The Importance of Hobbies and Interests to Maintain Our Sanity!

Without a doubt, we live in a world that increasingly revolves around work.

People talk about their work, people talk about their work hours, people talk about their overtime, people talk about always being "on call" for their work; people talk about having to have two jobs, just to make ends meet and so the story goes.

Many many years ago when I lived in the UK there was an old saying that "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

And yet, it sometimes seems like we've reached an age in which there is very little time for play!

Even though I'm a self-employed individual, I am also subject to very long working hours and often I find myself trying to get something done out into the wee hours of the morning. Because I can.

Remembering that I do this made me — once again — reflect on the fact that I probably wouldn't be able to maintain my sanity, were it not for the fact that I have various interests and hobbies that I can switch to when I just start feeling too ground down.

What to Do...

A good place to start is simply considering the images that grace the pages of most of my blog posts.

Just the basic act of getting outside with the camera and looking for something interesting to take a few pictures of is a great way for me to take my mind off — however temporary it might be — the workload that's waiting for me when I get back inside.

And I make a point of really being present when I am outside!

There's an old joke that "when you're self-employed you get to set your own hours." And I agree that is entirely correct in the sense that I can work any 70 hours a week I choose to!

Think about that for a moment...

It's very easy for the self-employed to take on work as pretty much an around the clock thing. And that's especially true if you work from home because your work is right there, and there's always something that needs to be done.

However, if you never stop it starts to increasingly resemble an addiction and it doesn't take all that long before you start burning out. And yes, "work addiction" is a very real thing!

Aside from going outside and doing some photography, I also spend quite a lot of time completely changing pace by working on my rock painting project. And if that's not inspiring me in the moment, I am also something very old fashioned in that I'm a stamp collector!

If I didn't have these things to take my mind off work, there's a good chance I would gradually go crazy! Much as we might like to think of ourselves as "hard workers," too much of a single thing can just dull the senses after a while.

So, is "blogging" a hobby for me?

No, not exactly. It falls under the broader umbrella of writing, and writing is something I actually do "for a living." Blogging is part of that in the sense that I sometimes "work through ideas" with my blog posts, and variations of them go on to become articles, later on. Not that many, but definitely some.

Regardless, I'm glad I have interests to break me away from just focusing on my work, all the time.

Thanks for visiting, and have a great Friday!

How about you? Do you have any favorite interests or hobbies that keep you from thinking too much about work? Or are you not prone to working very long hours? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2024.05.23 23:55 PDT
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