How to find a hobby

Everyone needs a hobby

Everyone needs hobbies. Even when working full time we need interests that keep us thinking and learning and that we just plain enjoy. In retirement, or even semi-retirement, this is even more important. A hobby can even allow you to fill in that blank space in life where maybe you say “I wish I had tried this or that!”

So how do you go about finding a hobby? Like a lot of things it starts out with some research and a list. Here are some ideas to get you started.

What hobbies did you start previously but abandon?

Let’s start with something really simple. Make a list of all the hobbies you started in the past but abandoned. Don’t skip anything, even those pursuits that now seem really dumb. Did you collect Beanie Babies or Pet Rocks? ( If you don’t know what a pet rock is look it up on Wikipedia.) Just make the list for now, don’t judge or pick anything yet.

What activities did you enjoy as a kid?

What kinds of things did you enjoy doing or reading about as a kid. Did you like trains, dolls, or making models? What were some of those ideas for careers that grown ups told you were not practical. I’m talking about becoming an astronaut, or a musician. Well, some of those youthful ideas can make great second careers and some can make great hobbies, so add them to your list.

Browse Amazon Books

A search of “Hobbies” on Amazon brings up over 143,000 results, with many sub-categories. Spend an hour or two browsing and add anything to your list that sounds promising. Don’t be too tempted by all those cool books! Wait until you narrow down your list a bit.

Browse the Internet

In a similar way to browsing on Amazon do a little surfing on the Internet. Try different search terms and categories like “Retirement Hobbies” or “Free Hobbies”. Use your imagination and add anything that grabs your interest to your list.

Look at magazines

Take a look at magazine racks – both those in stores and those on line. If there is a magazine for it then it is likely there are quite a few people that enjoy that hobby. Add any that interest you to your list.

Look at Blogs

Finally take a look at blogs. Take a look at some of the entries on Technorati (www.technorati.com) or others. A search on “hobbies” brings up over a million blogs! Again just add ideas to your list.

Brainstorm

Finally, try a little old fashioned brainstorming. Just write any ideas that come to mind, again without judging or considerations of practicality.

What hobby will you pursue?

Now for the fun part. Hopefully by now you have a pretty big list. Time to start categorizing and doing some eliminating. Maybe try some categories like “Great Ideas”, “Free or Low Cost”, or “Hobbies that could turn into an income source” Then give your ideas some time to settle for a few days and decide on a few winners. How many hobbies can you have? I would say it depends on you and the hobby, but you probably should start one at a time.

I hope this article has got you thinking about a new hobby. Give it a try and see where it leads.

Until next time…