How to find a hobby? Widen your search, don’t narrow it.
How many animals can you name in a minute?
Hobbies are good for you, but sometimes hard to find
So, you are on a quest to find a new hobby. That’s great. Hobbies are good for you. It is probably obvious and calls for no assurance. Especially considering the fact you reached this page. But just in case, here is some authoritative assurance from Harvard (Because what is more authoritative than Harvard?):
- Why You Should Work Less and Spend More Time on Hobbies
- Can Hobbies Actually Make You a Better Person?
Now that we have established this, how do you find a hobby? Like many good things, they aren’t easily achieved. You generally have two options: trying to come up with a hobby idea on your own, or reaching out for help and guidance.
Trying to come up with a hobby idea on your own
So, how many animals did you manage to name in a minute? That is called a category-fluency task, or verbal-fluency task – the ability to produce as many unique words as possible in a fixed amount of time, according to a given criterion.
Most of us, when asked to name as many items under a certain category, struggle. We start with the easiest ones, but then we get stuck and run out of ideas. Our output rate usually declines as time goes on, and we repeat similar words by meaning or sound.
Moreover, when you come up with your own ideas for hobbies, you limit yourself to your own knowledge and experience. You may not be aware of all the possibilities that exist out there and might miss out on a hobby that you would truly love because you never even heard of it.
So, maybe some assistance is needed.
Reaching out for help and guidance
When you search online for “how to find a hobby”, you get these content types:
- Generic tips
- Generic quizzes
- Generic shortlists
Are they helpful? let’s see.
Generic “how to find a hobby” tips
We’ll start with the tips: Currently ranked 1st on Google for “how to find a hobby” is an article titled How to Find a Hobby by The New York Times.
These are the tips listed in the article:
“What is that thing you’ve always wanted to do?”
Well… If I knew that I probably wouldn’t have Googled “how to find a hobby”.
“Look at your childhood.”
First of all, for me, this kind of question always feels too abstract and overwhelming. When I’m introduced to them, my mind goes blank. Maybe it’s just me. Anyway, even if you come up with something from your past, it might not reflect who you are now or what you want to do in the future. Your tastes and interests might have changed over time, and so might your abilities and opportunities.
“How do you like to spend your time?”
Again, if I had a good answer to this question, and that was relevant to finding a hobby, I wouldn’t have Googled “how to find a hobby” in the first place.
“Go on a quest for inspiration.”
For example, the article suggests walking around the craft store. Wandering stores aimlessly can be a nice pastime, but it’s not very productive for finding a hobby. One store can only contain so many options. Besides, crafts are just one of the countless options, and you can’t visit enough stores to cover all the possible hobbies.
“Take a class or a lesson.”
Great. Which class or lesson should I take? That’s like asking “how to find a hobby” again.
In my opinion, the New York Times article isn’t very practical or helpful.
Moving forward, let’s see what else we can find online.
Generic quizzes for finding a hobby
You’ve probably seen online quizzes that promise to find your perfect hobby based on who you are and what you like. They ask you a few questions and then suggest a hobby that matches your profile.
But how accurate are these quizzes? How many assumptions do they make?
The problem with these quizzes is that they are based on stereotypes and generalizations. They won’t capture the complexity and uniqueness of who you are. They will also narrow down your exposure to only a few options that fit their criteria, leaving many other options unexplored.
For example, a quiz might suggest that if you are an introvert, you should try knitting or writing. But what if you are an introvert who loves adventure and thrill? What if you want to try something more social and interactive?
Quizzes can be fun and entertaining, but they might not be very reliable or helpful when it comes to finding a new hobby.
Short hobby lists
You might also find some short lists of hobbies to try. Some websites offer a list of 10 or 20.
Lists can be great. But they are not all equal – they differ in length, variety, and form. Most lists on websites are short and themed, for example, “20 Hobbies to Try This Summer”. It means your exposure is very limited. Moreover, they probably contain only the most popular hobbies. You probably won’t find miniature architecture, calligraphy, or geocaching on those lists. Also, they probably only contain the general variant of a hobby. They might list ‘cooking’ for example, but not Mexican cooking, Japanese cooking, or molecular cooking. Specificity might be a key to inspiration.
Furthermore, as mentioned, lists differ in form. Most short hobby lists on the web take a somewhat textual form. This might not be optimal for this initial stage of exploration. The long text might make your browsing tiresome – making you give up after only going over a few options.
Lists can be useful and informative, but they might not be very inspiring or practical when it comes to finding a new hobby.
So, how to find a hobby? Widen your search, don’t narrow it
To recap, the problems with the options we examined so far are:
- Short, generic, and superficial set of options.
- Opinionated or prejudiced set of options.
- Textual, tiring, representation of the options.
The solution: Hobbies 4 Life offers a vast catalog of unopinionated options, only represented by pictures and titles – and hence easy and quick to digest.
This way, you can easily explore many options, expose yourself to ones you wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise, and see what hobbies spark your interest and passion.
Found a hobby that caught your eye? No need to stop your browsing! Just add it to your wishlist to easily come back to it later and continue your exploration.
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