Have you ever wanted to try something new aside from the usual work or school? It is empowering to spend time doing something because you WANT to rather than you HAVE to, and if it allows you to improve your skills and overall knowledge, consider that a bonus! Any activity that you choose to do for your own enjoyment during your free time is a…HOBBY! These should be stress free, relaxing and most importantly fun ????.
There are numerous benefits to engaging in a hobby:
- Feeling of happiness and calmness.
- Helps reduce stress levels.
- Allows you to slow down and take time for yourself.
- Increases your knowledge and skills, depending on what you choose.
- Keeps you in the present moment thus increasing your focus.
- They help build your confidence and a sense of achievement.
- Lets you explore your surroundings and connect with new interests.
- Some may even lead you to a new career path and monetize it!
There are tons of hobbies you can find or even create, but if you need some ideas to try, keep reading, as I list 7 hobbies you can do right at the comfort of your home!
1. READING
Reading is one of the best hobbies you can take up on, and it’s suitable for all ages. It has many benefits, increasing your vocabulary to improve your skills, knowledge and memory. Reading increases your concentration and the ability to focus as it puts your brain to work improving the connections and in turn prevents cognitive decline as you age.
It’s not just your physical aspect, but it also makes you more empathetic, increasing your emotional intelligence by opening your mind to different perspectives through various stories and characters. Reading truly takes you to a different world; an escape from reality, providing you a sense of calmness and relaxation while being entertaining. This will naturally reduce your stress, blood pressure and heart rate.
A helpful tip…try reading at night before you go to bed, it will even help you fall asleep!
2. JOURNALING
Have you ever tried just writing, without putting much thought into, simplifying writing what comes to your mind? You should, because it feels awesome! Don’t worry about the spelling or the words you are using, just write freely. Journaling can be many things; from writing down your thoughts, emotions, experiences or ideas.
There is no question, writing improves writing, the more you write, the better you become at it. It can also reduce your stress and anxiety levels, because it allows you to clear your mind and thoughts on to the paper. This actually helps improve your mental health, as it gives you a safe space to process your emotions and experiences.
Self-reflection is a powerful strategy to de-clutter your mind…and journaling simply allows you to do just that. This will lead to self-awareness and personal growth because you get a deeper understanding of yourself and who you are and your ambitions.
Writing down your goals, dreams and aspirations will help you organise and prioritise the tasks you need to get done, while increasing your memory retention. While you are at it, write down what you are thankful for. You will feel much calmer through the exercise of gratitude, and when you write down what you are grateful for, it will impact your mood in a positive way.
Remember, don’t over think what you are going to write, just write.
3. COLOURING
This might sound a bit kiddish, but you will be surprised how relaxing colouring can be! You might be picturing an image of your childhood days, colouring all over the books and walls, but it can be more than that, especially for adults.
For example, there are colouring mandalas or geometric patterns, which is a good way to unwind and de-stress. It can in fact help you reduce your anxiety levels by calming your brain and relaxing the body by taking you into a meditative state. Colouring can truly increase your focus on one thing and stay in the present moment and distract you from everyday life.
And the best part is…there is no required skill for it, all you gotta do is just enjoy it!
4. JIGSAW PUZZLES
This really must take you to your childhood days, am I right?! Puzzles don’t need to end with your childhood, bring them back into your life. There are many types of puzzles for varying interests and ages. There are many benefits to jigsaw puzzles, from improving your memory to increasing your problem solving skills.
Completing a jigsaw puzzle requires both sides of the brain, which involves a lot of reasoning, sequencing, analyzing, hand-eye coordination, logical thinking, and creativity. This can lead to increased brain function; improving the ability to learn, understand and remember. It takes a great deal of concentration and focus to complete a puzzle, this indirectly reduces your stress level by freeing the mind of any negative thoughts.
Puzzles are a great way to spend time, and to make it more fun, do it as a family or with friends!
5. DANCING
Dance like nobody’s watching! Dancing is a great way to get some exercise in and it’s a fun way to spend time! Not only does dancing improve your strength, posture and balance, it also benefits your cardiovascular system. It goes without saying, when you move…it feels good! All thanks to the endorphins which get released with increased activity leading to a happy and relaxed state.
Don’t worry about having the perfect moves or dancing to the beat, just dance it out! Put on some good music and feel the freedom enter into you as you release all emotions and energy.
6. PODCASTS
One of the great things about podcasts is there are so many free ones out there for anyone and everyone. There are podcasts on any topic you can think of, from self-help, motivational, home organization to fun comedic ones.
Depending on the mood, you can choose what kind of podcasts you want to listen to. One of the many benefits of listening to podcasts is that it reduces the screen time while keeping you focused and engaged with the speaker. It can stimulate your brain, get you to start thinking in different creative ways and it helps with your vocabulary.
Podcasts are an amazing educational tool, which expose you to various ideas and interests all the while making you a better listener!
7. LEARNING
Have you ever wanted to learn something simply because you WANT to? Well you can! Make it a hobby! It can be anything you are interested in; a new language, something scientific, mathematical, the planets, history…the list goes on.
There is so much joy in learning things you are interested in, because you simply want to. Learning keeps your brain active while increasing your knowledge and skills. It connects you with people through discussions and sharing ideas. Also, it doesn’t have to be expensive, there are many free online tools available at your fingertip to get started.
Exposing yourself to new concepts and perspectives improves your ability and confidence to talk about them to others and may even lead to a new career path!
CUP OF FINAL THOUGHTS ????
Well there you have it…7 simple and relaxing hobbies you can try at home! Hobbies don’t have to be complicated or stressful, if it is then it’s not really a hobby. The key is in figuring out what you naturally lean towards? What makes you calm? What makes you happy?
It might be from one of the lists above or it may be something entirely different and that is okay as long as it leaves you feeling relaxed and content. In a world, where technology consumes us, it is important we take the time for ourselves to unplug from the outside world to simply do what makes our heart happy.
Hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful! Please share in the comments with any hobbies you find interesting and fun! :)
