Picked Up a New Hobby?

The freshness of spring, a new season of life and the desire for something pleasurable during this stressful time in history are all reasons to feel the pull toward wanting to learn something new. Hobbies can vary due to interests, time, budget and more, but hobbies are a healthy activity to incorporate into our daily lives.

A new year often brings ideas for change and goals, but new seasons can also be a great time to reevaluate and start anew. Spring tends to have an overall freshness about it too, so now is a great time to think of something you might like to try or incorporate into your daily life. If fitness was a nice thought in January but hasn’t amounted to anything quite yet, perhaps you can start with some outdoor walking as the weather warms up. Listening to music or a podcast, or reveling in the quiet, can add an important layer to your new walking hobby.

New seasons of life can also be a time to start something new and add a new layer to your personal identity. Examples of this could be any move, marriage, divorce, addition of a new child, a new pet or a new job. I’ve always been very aware of the importance of not losing my own identity as a parent—especially as a stay-at-home mom. Hobbies become a way to claim your talents and interests.

As a new mom roughly a decade ago, I took up running to get out of the house with my baby and dog. A decade later, I mostly enjoy running solo for a break from caring for my kids all day. I also expanded my hobby of exercise to include biking, hiking, dance fitness and bootcamps. As a new mother, I also took up blogging and creating photo books for our family during this early season of motherhood. As my last baby was entering his preschool years, my love for reading came back, as well as a new interest in listening to podcasts. I also picked up photography as a side gig which has been rewarding.

Kelle Szumilas had a similar experience as a new mother. She says, “Running was never my thing until baby number two. I needed something of my own, and it turned out to be a sort of meditation for me. It’s been one of the best hobbies I’ve tried!” Alli Stevick, mother of two, reiterates the importance of having something of your own while caring for your children. “Technically I’ve always loved reading for fun, but since the kids were born, it became newly important to me,” she says. “It was something I could do (quietly!) while someone napped on me or near me. It is something that can be picked up and put down as needed without losing progress.”

According to CNBC.com, hobbies can help you have better work performance, can improve your physical health, as well as help to reduce stress. Over the past year, an unprecedented number of people have picked up—or at least considered—new hobbies because they have more time on their hands. Sourdough anyone?

Tara Brune, mother of two, says a hobby she has recently picked up is calligraphy and brush lettering. “I carry my favorite pen and notebook with me, so I can do it anywhere! It’s cheap therapy! I love the Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens and a dot journal. That’s all you need!”

Lori Tate, mother of three, says she’s recently picked up living room yoga. “Pandemic parenting—and I needed to have a physical outlet and relax all at the same time. I also started running, but that didn’t last. I injured myself, and well, I just hate running. I’ve been using SarahBeth Yoga on YouTube. I’ve been doing it in the afternoons while my youngest has lunch, but I’m going to try to get it done in the mornings before the kids get up.”

Mother of two Kelly Smoak says, “I started sewing dresses for my girls and then clothes for myself as well. Now I’m working on my first quilt! I don’t have much family support to get breaks and time to myself, so I needed to find a hobby that I could do in my home with my kids around. Sewing fit the bill. I started about three years ago.”

Carly Rickard, mother of two, has a couple of hobbies she enjoys. She says she has gotten back into crocheting, as well as picked up cross-stitching. “I received a cross-stitch kit for my birthday, and it was harder than I thought! I had to teach myself but I really loved it! It’s really satisfying! I learned to crochet from my mom in high school and then just got out of the habit. I have a blanket I’ve been working on for years and want to finish it,” she says. “I honestly probably would never have picked cross-stich up had I not gotten a kit for my birthday. I think in a normal year, I might have been too busy to keep at it, but because of the pandemic, we didn’t have much going on, so I really stuck with it,” she says.

Other factors that play a part in maintaining a hobby include time, whether it’s a solo or group activity, and whether you can meet in person or virtually. As far as time goes, if you value something, you can usually make time for it. Personally, a good reminder for the time that I have is to take an honest look at my phone’s screen time report. Amiright? There’s also the idea of utilizing the fringe hours of the day, as author Jessica Turner writes about in her book The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You. That might mean heading to bed sooner to be able to get up and use some more of those morning hours, waiting until the house is quiet at night, or setting aside a specific time during the day (maybe even using a timer) to focus on your hobby. I actually do a mixture of all three, which can sometimes lead to a tired mommy—but sometimes being fulfilled overrides sleep.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with trying to come up with a new hobby, might I suggest scrolling Pinterest for hobbies and see what pops out at you. Or ask those closest to you if they notice any activities that spark joy in you. Think about it in terms of categories like being creative or doing something physical or mental. Examples could include drawing, painting, creating music playlists, crafting, cooking, baking, woodworking, hiking, biking, a new form of reading, or even taking luxurious baths routinely. A hobby should add joy and fulfillment to our lives after all.

Stephanie Loux is the mother of Layla, 10, Mason, 9, and Slade, 6, and enjoys reading, writing, exercise and photography.