The Importance of Hobbies in Preserving Mental Sanity

May 3rd, 2009 • Miscellany

Thanks to the passing of a major delivery deadline, as well as a night spent in due to an early wake-up, I found myself with some time to devote to reading the other night. I LOVE to read – my parents had me started reading before my 3rd birthday, and I’ve devoured more books than I can count during my lifetime. It’s not all challenging stuff, but I try to maintain a good balance between fiction and non; educational and entertaining. It was after I got through the entirety of Seth Godin’s Tribes (overrated and disorganized) and a few chapters of Neil Strauss’ Emergency (both entertaining and educational, so far) that I realized how refreshed I felt.

Of course, that got me thinking. Between some time to read, the revival of this blog, and the culmunation of the golf season, I’ve been devoting more time to my hobbies than I was before. Consequently, I’m coming out of a weekend feeling more relaxed than I have been in a long time.

I’d been spending most of my time recently either working or going to social events, but it seemed that ended up draining a lot of my energy. Don’t get me wrong, I love what it is that I do, and going out with my friends and fellow community members is a blast, but sometimes you need to take time for yourself. Hobbies let you learn, provide enjoyment, and engage your mind in different ways than work or social interaction can. They also help you take your mind off of whatever issues it may be dwelling on for a while, and this time can result in new revelations as to how to resolve these issues.

So, for everyone feeling stressed or drained, I suggest finding time to re-engage in an old hobby you’re neglecting, or find something new. Learn an instrument, pick up a new language, go play a sport; you’ll find that taking the time away from what it is you’ve been doing will result in you feeling reenergized and motivated; making you more productive overall.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a few more chapters of Emergency to read.

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