How to Make a Hobby Stick
Hobbies are meant to be a part of your life. Getting to that point isn’t simple or easy. Here’s some guidance to help you on your journey.
Making a hobby stick is a balance between true interest and discipline.
Do you actually like this hobby?
If you’re running into roadblocks for following through with a hobby, this is the first question you need to ask yourself.
Often times we fall in love with the idea of a hobby more than the actual process of being involved and doing a hobby. So we may think about it a lot but feel no joy when actually doing it. Handwritten journaling is a common example. The idea of sitting down and writing in a notebook to have your thoughts and feelings forever sounds awesome. But that means frequently sitting down and writing, in an age where handwriting isn’t as common.
Take a step back and look at the hobby. Think about how you feel when you think about it and when you actually do it.
A Matter of Time
You’re busy. And it’s hard to find the time and energy to spend on the hobby you’re trying to do more of.
As a result, your new hobby is in limbo.
If this has been the case for a while, the truth is that your situation isn’t going to change…unless you make a change.
That doesn’t mean you have to do it every day for a set amount of it, it does means that you need to start making time to do it. If you’re trying to bullet journal, put 10 minutes in your day to write.
We get that this sounds like work or forcing a hobby to happen. But remember, you like this hobby. You want to do it. It’s just training yourself with a little discipline to keep it up. Because the truth is, the start to every hobby needs a little bit of help to get you going. Sometimes that looks like a monthly membership you signed up for or a deadline you set for yourself.
It’s up to you to keep yourself accountable to keep trying your hobby. You can lean on other folks to help like your friends checking in on your progress or the sports team you joined asking if you’re coming this week. But ultimately, you have to decide to take action.
And the best way to start is to dedicate time to your hobby.
Making It Your Own
We often try to replicate the experience hobbyist we see, which is completely fine. We all draw inspiration from the folks we admire.
But remember, hobbies are meant for you. You do them how you like. If you want to do it in different colors, go for it!
The more you make it your own, the better it will feel to do the hobby you’re liking.
Try it your way! (as long as it’s safe)
Pull inspiration from your personal life and culture.
Bring your personality in.
Bringing a Friend Along
You don’t have to learn alone! You can bring a friend or family member along the same hobby journey. It’s best if they’re interested in it as well, but it’s also just a great way to spend time together, even if they do it once.
And if you can’t find somebody in your immediate orbit. You can find somebody in the hobby community! There are always beginners just like you, tap their shoulders and ask you’d like to spend time doing the hobby together.
Let your friends know what hobby you’re exploring and invite them to join you.
Connect with somebody on an online platform. Get a conversation going.
Visit a hobby location and ask folks questions.
This is also a great way to keep yourself accountable. Other people will check in on your progress and you will have people you’ll want to discuss your new hobby with that understand your journey.
Appreciating Your Progress
It’s so easy to get lost in achieving the milestones for many hobbies, may that be summiting a mountain or landing an ollie, and skip past the amazing moments that bring us closer to those goals.
Take some time to celebrate the small steps you’re making in your hobby journey.
What was once seemingly impossible is now easy. Something you said you would conquer, you’ve already done it five times over.
This is tremendous progress and you are getting better. Give yourself the props. Your past self would be in awe of your present.
Take a Break
It sounds counter intuitive but breaks are always good. Sometimes we’re not feeling the hobby spark right now. Sometimes life is too busy and overwhelming to be trying new hobbies. That’s all okay. The hobby isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be ready when you are.
We’ll be here when you’re ready again.