Female Golfer Tees Off
Once upon a time, there were things called hobbies. They were meant to be fun pastimes, pleasant ways to spend leisure time. People would (please believe me when I say this) complete activities purely for pleasure. Sometimes, they wouldn’t even finish these hobby projects!

Spend My Free Time Freely? Are You Crazy?

If leisurely hobbies have become a fairy tale for you, I know how you feel.  Things I used to do solely for fun, like reading, sewing, dancing, and yes, blogging, have all become infected with an aggressive strain of productivity.  Sound familiar? The hobbies you used to engage in to unwind have now become scheduled-in items, with expected results expected and hardcore time commitments. You need another hobby just to get away from your hobbies! The end result is feeling worn thin, and even worse, forgetting how to spend leisure time, well…  leisurely.

I had a lightbulb moment this weekend that resulted in a sewing binge that was actually fun. (Context: Other recent sewing projects have involved blood, throwing things, and many, many curse words. Today I only threatened to burn a cummerbund. It took me seriously, complied, and that was that.) Here’s what I figured out in my lightbulb moment, and perhaps a few of these might work for you:

Stop Expecting Results

Progress is good, and skill building is great. Yadda yadda yadda. If you have fun hitting the driving range, then don’t worry about perfecting your swing. If you like to cook, stop stressing that the new recipe you’re trying is going to stink. As soon as we expect a certain quality of results, we’ve turned fun into work. Goals are okay, but try to give yourself a lot of leeway to reach them.

Set Fun as a Goal

Seriously. Tell yourself that as long as you have fun, the activity was a success.  Not every moment has to make you a better person. And after all, sometimes you’re a better person just for having had a good laugh. Bottom line: fun counts. This means trashy books, games with no rules, and ugly projects are fair game.

Find Ways to Set Yourself Apart from Professionals

Floral Belts
t’s easy to start comparing yourself to pros, whether you’re cooking, sewing, or playing ball. Don’t; it puts unwarranted pressure on you. I had good success in my sewing when I started adding quirks to my projects like weird bobbin thread colors (that’s the color of stitching on the inside of an item).  It was like a signal to my brain that, “Hey, we’re just playing around here. You don’t have to be Marc Jacobs.”

You can change the rules of a game, add your favorite ingredient regardless of what the recipe says (dude, fake crab!), or learn indulgent, remixed songs on your instrument. Don’t try to be a pro: find ways to remind yourself it’s okay to just be an amateur.

Experiment with the Intention of Screwing up

Here’s the bonus benefit of this one: we actually learn more when we fail and then figure out what went wrong.  You might actually find yourself doing more amazing things than you thought if you allow yourself to fail and goof around with no consequence.

There are two sides to this coin, though, that I’d love to kick up in the comments. Are we giving up on our talents and possibilities when we plan for mediocrity in our hobbies?  When should we throw these ideas out and take a hobby to a new level? If you’ve got any ideas to add to the conversation, please dive in!

Creative Commons License photo credit: Fevi in Cayman

Creative Commons License photo credit: *Atelier Encantado*I

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