Hobbies are a must.
If you think you don’t have time for a hobby, well, you’re probably the perfect candidate for the person who needs it the most.
I think as a society we are so wrapped up in how good we are at work, how “productive” little bees we are at work, our contributions there, etc. However, if someone asks you what you do for fun or how you are, can you answer the question without bringing up your work? It’s incredibly scary to see people not have anything to talk about outside of their work, like what makes you excited, what makes your blood flow. What do you do after work?
My current hobbies
- Journaling
- Pickleball
- Blogging
- Swimming
- Strength training
- Reading
- Watching movies in the theater
- Traveling
Most of these hobbies I’ve had for years: journaling, reading (my monthly book reviews), pickleball, and blogging.
For 2025, I added strength training as a goal—to get stronger, learn my way around the weight room, and not let it intimidate me. Twelve months later, I can confidently say that weight lifting has been one of my favorite “hobbies” of the year. I genuinely find it fun. I go to a strength class weekly at Lifetime, and the coach and classmates are amazing and incredibly supportive. Y’all, I couldn’t even do a push-up at the beginning of the year, and now I can crank them out.
I also started swimming classes in November. Fun fact: up until November, I did not know how to swim, and I knew it was a crucial skill I needed to learn. I signed up for weekly classes, and omg, it has been so much fun! I love being in the water, learning how to do freestyle, and hopefully by the end of 2026, I’ll have learned how to swim on my back.
Two of my more expensive hobbies, which I don’t necessarily do every day, but almost every month or at least every quarter, are traveling and watching movies on the big screen. I travel at least once a quarter and will always drop a dime on travel over eating out any day.
Watching movies on the big screen is something my dad instilled in me. I grew up going to theaters to watch premieres, and now, as an adult, I have the privilege to go and take my parents as well. It’s so much better to watch movies during premiere nights with friends and family, on a huge screen. I’ve talked about my love for my Cinemark membership here and why it’s totally worth it.
Hobbies I want to try out:
- Candle making
- Learn to code
- Photo albums for each family member
- Calligraphy
- Cursive
- Tennis
- Learning the piano
- Scrapbooking
- Baking
- Floral arrangements
- Mahjong
- Pottery
- Join a film club
- Chess
- Golf
- Hosting dinner/themed get together every month
- Rock climbing
I am excited to try out at least 10 of these this upcoming year. I do not think I am going to be able to do all 17, but some of these are easier to start than others, like cursive and baking, so maybe I can? I have started the photo album for each family member by taking advantage of online photo print deals. I have also started baking once a week, small items like cookies.
The one I am most excited about and have already started planning is hosting dinner/themed get-togethers every month. I have been reading about how we are lacking communities, and the goal with hosting monthly get-togethers is to foster and grow my community. I started hosting at a smaller scale this year, a game night here, a painting night there, but going forward, I want to commit to at least one hosting event every month. Maybe I can combine a couple of these, a candle-making night with the friends at my place?
I am not making a case of doing all 25+ hobbies all at once; I am saying that having a good work-life balance includes having fun, doing something solely for you that you enjoy. What I enjoy doing, such as journaling, may not be another person’s cup of tea, hence why you should try a bunch of hobbies and see what you like.
Maybe this is the year you try something new?!