There are many benefits to having a hobby. While it might feel impossible in theory to fit another activity into your already packed schedule, taking up a new hobby can relieve stress and promote happiness, making you more productive in your daily life. Hobbies bring new challenges, provide a social outlet and can even improve physical health as well as mental wellbeing. The key is to choose an activity you enjoy that’s not too challenging to maintain. Here are three hobbies to try this year that are relaxing, rewarding and a little bit creative.
Dancing
Dancing is a fun, energetic hobby with many surprising benefits. Not only is it good for the physical form, but it’s also about self expression, so it promotes creative freedom and even builds mental strength. If you’re fed up with going to the gym (or pretending to), it might be time to find a new form of exercise, like contemporary dance, ballet or even ballroom dancing. Check out classes in your local area by visiting the Hulahub website.
Crafting
We are all born creative, so it can improve our mental health to indulge in creativity on a regular basis. Crafting is a means of self-expression, so it doesn’t have to mean making a scrapbook or knitting baby booties – you can paint, sketch, crochet, journal, anything that appeals to you on a personal level. Crafting is also mechanical, meaning it can be therapeutic at the end of a long day. You can even do it while watching TV or listening to your favorite playlist.
Once you get going, crafting is a great way to recycle and reuse old clothing, pillowcases, jars, and scraps of material, and it’s a relatively inexpensive hobby once you have some basic tools and equipment. There are plenty of tutorials on Pinterest to inspire you to make gifts, items for your home or even clothing and accessories. To get started, choose a small and achievable project so you’ll have something to show off when it’s finished.
Reading
Reading a book offers total escapism from life’s woes and makes you smarter in the process. The written word engages us in a way that books and TV simply can’t, and there’s nothing better than curling up with a paperback on a cold night or reading in a café. That said, it’s difficult to find time to read when life gets busy, so you need to make it easy for yourself. Sign up with your local library and look for reading materials that spark your interest.
