I’ve been stuck in the work, recharge, repeat cycle for about a decade now. I’m looking to get back into hobbies and activities to enjoy my free time and possibly meet other folks.
I’ve heard you should have 3 types of hobbies: something to keep you fit, something to keep you creative, and something that can make some money. I’ve considered gym/triathlon (fitness) and woodworking (creative/income).
What are your hobbies? Anything you recommend I try out?
I do woodworking as a hobby. It doesn’t make money unless you invest in a full workshop and scale up production to the point where it would basically be a second job. Often the material costs alone are as much as it would cost to buy a completed item.
I’d still recommend it as a creative outlet though. There’s something satisfying about seeing that coffee table in the lounge and thinking “yeah I made that!”
I do:
Yoga
Gardening
Baking (sourdough)
Do occasionally draw or paint too.
I think you have to find something you actually enjoy. If you are good at swimming, triathlon is a great idea but the long distance ones do take a lot of training time.
I don’t try to monetize hobbies anymore, it’s a drag.
My theory also is to have 3 hobbies but a different take: One that you can do at home when you have free time, I play guitar. One that gets you out of the house, I fly fish. One that gives you something to look forward to, I used to go on monthly backpacking trips but as I get older they’re turning into fishing trips
I am a filthy hobby hopper and I spend most of my disposable income on these.
- Tinkering with retro game handhelds and sometimes playing them
- Tinkering with bikes and sometimes riding them
- Tinkering with DIY watches and sometimes using them to tell time
- Also bird photography
PC gaming, being bi sexual, eating hot chip, psychedelics, disc golf
Now playing Huarache Lights by Hot Chip
Adding to the interesting lists here: As a sport for me I found bouldering and climbing. I don’t like sport but bouldering is not about sport but about getting up that stupid wall, and it feels amazing.
I have multiple hobbies, some require my brain (programming, electronics, engineering and stuff like that) Others not so much (music production/playing live sets, building dioramas, woodworking, metalworking, working on my motorcycle or cooking) And I can highly recommend to get hobbies that both require some concentration and creativity so you can have some balance :) Good luck!
I’m heavily into sport kites. These are controllable kites with 2 or 4 lines. It’s an outdoor activity that can get fairly physical depending on what you are up to. There’s a very small community, mostly focused in coastal areas, but it exists all over the world.
Once you get some basic skills, most people shift toward flying to music as a ballet individually or with a group as a team. If you get good enough, there are travel opportunities where kite festivals pay for all or part of your travel expenses to perform at festivals. I’ve been all over the US and to 11 countries across the world to fly kites in my 18 years in the community.
Past that, there’s also kite making that is a nice extension of the hobby. I build my own sport kites, and build them for others on occasion. There are open source sport kite plans out there, I’ve got a few on my website (https://watty.us), but there are even more at https://kareloh.com.
A good starting place to get into the hobby might be https://sportkite.org, or some Facebook groups like Sport Kite Pilots Lounge.
3d printing and role-playing. I print miniatures that my friends and I paint. Then we use them in our games.
Engaging with the fediverse at the moment
Triathlon is 3 hobbies!
3d printing, soap making, mantis keeping and board games when I can find people to play with.
3D printing, maille, video games, board games, and bicycling.
maille
What is this?
It’s a brand of mustard. Other than that, I don’t know.
Hobby websites, microelectronics, amateur radio, guitar, and guitar pedals
Fairly consistently: 3D printing, wood working, amateur radio, RC cars, and cooking.
Also playing with: sewing, tablet weaving, lifting weights, and guitar.
If you work with your hands, rest with your mind. If you work with your mind, rest with your hands.
There’s a lot of crossover here but off the top of the dome:
Hand-based hobbies -playing music -cooking -woodworking -lifting weights, running, climbing -building dioramas/models -art (needle craft, drawing/painting, sculpting) -**casual video games **
Mind-based hobbies -puzzles -fast paced video games -programming -learn a new language
Those in bold are what I do. Also starting to learn art. It’s one of the lowest barrier to entry hobbies. All you need is paper and a pencil.