relaxing and a great chance to get closer to friends and family. You don’t need a big tent, just one that is waterproof and has enough room for your guests and belongings. 

Skiing or Snowboarding

There’s not much more fun than speeding down a snowy slope on one or two platforms. 

Fishing

Fishing is peaceful, fun, and gives you the opportunity to catch tonight’s dinner. 

Sports Hobbies

Bowling  

How serious you take this hobby is up to you. If you’re in it for the competitive nature, join a bowling league. If you just want to have fun, take your family to the local bowling alley. 

Golfing 

Golfing is relaxing and gives you the opportunity to travel the world. It also gives you a workout without feeling like a workout. 

Ice Skating 

Have you ever seen something as graceful as an ice skater? That could be you if you chose this hobby. 

Martial Arts 

There are over 170 martial arts out there to choose from. Each requires patience, hard work, and time. But the end result is so impressive. 

Running 

Simple yet effective, running can give you a great workout as well as allowing you to clear your mind after a stressful day.  

Surfing

Who doesn’t want to surf the magnificent waves all around the world? 

Travel Hobbies

Fly A Plane 

Check out your local airport to see the lessons that they offer. Imagine telling people that you know how to fly a plane?  

Road Tripping 

Explore your local area or venture further out to explore more. Take a friend or go alone, road tripping is such a rewarding experience. 

Sailing

Sailing is fun and relaxing, as long as you don’t get seasick. 

Creative Hobbies

Calligraphy  

Have you ever seen such amazing art as calligraphy? This is certainly difficult but rewarding in the end. Plus, you can wow everyone with invitations for years to come.

Drawing  

Doodle, draw cartoons, or lifelike pictures. Whatever you love to draw, this is a simple and inexpensive hobby. 

Painting  

Similar to drawing, painting can be very therapeutic. 

Learn To Play An Instrument  

Learning to play an instrument is time-consuming but worth it. Just make sure that you have enough time to learn properly and continue to practice what you learned, otherwise you’ll lose it. 

Pottery  

We are in awe of anyone who is good at pottery. We love everything that you can make in pottery class. Plus, that scene from Ghost. Enough said. 

Blogging  

Blogging is fun and an easy way to get into writing. Plus, you can generate a following and make some money from your blog. 

Graffiti  

Street art is more popular than it was in previous years. You can now even take classes. 

Juggling  

Impressive tricks can be completed by learning how to juggle.

Latte Art

Love coffee and art simultaneously? Latte art is a great way to spice up your Instagram feed. 

Food Hobbies

Baking 

The great thing about baking is that you can make amazing things to show off, and then you get to eat them. Plus, a higher skill level allows you to bake things that you’d only normally find in a restaurant. 

Coffee Roasting  

Another one for the coffee lovers out there. Roasting your own beans can give you a great sense of accomplishment. 

Gardening 

Gardening can improve productivity and reduce stress. Plus, you can use any crops you grow in your dishes. Herbs are super easy to grow for beginners. 

Mixology

Be the star of the dinner party by wowing your friends with your mixology skills. Just don’t add too much spirit! 

Summary

Hobbies are amazing for improving your self-esteem and confidence, keeping your brain and heart healthy, and relieving you of the stress felt by the rest of the week. You can also meet new people and work on your mindfulness skills by learning a new hobby. 

One important thing to remember is that you need to choose the right hobby for you. Think about how many hours you have to commit to learning a new skill, your interests, and what you want to get out of your hobby.  By putting some thought into it, you’ll be more likely to find the perfect hobby for you. 

Remember, research is your best friend when it comes to finding your new hobby. Research what will help you achieve your interests, what benefits it can give to you, and how much time you have to commit to your hobby. Trying to learn something new without enough time to commit to it is only going to leave you more stressed and agitated. 

There are thousands of hobbies out there for you to research, you just have to find the one for you. Now, you’ve spent enough time reading about how to start a new hobby and how to choose the right one for you – all that’s left is to get out