Why Don’t You Just Get Yourself a Hobby?

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“[A hobby}… A regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one’s leisure time.” – according to Wikipedia.com. I know what you are going to say… you are a mom, you work full time, you can hardly keep your house clean, and you are not very talented, anyway. To that I say, bologna! Ok, there may be a few extreme examples, but for most of you supermoms out there, I believe that you can make time.

Moms are busy (see items listed above) but I believe that we make time somehow for the things that we truly value. Some people may truly value sitting on the couch and watching American Ninja Warrior, some like staring at Facebook for a bit, but for me, I would rather spend more time working on some kind of craft.

Burp rags that I made for a baby shower gift.

Here are a few hobby suggestions, but there are so many to chose from:

  1. Crafting *my favorite, such as: Knitting, sewing, and painting canvas and wood signs.
  2. Photography: Taking pictures, organizing them, finding a way to creatively display them.
  3. Watching a specific genre of movie or tv show.
  4. Organizing different parts of your house.
  5. Cooking, baking, trying to attempt the unicorn cake from “Nailed It!”
  6. Scrap-booking
  7. Reading or take it a step further and join a book club.
  8. Participating in a recreational sport
  9. Writing: Start a blog, start writing a book, or keep a journal.
My first attempt at knitting

When I work on crafts, it is usually after my kids have gone to bed for the night. That way, there is no guilt that I am taking time away from my kids. I also have the added benefit of my kids not messing with whatever project that I am working on. I enjoy sewing and that is my most frequent craft, but sometimes I chose to do something else if I am not in the mood to sew.

Here are a few tips on how to make time for a hobby: 

  1. Decide what hobby you would like to work on. Do you not know where to start? Look at Pinterest, talk to friends, think about how you like to spend your free time (now or before kids), and also consider if this hobby has a cost, what is your budget?
  2. Decide how often that you would like to do this hobby: Once a month, once a week, once a day. I do something crafty at least once a week, but will sew a few times a week if my kiddos all seem to cooperate with bedtime multiple days that week.
  3. Decide what time of day would be the best for you to work on your hobby. Come up with more than one day or time in case that first option does not work.
  4. If your schedule is crazy or you are away from home a lot, consider a hobby that can work with the demands of your life. When my oldest was in a two-hour activity once a week, all school year, I would always bring something with me to do.  I would often bring my knitting needles and yarn and would knit while I waited for him or an adult coloring book and markers.
  5. Have you not taken time for a hobby because you don’t want to take time away from spending time with someone else? Consider doing a hobby that you can do with someone else. I have a friend that enjoys putting together puzzles with her children and her parents. It is an activity that she enjoys, she is able to spend time with her family, and she can also talk to her family while they are working on the puzzle.
  6. Do everything that you can to make yourself take time for that hobby: set a reminder on your phone, add it to your calendar, have all the items together and ready that you need for said hobby. The more importance that you place on this activity, the more likely that those around you will take it seriously.

I highly recommend that you find a hobby. Make some time for yourself. Finish something, just for fun’s sake. Watch all the movies that have been released from the Marvel Universe, learn how to play the violin, organize that junk closet (think Monica from Friends), or make a t-shirt quilt out of all those old concert t-shirts that you do not wear anymore but can not manage to get rid of.

Take some time for yourself, because you are worth it!

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Zandria Schnur
Zandria is originally from Northwest Ohio. She met her husband in the beginning of her freshmen year of college. He is a born and raised Cincinnati west sider. He took her home to meet the family that December and Zandria fell in love with her husband and Cincinnati. It was an easy decision to make as to what city they would live in after Zandria was done with school. Zandria has been married since 2008 and has lived in Cincinnati since 2009. She has two wonderful boys whom are 4 and 1 and also is pregnant with a third baby due in August 2017. When Zandria is not driving her boys around the city to have an adventure, she enjoys sewing, crafts in general, taking pictures of her family, debating with her husband over who is using a word correctly (and often getting out the dictionary), coffee, and great conversation.

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