One of my favourite things to hear about is another person’s hobbies. It makes for such interesting and inspiring conversation. But sometimes, it also brings about a sense of wistfulness when we might be reminded about the lack of time we have in our adult lives; how busy we are. Hobbies seems like a luxury in a world that is busy. 

I don’t think I have met anyone who isn’t interested in things outside of their job, and most people seem to face one or two of the same challenges: lack of time, and being multi-passionate. 

I’ve always done stuff outside of my “day-job”. When I was about 6, I started learning the piano. Then, when I got to high school, I started playing the saxophone too. I started writing little stories. I did the stuff that most kids do – make art. At university, I studied Arts and Engineering, and I studied history simply because I find it fascinating. Now, a few years down the track, I’m writing this blog and I’m earnestly practicing the piano again after a decade’s long break. 

I’m so interested in things. I love doing creative stuff, and my curiosity is insatiable.

 But the obvious obstacle to all of this time. I have limited time, and so I am constantly choosing how I spend it.

Something that I’ve had to accept was that some things that I’m curious about or would love to do just can’t be done right now. 

While one school of thought might challenge you to “make time if it’s important to you”, sometimes that advice is not implementable. Because, if I were to make time for all the things important to me, then I would have solved one of our age-old questions and mastered time travel (and I’d probably be burned out like Hermione in the third Harry Potter book, but as I write this, I wondered why she didn’t use it to get more sleep). 

This post is for you if you’re either like me: interested in more things than you have time for, and wondering how you might make it all work. 

There are three possible things you might consider. 

Make the goal smaller.

Sometimes, we think too big. We want to go all-in, take on a giant challenge, and set a grand goal. Sometimes that’s an excellent thing to do, but if you are time poor, it might just add way too much pressure and your hobby becomes another chore, wearing you down. Instead, it’s worth thinking about the smallest possible thing you could do to put yourself onto the path of this hobby. What can you do that is realistic to fit into your available time and with your available resources? Another reason this might be a good idea is if it is something new, you can try it out before going all in.

Prioritise 

If you’re still absolutely yearning to try something new or pick up an old hobby but at first thought it seems like you have no time, create some space for yourself and make a mind-map of every obligation you have. Look at this objectively. Is there any way you can reshuffle and reorganise to create even the tiniest window of time for your new hobby? Done in conjunction with the first point I’ve made, you might even find a way to find a tiny window for a tiny goal, so that you can gain a sense of achievement by doing one small thing.

String these tiny things together, consistently, and you might just create something magical. 

The third: it doesn’t have to be right now.

I have a dream of writing fiction and novels. I’ve had this dream since I was a kid. But I physically do not have enough time or mental space to pursue this right now. I can dabble in creative writing, of course. But I have not set any goals around it. I hope I have decades of life left to live, and I have faith that a season in my life will come along where I can pursue creative writing deeply. Once I came to terms with this, I felt so much calmer. I’m not distracted or judging myself, wondering why I’m not pursuing this “passion”.

We are always making a choice about how we spend our time and energy. For me, choosing to deliberately allow this interest to wait until another time in my life was the best choice for me. If you’re curious and interested in something, ask yourself if it really has to be right now, or if it can wait for another time that is more suitable. Maybe you can put it on a shelf but still nurture the idea, and come back to it at another time in your life. 

The way we think about hobbies matter. While there are many schools of thought about this, I hope I have provided a new way of thinking about how to approach all those things you’re interested in.