Adsense top

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

“I’m too busy for a hobby”


Are you too busy to have a hobby?
No you aren’t, you just haven’t found the hobby perfect for you. There are all types of hobbies that can keep you busy, happy and stress free. There are things you can do during the day to take your mind off your nagging boss, sad memories and other stresses in life.
But you may be thinking, “I’m a working adult with three kids, I don’t have time to have a hobby.” That’s just the kind of thinking that adds onto the level of stress you might be living with. Lets break down the day of a hard working single man with a decent job. Post a comment if you think this is unrealistic.
Wake up to your alarm at seven, take a shower and get dressed. Make eggs and leave for work at eight. Hit the Starbucks drive through, and drive for thirty minutes. Head into the office and check your email, inbox and messages. Work until noon, and your off for forty five minutes for lunch. Waiting in line a subway… eating that sandwich and getting back early to surf the web for a few minutes. Work until five and go home, sit on the couch watching television until seven, have dinner and maybe do a load of laundry.
Lets break it down. The first hobby i can think of for a day is of the culinary type. Cook a healthy well rounded breakfast for yourself. I often find it relaxing and fun to express myself through food, and if you usually buy lunch you can save a lot of money if you make it every once in a while. Another great hobby people don’t think about can be expensive, or free. During your daily drive you can listen to an audio book, for fun or education. Used to read a lot of Stephen King? http://www.stephenking.com/library/audiobook/ Like educational content? http://www.learnoutloud.com/ Also, you can check out all kinds of audio books from your local library absolutely free of charge.
When your at work there are things you can do to keep your mind off mindless repetitive work. Ever herd of an iPod? Perhaps iPhone? Pandora? Online Radio? If you are allowed to listen to music at work there are hundreds of options for free, quick and easy music fixes. You can put the CD’s you already own onto your iPod for free, and just about any phone made in the last two years has good music playback options. Another idea is to use the computer screen you stare at all day already. Many sites have free music that you can listen to at any time free of commercials or ads. Some of my favorites are Pandora internet radio, AOL Internet Radio and Slacker Radio. I also find YouTube to be a great option for making playlists of custom mixes and other sound bits you can’t get from the internet radio options.
So we’ve gone through our day up to lunch, and now, if you haven’t made something before hand you should be eating. Lets walk across the street to the subway or coffee shop. There’s always a line to stand in, so I’ll list a few things I do while I wait in line. Ever herd of a Rubik’s Cube? It’s a little plastic puzzle you can twist a few times, it can be really challenging. Since I found out about this beautiful toy I have learned how to solve it in 16 seconds. You can use it to spend time trying to figure it out on your own or you can print out a simple step by step guide on how to solve it and eventually be able to wow all of your friends and co-workers. This is by far my favorite hobby and I have taught many other people how to solve this puzzle with great reception.
So we’ve gone through the work day and you are home now. Perhaps you could get some exercise? I love weight lifting; It clears my mind, gives me reachable short term and long term goals and it is a great way to stay healthy and happy. But a gym can be hard to get to, and rather expensive. Biking is a great option for exercise too, its easy on the joints and it makes hard goals easy. Its a one time purchase, and if you are lucky you can find a great deal on craigslist or at a garage sale. Running is also acceptable and free, but rather hardcore to be considered a hobby.
Ready for bed? I bet after a day of mental and physical stimulation you can sleep rather well now. I know doing all of these things in a day leaves me feeling satisfied and rather happy. Please comment if you have any other ideas for easy cheap hobbies.
A cheap puzzle that will give you hours of fun!
Links:
Cooking links:
Puzzle links:
Internet Radio Links:
My favorite, Pandora
Also, check your favorite local radio station’s web site, most of them have an online streaming option.
Weight training:

4 comments:

  1. I think you need more hobbies!!!!
    Maybe like a top 20 hobbies list.
    This could cover a wide rage of ages, both male and female.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! Thats a great idea! I'll post it tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey this was pretty good scuba i liked it. Blub blub to you!

    ReplyDelete