So, I was chatting with a buddy of mine today, another guitar player, about how our playing's going. He's telling me he just can't find the time – he gets super hyped, plays for a week, then drops it for a month, rinse and repeat. Sound familiar?
So, I was chatting with a buddy of mine today, another guitar player, about how our playing's going. He's telling me he just can't find the time – he gets super hyped, plays for a week, then drops it for a month, rinse and repeat. Sound familiar?
I will be honest - this is something I struggled with for ages, and just like my friend, my hobby routine used to be a total mess. One day, I'm all about guitar. The next, I'm painting miniatures. Day three? Something else entirely. Long story short, I was doing each hobby like once every two weeks, because I kept jumping to the next shiny thing.
In some hobbies, I was a newbie, so I was learning fast and feeling good. But in others, I was more advanced, and progress slowed to a crawl. And this whole "hobby-hopping" thing led me to a standstill – I was doing each thing so rarely that I'd forget any progress I made by the next time I picked it up.
So, yeah, that's how it was. Like, 10 different hobbies, and I was stuck in the same place with all of them, unable to improve. Doing each hobby once per 2 weeks.
But that's not the reality anymore, and this conversation with my friend reminded me that I actually fixed this problem – specifically, I stopped doing this at the beginning of the year, when I finally realized my mistake.
So, what did I figure out back in January? I realized that less is more.
Woow big whoop. I know, I know, you've totally never heard that before.
But seriously, it's true, and I think we tend to forget it when it comes to our hobbies.
These days, we can have a ton of hobbies. It's not like the old days when you had work (or school) and maybe two hobbies, and that was it.
Now, we have access to any hobby imaginable, and most of them are pretty cheap:
- Want to play guitar? You can grab a decent guitar for like $150, and that's it for years.
- Want to play basketball? Grab some gear, join a public group, and you can find people to play with for free.
- Want to build a website? If you've got a computer, you can find tons of YouTube tutorials on how to build and host your own site for free.
And then there's your phone – a device designed to suck you into endless social media scrolling in every spare moment. And if you're not on your phone, you're on your computer, playing games or binge-watching shows (which, hey, if that's your hobby and you enjoy it, go for it – as long as it's not mindless and doesn't interfere with your responsibilities, because that is when a hobby might become a problem).
To sum it up, hobbies are super accessible, we can do whatever we want, and we have apps designed to keep us hooked. So, it makes sense to do everything, right?
There's one problem: it takes a long time and a lot of effort to actually get good at something. It takes a long time to become an expert in any hobby.
And that's why, at the beginning of the year, I said, "less is more," and I cut down on my hobbies.
So, what is the framework:
My framework is to pick 2-3 hobbies to focus on for a few months. If you can handle just two, go for it. If you like variety, stick with three.
This gives you time to practice, and if you're committed, you'll practice even when you'd rather be doing something else (scrolling, gaming, etc.).
Simple enough.
That would suck, and nobody wants that. The point is to focus on these few, dedicate your free time to them, and actually improve.
I still dabble in my other hobbies. None of my goals this year involve playing D&D, but I still play because it's fun. I just don't plan on organizing D&D sessions myself right now, because that would take time away from my focus hobbies. I'd be breaking my promise to myself.
That is this framework in action.
There's another way to boost your learning – set goals for your focus period. Since you're not scattered between 10 hobbies, you know exactly what you'll be doing. And because you know what you'll be doing, you can set goals to track your progress.
For inspiration, here are my own personal goals:
- Mechatronics: Build a four-legged spider bot this year.
- Guitar: Record 8 song covers for YouTube this year.
- Blog: Write 12 blog posts this year.
I track these goals, so I can see how I'm doing. These are the things that motivate me to improve, and they help me stay focused. My other hobbies are on pause for now.
I recommend putting your plan somewhere you'll see it every day (like a bulletin board), because it'll remind you of your decision to focus and help you adhere to it.
All in all, this is a solid framework that's been helping me improve at what I love for about three months now. It's a rule that I only do 3 hobbies – even though I break it sometimes when I want to do something else.
It's also a goal though, and I track these goals and try to achieve them by the end of the year, giving me the gratification of seeing me improve at the things I enjoy.
This structure has helped me personally, but I'm not saying it's the only way. You might hate this idea, but you might also try it and find that it works for you. If you do let me know! :)
If you want to be scared away from scrolling on social media so you can focus easier on your hobbies, here's a video that reminded me recently that watching apps like TikTok and Instagram Reels isn't good for your life (This video specifically discusses how scrolling might cause premature dementia).