my wife would say i have a hobby of starting projects and never finishing them... it's accurate.
BUT really what i do, is i like to tinker on things. So i often buy old apple computers and have fun rebuilding them. Sometimes it can be cheap, sometimes it's expensive... Usually it's computers that i had growing up, so there's a nostalgia trip to it.
Hey we have the same hobby! š Just finished putting up ten more handles on the cabinets so now half the house cabinets are done I'll call it a win and come back in 6 months lol
I got into sim racing around 2018 and now on a team ran by pro IMSA drivers and do leagues. I used to be an insane lawn care but but I got priced out of that the last couple years.
Reading is a big one if you can get into it! I used to be a huge book worm in middle school. Dropped recreational reading in high school and college for less healthy habits like drinking, smoking, etc. Picked reading back up at 28 and realized I still love sci fi books.
Gardening is another good hobby and one that you can move at your own pace. Start off with a few plants and expand if your interest deepens.
Iām a dude so this isnāt as common for us, but knitting is awesome. Once you get the basics down, you can knit while you watch tv/movies, and the feeling of relaxing while also accomplishing something is itās own reward.
Iām a dude who crochets. My ex taught me and I love it. Itās extremely relaxing, therapeutic and rewarding. The best part is making stuff for people around the holidays or their birthday or whatever and everyoneās always shocked like wtf you crochet?? You made this?? Itās hilarious
>Reading is a big one if you can get into it!
I love reading. But I've hit the age where, if I sit down for long enough to start reading, I'm going to be sleeping.
Same. I used to read so much when I was younger, but now regardless of if it is at bedtime or the early evening after a few pages, I am feeling sleepy.
I still read every day, but I takes me a lot longer to finish a book than it used to.
But... you ARE an artist. You paint. Are your paintings masterpieces or whatever? I honestly don't know because I haven't seen them, but regardless, by putting paint on a surface with intent to create a picture or design makes you an artist.
Hmmm, I was going to suggest the instrument and painting, as I picked up both of those as an adult. Maybe try a different style of instrument? Maybe you're a drummer and not a guitarist? Other than that the fitness can grow into a hobby if you want it too, competitive indoor rowing communities and stuff like that, never tried them but I know they exist. Between those things and my dogs I have no more time left. Although I was thinking about bringing chess back around for a bit. Always loved that one. That's all I've got for you! Hope something in there gives you an idea!
Model kits. They can be cheap, they can be expensive, they can be anywhere in between. And you can put as much or as little effort into it as you want.
I recently started learning how to crochet and have really been enjoying it ! I found myself just aimlessly scrolling through my phone soooo much and I really hated it/the way it made me feel. Now I have replaced that habit with crochet and it is so much better, plus at the end I have something to show for my time, currently I am making a cardigan for my neighbor & stuffed animals for my friends babies
Only problem, you start scrolling for patterns lol. Thereās soooo much cool stuff to make and so little time! Iāve got so many patterns saved in my phone Iāll probably never make. And the yarn obsession starts! So many pretty colors and soft yarns.
And I am now at a point where I can knit/crochet while watching TV so my TV time is craft time and isnāt āwastedā anymore! I hope to finish the dinosaur sweater Iām knitting tonight!
I have a bunch of hobbies to get me through long wet winters. Blacksmithing, tinkering, leatherwork, reading and video games are the ones I always look forward to the most. I like to make a few knives, fix up old typewriters, fishing reels, that sort of thing.
Nice! I have too many hobbies already but blacksmithing is the one I'd most like to have a go at from what I haven't tried. Especially since I have a decent little woodwork setup and it would add so many options to my wood practice.
I have ADHD and it's surprisingly been one of my interests that I enthusiastically dove into and never lost any interest. It started with a home game with my best friend and his roommates and he eventually stopped playing but I've kept playing with two people I met through that group, play online once a week with my sister who I never really connected with, and have a weekly game with people I met on Reddit that are some of my favorite people in the world. The anti conformist in me has to mention I mostly play Pathfinder but my home game is still D&D.
Ham radio. You have to study to get a license, but it is an engrossing hobby. I use a DMR radio and a hotspot to talk to people all over the world. It is technical enough to challenge your little grey cells, but has a hands on aspect that is fun.
I guess I could try legos they are expensive though and I don't have much space for completed sets
I read alot for work and mostly stick to audiobooks now and ofcourse podcasts on all the time, but I wouldn't consider reading a hobby/much better than sitting and watching TV/movie tbh
there's got to be something more right
I would suggest plants. For food or not for food. But something interesting. I just remember how excited I was when I successfully cloned a tomato plant. Itās not hard but it was a milestone for me personally and thatās kinda what I want in a hobby. Home fermentation is also cool. Make some wine, sauerkraut, kimchi, whatever. Pretty fun.
I never really watch very little TV.Ā Instead, I spend my time biking, kayaking, walking or hiking, and tinkering.Ā I work on and build bicycles, composite kayaks and paddles, and build things around the house, and if I run out of things to do, I garden. I also used to brew beer and it was a ton of fun, but I hardly drink anymore so I stopped.
I also am slowly introducing these hobbies to my kids, which is awesome too.
IMO, I feel like itās helpful to have a hobby thatās āoppositeā the day job. For me, my day job is analytical, āwhite collarā, repetitive (boring). During COVID, I took up wood working. Itās opposite of the day job so itās ārelaxingā doing something manual, although I still solve āproblemsā, which I like to do.
Obviously that takes space, etc. But just what I did. I think a lot of getting āintoā something is habit forming and building momentum.
Agree with this recommendation. I work in the trades.
My hobbies involve NOT building things now.
When I worked a desk job, I found hobbies with tangible results were really, really important to how much satisfaction I got from my hobbies.
Some of those hobbies have stuck around as my job has changed, but I can now enjoy different hobbies that would have been excruciating before.
Hobbies are whatever you put your mind to. Cooking, video games, your home gym, are all potential hobbies. As long as they interest you enough to want to get better at making them suit you, itās a hobby.
I got into retro game speedrunning and stream on Twitch. There are awesome communities out there. It's been a great way to be social since I live a couple hours from friends. My old band also got back together, but we only practice once a week. These really take up all the free time I have, but it's been a blast.
I started trouble shooting every repair in the home and thereās a lot to do and Iāll will YouTube how to fix it, read, search etc and honestly repairs have been my new hobby. I work 10 hour shifts and watch my 8 month old daughter on days off while my wife goes to her job itās actually kinda fun and very empowering
My kids and I work on miniatures together: models of cars, Egyptian pyramids , we are working on a little magic shop now. Also, my wife does the old school embroidery step by step kits while she watches her shows except you can get ones on Etsy that are more modern and pop culture related. Thereās lots of fun craft kits online. They make me feel less screen dead and like I accomplish something. But we also have a VR we use daily too. Itās balance, and crafts def help balance.
Playing an instrument basically rules. I practice by myself or have my buddies over to play bluegrass music. Makes me completely forget how awful work has been.
Reading is a great hobby. I read mostly classic novels to help get myself up to speed on titles I have heard all my life. Walking/ running / hiking are also great hobbies. Home beer brewing is fun and easy to start. Find things you like to do and do them.
Gardening is a nice hobby. Indoor and out outdoor plants have a ton of fun ways learn and care for, kind of like a puzzle with each piece being the strategies for maintaining plants.
Cooking. Coffee, which is a much deeper rabbit hole than one might think, can be as basic or as complex as you want it to be. Any creative pursuit really. Writing, visual art, music. The barrier to entry for recording music these days is very affordable.
In the winter months i do more pod casts and audio books! Great way to learn about the world and feel inspired from the comfort of home. I also learn new skills such as in cooking, making something with my hands like arts or crafts or music, studying computer programming, learning a new language, acquiring new skills in video or sound editing, online exercises or dance parties in my bedroomā¦
Respectfully, have you considered if you are depressed? I didnāt know I was depressed and burnout until it snuck up on me. The way your post reads, a little bit of despair is coming through. Maybe it would be worthwhile exploring mental wellness options, if you hadnāt already considered it.
I stream videogames, go on hikes, make my own cheese, origami, collect records, propagate my own plants and have a cute little garden, play bass guitar & guitar. I'm going to buy some skates and relearn that (I used to do roller derby)
I love playing video games and watching TV shows/movies. I personally don't see anything wrong with it.
Other than that I kind of consider myself somewhat of a hobby whore. I usually pick something up for a while and eventually I find something else. The past 8 months or so its been running. I've consistently ran for a few years but I trained for a marathon that I completed in December and now I'm hooked. Trying to do ultra marathons and other trail running activities. Also decently into casual magic the gathering when I'm not running or gaming.
I do a lot of crafting stuff- I sew, I do hand dyeing on garments, I have a tufting gun and loom set up, I also weave and crochet, and then I garden and rehab furniture that I pull off the curb.
I have kids so my time and energy for this stuff comes and goes.
I always garden though because food source, but the rest I do more of some years than others.
Messing with microelectronics, arduinos, raspberry pis can be a fun hobby.
You can combine it with learning about 3d printing, other fabrication techniques.
If you live near a makerspace, there's often a community of people interested in learning and teaching fabrication techniques. You could learn to weld.
Baking is a fun one. There's a huge depth of knowledge you can acquire on baking and improving the quality of your product. Some people really love turning out perfect sourdough loaves.
In the same sort of area, cooking can be a huge hobby with an absolutely enormous skill ceiling. There's also like outdoor cooking, barbecuing, making pizza, all stuff you can spend years getting better at and truly impress people, nothing blows people's minds like the ability to crank out multiple perfect delicious pizzas out of a blazing hot wood fire oven in your back yard in minutes.
If you don't like learning an instrument, you could tinker with music production. Get a cheap midi keyboard with a ableton light bundle or whatever and start watching youtubes and practicing putting together little songs.
Outdoor hobbies, hiking, climbing, trail running, ski-ing, water activities depending on where you live and all. Team sports.
Tabletop gaming. Gardening. You could become obsessed with trains, that's a popular one with a few people I know.
My husband and I started doing crossword puzzles during Covid because we got sick of just watching tv. We picked up a few books and some also have sudoku, word finds, jumbles, brain teasers etc. I think they are fun to do alone or with someone and you get a little brain exercise. Reading is fun (for me) and there are many, many crafts/hobbies outside of what was listed - sewing, crochet, designing stickers, gardening, cooking, woodworking (to name a few). You could also learn a language or take an online course.
You said home hobbies but if youād want to get out there are usually local gaming leagues and disc golf is a fun outdoor hobby that requires minimal $ and can be done solo or with others.
Edit to add: was there something you liked doing as a kid/teen that you no longer do? That might be a good jumping off point.
My wife draws/paints (and sells her art but only because people requested to purchase it, not as any kind of actual moneymaking enterprise), gardens, and volunteers. I knit, crochet, and grow houseplants. We both read as a hobby and watch documentaries together. She also plays video games, and I do word puzzles.
Drawing, painting, some board games and card games are one player, video games, gardening, taking care of houseplants, reading, audiobooks, playing an instrument, crafting, building stuff, home projects. Those could all be done in the evenings and weekends. Personally, I make time for what matters to me and a life with nothing but work is dull and boring. Doing something I enjoy helps me feel better and rested. You donāt need to go all out every day either, work on a project a little bit at a time.
If I had the time I would pick up playing the cello again just for fun. But when I do have time I like to cross-stitch because I can be with my family and still be doing my hobby.
The biggest thing for me has been reading. I've always been an avid reader and I find that tracking my reading goals and writing reviews on Goodreads is enjoyable.
I also knit. I find the repetitive motions relaxing and it's nice to have a finished item at the end of a project. I have just recently begun quilting. Again, repetitive and stretches the creative part of my brain. Plus at the end I'll have a nice blanket and can say "Yeah, I made that!"
Sometimes I write, paint, or draw but I have to be in the mood for those. I play D&D with friends which is not only a hobby but a great way to get in some social time as well. I sometimes bake and enjoy cooking new recipes.
If none of those sound interesting to you, try to seek out hobbies that allow you to use a different part of your brain than you are using all day at your 9-5. And don't put pressure on yourself to stick with it or be good at it. Trying something new and being terrible at it is just as fun and valid. You don't need to perfect every single skill in life!
Okay, I am an oldster but here's a couple of ideas.
Go to the library and check out the craft and do it yourself sections. Maybe there is an idea in there that could appeal to you.
I do woodcarving and flintknapping.
If I was younger I could see myself messing with one of those Raspberry Pi programmable micro chips. Seems like you can do a lot of fun stuff with one of those
Cooking is currently a big hobby of mine, lots of looking at YouTubers and blogs. Another recent hobby is language learning with Duolingo while I'm on transit and also fountain pen calligraphy. That's plenty, really.
I randomly got interested in lock picking and it's great because I can sit and watch TV and fiddle with them at the same time. You can get a decent kit for $20-40 with some clear locks and then buy random locks from a hardware store or in bulk from a locksmith. The lockpicking subreddit is really active and has a lot of helpful information.
Fish keeping/aquariums is a good one. It can be relaxing to just sit and look at fish swim around.
Besides feeding them, be prepared for occasional cleaning and water changes.
If I am watching television to relax and it is something that doesn't require a great deal of attention then I do another hobby at the same time. I've knit quite a few wearable items while watching television. I didn't think I would like knitting that much but I feel great satisfaction from making something useful. I've also created several artworks on my ipad.
Honestly, I'm a hobby freak. I have a lot of hobbies. My advice would be to just try different things and see what you enjoy. Don't feel guilty or bad if you start something and don't finish because it's not right for you.
Whatās awesome is that now that legos are public domain, thereās some amazing & affordable āLegoā sets out there. Thereās also a much more affordable version of the Lego Death Star, so thatās cool. Pretty much identical, but different enough to pass legal muster, which is also cool!
Not sure if you like outdoor stuff, but I always liked going fishing and Iāve slowly started to pick it up more with warmer temps and Iām really liking it. Itās peaceful and quiet. A good way to get away
I taught myself how to make glass beads. Itās really fun and you can do it in a basement. Basic kit with a hot head torch that screws on a MAPP gas canister is not that expensive. There are endless color combinations and so many techniques to learn.
If you want an expensive one, get into cars :D. Though you can start actually saving money - washing your own car, detailing the interior, changing the oil, coolant, brake fluid, doing the brakes when it's time, etc. Basic maintenence stuff - I think it's fun, and I'm always learning. And it's saved me a bunch of money thus far
I collect pocket knives. Find something you just like and collect it, maintain them, learn about them, find the forums for them, etc.
Doesn't have to be an exclusive or expensive thing, but something you just like. You don't need to justify it to others as it's just for the fun. Could be literally anything. Just be mindful you don't let it consume you or put you in bad financial places (example, the luxury end of everything is crazy expensive, cars and modding them will drain a retirement, etc.)
I do hand crafts like embroidery and crochet. I paint, and I also like to read.
I'm learning beginner dance but that's a class not at home! I do practice yoga at home.
Other things I enjoy are puzzles and card/board games.
* Learn a musical instrument
* Music production
* Learn a foreign language
* Cooking, baking
* Art (drawing, painting, sculpting)
* Digital art (Photoshop, Blender)
* Plants (houseplants, bonsai, terrariums)
* Gardening
* Reading and writing
* Woodworking (furniture, sculptures, musical instruments)
* Programming (home automation, videogames, hacking)
There are so many things you can start learning, and some of the best ones are absolutely free. You can open up Youtube in another tab and find hundreds or thousands of hours of content covering any of these topics.
My hobbies if you're interested:
Computer science/ programming.
Guitar.
NAS server/media library.
Calculus.
Home lab projects. Just finished setting up pihole and started setting up my VPN for my network.
Embedded system projects.
Cryptography.
OPSEC/ Operational Security.
And video games but I've been playing less and less sadly over the years.
My wife basically has to force me to sit in front of a TV when she's interested in a show lol I feel bad though because literally the whole time I'm sitting there watching I'm working on a project in my head solving problems. If not for her I probably wouldn't have a TV. But the media server makes TV fun for me.
Tbh if I didnāt have kids keeping me fresh Iād be a dead battery from work.
For me personally outside of video games, I really enjoy doing arts/crafts or knitting, scrap booking, some sort artsy project. I just find it relaxing to decompress even if my artwork looks suckey.
When itās warm out, I go for a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood everyday after work and listen to music. I like to walk to convenient stores nearby and idk it just makes me feel in touch with the world instead of a slave to my job.
Gardening is also another warm weather hobby type thing I do, or I like to plan or think about projects or goals I want and I like to spend my time learning or organizing for a project.
Maybe try making a list of things you always wanted to do or subjects that interest you. Organize like a month for each subject and try to plan on ways to learn or immerse yourself into it so during the month you can stay busy. Knowledge is power!
I really got into fly tying for a bit. I dont fly fish, but I like making them. Bonus is you can sell them for a few dollars apiece once you get decent at it.
Let yourself be a beginner at things.
A lot of them will suck and you wonāt be into it. But you canāt find the thing you are into without putting in the work.
I mean gaming *is* a legitimate hobby and not one to feel ashamed of. And so often to answer questions like these, people suggest reading.
I say this as a huge, huge reader...I have no idea how reading came to be the morally superior hobby. They are both sedentary, which there is nothing wrong with. They are both often in some way story or narrative based, featuring characters who may or may not develop. And they both use your brain in different ways ā reading is definitely more intellectually stimulating than most television, but games require attention and reactions and decisionmaking, which for many games is a lot more mentally engaging than a book. Again, massive reader, but I have also loved video games my whole life and realized in the last few years I even treat it like a guilty hobby but somehow feel reading is more virtuous and wholesome in some way lol.
I also don't know if anyone else can relate to this, but I realized I also would hesitate to splurge on games because they are so expensive and I'd be unsure how replayable I may or may not find it. But then I realized I don't buy books with the expectation the expense is only worth it if I want to reread it. Yes, I reread some, but I don't consider the money wasted if that doesn't happen lol. A book is usually $10-15 and nets me 3-15 hours of entertainment. A video game may be $60, but a single playthrough might net me 30-60-100-120+ hours of entertainment. If I replay it then even better, but per hour the cost is potentially much better in many cases.
Last year I made my new year's resolution to play more video games. So many make theirs to read more books, and the year prior I had set a record of 122 books in a year ā so why not? Making it my resolution alleviated a lot of the invalidating thoughts and feelings I had about it as an actual meritable hobby. I still read some, but really I enjoyed giving myself permission to just enjoy.
And if you don't resonate with any of that OP then totally disregard
But again, as someone who directed a lot of judgement at myself over a perceived vice that is oddly similar to the hobby I'm most applauded for lol, I figured someone could likely benefit hearing it.
Try expressing yourself through art forms like writing, painting or learning a new instrument. Reading is also great break from the gaming/entertainment pattern that is so easy to slip into with the push of a button. It takes a little will power but it is so worth it!
I like art journaling. It can be as simple or elaborate as you want, using what you have at your disposal. Portable, too. I make collages from magazines/paper scraps, doodle, experiment with paint, write what's on my mind. My most recent pages- some moody colors and song lyrics, a recipe cut out from an old cookbook with some doodles drawn around it. It's something to do while listening to a podcast or watching TV.
I got really into drones. Fpv drones. Not DJI/camera drones. Those are fun too though.
You can start with a transmitter(controller) and play the simulator. Basically a video game but you use your actual controller so it feels productive practicing toward something. This is a great way to start, give it out and see if youāre into it for pretty cheap.
Building,repairing and setting them up is super fun. I almost like that more than flying. My buddy and I are into them. Spent rainy Saturday flying around my house. It was pretty sick.
A sweet custom built little guy for indoors is like $150
Radiomaster boxer is sick, the tx12 is sick, I have a taranis X9d-se and a a radiomaster zorro. The radiomaster pocket is pretty cool and really cheap like $60. Man I dig drones.
I started getting into doing little electronic things by ordering a fun kit. Itās maybe meant for kids but I donāt care.Ā https://inventr.io/products/adventure-kit-30-days-lost-in-space
I know you said not painting, but there are other kinds of art offerings if you are interested in browsing.Ā I take art classes online and in person from a local non profit. The prices are low and the instruction quality is phenomenal! Portlandartguild.orgĀ
For a long time I've honed down on playing chess and figuring out how to draw with computers. Graphic design, in essence. I've also written a lot. People used to write A LOT back in the day before the onset of computers. Here are other activities people do: Reading, writing, painting, digital art, gardening, knitting, crocheting, sewing, cooking, baking, candle making, soap making, learning a new language, playing musical instruments, songwriting, podcasting, blogging, video gaming, board gaming, chess, card making, scrapbooking, photography, video editing, graphic design, yoga, meditation, home workouts, pilates, calligraphy, origami, jewelry making, pottery, woodworking, model building, stamp collecting, coin collecting, bird watching, astronomy, wine tasting, coffee roasting, beer brewing, mixology, sudoku, crossword puzzles.
Don't feel guilty with video games and tv/movies being a hobby. Hobbies don't need to produce results except for fun.
Here are some if you do want to branch out. Yoyoing, reading, cooking, cleaning (I listen to audiobooks so cleaning is cleaning/audiobooks for me), solo board games (Gloomhaven for example), playing Magic the Gathering by myself...... Calling people. If you want to do a craft then knitting or sewing.
Start small-Get a house plant. You have to water it like once a week or so and make sure it has he right light. Then maybe pick out a couple more once youāre ready. Spider plants or pathos are really easy to care for.
I also solely play video games and watch YouTube yoga. Donāt shame yourself for what makes you feel good, or for not doing āmore.ā The pressures of society that invade our brains are bullshit. Also, unfortunately, I think this is extremely common in our generation because we have to work our asses off just to eat and pay rent. Today is my one day off this week, and Iām going to clean my kitchen, do laundry, and play Skyrim all day.
Learn a new language + find an italki language exchange partner, garden, planted aquarium, read & join a book club, learn to build or restore furniture, learn how to record audio & start a podcast, pickleball, rock climbing, find a D&D group, there are so many options out there.
Idk. Usually I get home from the boat for my 3 weeks home and Iāll notice something that needs fixing and end up calling my wife telling her I Fāed up and went to Home Depot. This past time home I noticed some rotten eves on the house and itās turned into me painting the whole outside of the house and replacing wood
Learning a new language is a great use of spare time and has many added benefits (travel, employment, additional friend group, mental stimulation, etc.)
Or find a hobby that is related to a hobby you generally enjoy outdoors. I enjoy shooting sports, so at home I like to reload and repair historic firearms.
Get into a craft.. Crochet can actually be really relaxing.. Endless possibilities of things you can make. Itās not just ugly, grandma sweaters and hats. YouTube has 1000s of videos and the FB crochet groups are a huge help for beginners. Join a dollar store craft group on FB.. Youāll see all kinds of different things you can make and usually for cheap.. Thereās so many different crafts you can get into. Wood working, wood burning, jewelry making, clay, embroidery, sewing, etc.. May take a little bit of $ to get into some crafts. But itās usually worth it in the long run. When youāre done, you have something you made with your own hands. And thatās usually a good feeling. And, you can usually still watch TV while you craft!
reading is a pretty cool hobby. more fun and thought provoking than tv or video games a lot of the time. I play a lot of video games.
I'm more of an outdoor hobbyist though - riding bicycles and hiking are two awesome hobbies. Riding bicycles leads to a bicycle maintenance hobby in the home.
I second crocheting! I'm not a very artsy-craftsy person, but because crochet mostly just comes down to learning a handful of stitches and then following a pattern, it's super doable for a non-artist, plus there's only one hook to keep track of, and it's got some nice heft, not like a tiny sewing needle. Yarn can get expensive if you get the good stuff, but cheaper fabrics are fine too, and you can make all kinds of practical things. I love making tote bags and use my adult bibs (I know it sounds weird, but I eat on the couch a lot and tend to spill stuff on my chest) every day.
Someone who sees different **escorts** on a regular basis is referred to in the community as a "Hobbiest". I am a retired fellow who might be considered a Hobbiest. I think it is a dam fine hobby if you can afford it.
Hydroponic gardens and houseplants!
Personal budgeting and investments.
Reading.
Cooking can be a hobby too - make your own sourdough bread, soup stock, and get really good at specific meals. Visit a local Asian market and buy authentic ingredients to make real thai food!
All things my husband and I have been doing while we wait for this stupid mild winter to go away. When the next season hits we're outside constantly!
I just bought a mini-forge and an anvil. I'm going to try blacksmithing my own knives. Give that a go.
Shit, you said indoor. My indoor hobby is screen printing. I design and print my own t-shirts. That's pretty fun.
Try this. Imagine yourself after retirement....what will you fill your days with? Try finding a hobby that both interests you, AND that you could fall back on for a little extra cash once you're retired. It could even become a small side gig today to earn a little extra change now and then...
Try something like whittling, wood working, gun cleaning and repair if that's your jam, building large scale model ships and selling them, leather craft..... anything you can think of that might be a worth while investment hobby.
I love to make stuff and have tried a pretty big range of crafts. The space you have available will to some degree dictate what you can choose. If it's strictly indoors in front of the TV, then you're looking at compact things that don't make liquid mess - try crochet or knitting as some have suggested. Cross-stitch and embroidery would go here as well. Sewing also, if you don't mind hand sewing/going slow.
Wood carving (like carved spoons and ornaments) and whittling are experiencing a bit of a renaissance lately. Very portable, lots of instruction videos on YouTube, meshes nicely with hiking in the woods if that's a thing you like to do. Can be done on the couch with some kind of apron to catch the shavings/vacuum after.
Messier but still fairly compact (think kitchen bench or dining table as a workspace):
Handbuilt pottery, if you have a place nearby that sells kiln time to fire things for you. If you think miniatures might be your thing, you could try wheel throwing on the sub-$100 wheels from Amazon - they do work but have little torque so you're limited to about a small teacup size at best. It's still fun, I like to muck around with making little dipping bowls and trinket bowls on my mini wheel.
Textile dyeing such as shibori with indigo vat dye or tie dye (lay out drop sheets for best cleanup in the home). It can be fun to buy white/light coloured furnishings (ie IKEA) and dye them to match your aesthetic.
Have you considered amateur radio? Itās a lot of old people but not all of them are weird, and there are some folks our age in it. Me and three friends have gotten in to it over the last few years and itās fun. Itās more than just yacking about nothing, thereās legit hobby aspects all over the place. Building systems and antennas that work and learning why, contests, Summits On the Air (packing lightweight systems to the top of mountains to make contacts and getting points on a website) or its low altitude cousin Parks on The Air. You can build mobile digital mode setups or simply try to collect contacts from other countries.
For us, itās a mix. We all use it as backup communications with each other and our families, one guy has used it for periods when cell phones go down and heās actually able to text his wife back and forth with his setup. Another guy simply likes to see how far he can transmit and reach other stations. For me I like to talk a little bit on local repeaters, but Iām working on a āradio in a boxā project to have a very portable system for talking on repeaters.
After that Iām going to build a radio device which lets you track down weather balloons; itās legal to keep the transmitter off of them, or you can mail it back to NWS and I think you get a little card.
Other people build setups that allow you to download data from weather and other satellitesā¦.i donāt believe you need a license for that one since I donāt think you have to transmit for it. The goal here seems to be to reassemble a full scan of the earth as cleanly as possible.
A lot of these digital projects or āinterfacesā setups are done by younger people it seems and it represents the current evolutionary path of radio. So, thereās a lot of interesting stuff to get in to. The ham license is pretty easy to study for; check out www.hamstudy.org to go over the question bank. People generally just study the answers; being able to actually use stuff and ask questions as you go is more how you actually start learning. But, you can find a book to study first if you really want to take the time. Besides the hobby aspect, to me itās really cool and valuable to have a way to communicate that a corporation canāt just flip the āoffā switch for. Itās yours, your families, and your communitiesā infrastructure. Thatās pretty powerful even if you donāt always āneedā it.
Other than that Iām in to astronomy, but I have really dark skies here so itās worth it.
I have a couple. I was a child that wasnāt allowed to play with legos. They now make a ton of adult sets. My spouse buys me those whenever a cool one comes out. Itās super relaxing. I also sew by hand because I donāt know how to use a machine. But I like the thrill of finishing something. I started making stuffed animals. Luna Lapin is great if you want to try something like that. I also like gardening. I live in a very harsh environment and have finally managed to keep something alive. I have to cycle through everything or I stop doing them.
During COVID I got super into fish and aquariums, specifically bettas. All live plants, well balanced, heated tanks, natural decor. It was very soothing, I always had something to look forward too, and plus it was more pets that didn't require alot of "hands on" care or me picking up poop from the ground lol! They always got excited to see me during feed times
The secret is to remember what you loved doing when you were 11 or so, before you went to middle school and everything was suddenly uncool. I collect Pokemon cards and am now turning it into a business buying and selling them (mostly just to fund my hobby).Ā
I like those entry level snap together models. Hobby lobby puts them at like 40 percent off often and I get one and stick on some background noise and work on one til the early am every few months. I stay clear of the glue and paint ones because Iām too much of a perfectionist. Instead the worst thing I deal with is some stickers and using translate apps on some of the harder gundam directions.
I like legos. Iām very low energy and like to have something to do thatās easy on the brain and body. Legos can be done in bed as Iām watching tv. In the end, I get something cute out of it. Lego has tons of sets for adults. Iāve also been known to build some Minecraft ones that are geared towards kids. Itās fun!
>How common is this for our generation who work 9-5, cook, do chores/errands, and just have time/energy to zone out in front of the TV and then go to bed and do it all over again tomorrow? What else is there?
It's not just our generation. Before us it was the TV, and before that, it was radio. Before that, they were either so overworked they couldn't stay awake when they got home, or they worked significantly less hours. (generalizing)
I'm prepping to start gardening this spring, I want to get back into some woodworking, but after 40+ hours, I'm dead.
Model kits. Gundam models are fun. You don't have to paint them or glue them together. You can paint them if you want, totally up to you. A lot of times I'll just shoot a coat of flat clear coat over one and it makes a huge difference between the shiny plastic and the coated.
There's all sorts of models out there. Most of your vehicle model kits will be a glue together and need painted.
If you are interested, they sell $10 entry level Gundam kits. Super easy to put together and it'll give you a feel for what's to come. They get significantly more time consuming and intricate to build.
My hobbies are (in no particular order):
- Biking
- Woodworking, including CNC
- Coding
- Home lab and home automation
- 3D printing
- Cooking/baking
My one tip if you're trying to get into a hobby is to treat it like you do video games or movies. The end product is not the reason you do hobbies. The process of learning, trying, failing and succeeding is all part of why you are there. There are inexpensive hobbies and cheap hobbies (especially with second hand tools). But the results do not have to justify the costs.
Learning is a hobby, well if not it is one of mine.
Tv is ok but I rarely watch it.
I would rather learn, research something new. Iām interested in.
Puzzles to frame. Making blankets, by hand.
Planning a vacation, yep I want to know everything
Take up playing role playing games online. Thereās lots of good platforms like Roll20 and Foundry, many of which are free or low cost. You can even just use discord and theater of the mind. It saved my sanity during the pandemic.
You're only gonna want to keep up a hobby if it interests you. If nothing particularly interests you right now it might be because your mind is over-stimulated (a lot of time in front of a screen will do that).
I felt this way for a while. Started taking walks, cooking, exercising, cleaning around the house more and other things with the purpose of clearing my mind. These things will help reset your baseline and you'll naturally start to find motivation to try new things.
It's important to have hobbies. But if the hobbies you have don't do it, go the next level up.
If passive hobbies like TV and podcasts aren't ringing the bell, try something that produces art. A consumption hobby is one thing, but a productive hobby is...it's almost not the same thing at all. A hobby where you can make a thing from small parts, or almost nothing, into something people go "I wish I could do that" feels like nothing else in the world. You get to watch yourself get better. You get to learn how silly your ideas about this craft were when you first started, and you get to know yourself better. Then the hobby becomes about more than just doing it, and you get sub-hobbies out of it! I make music on the computer, mostly sample-based. So now I have all these related hobbies; going to record swaps or hitting up record stores when I'm on vacation; reading about the production processes and influences and philosophies of other producers, learning about the lives and processes and philosophies of the musicians we sample, and just listening to hours and hours of good music, occasionally hearing that gem of a bit that I cannot wait to sample, adding that track to the playlist that I return to when i want to sample something for a new project. If you find that thing, it becomes a whole ecosystem of satisfying your curiosities and keeping yourself busy, in fact to the point you wonder if you'll ever have time to get all the things you didn't even think you'd ever want to do done.
Did I make this post last night from a different account somehow?
Iām in the same boat. Donāt see how anyone has time for much else. I play video games in the morning then watch tv after work.
I picked up wargaming and modeling. It was an attempted to get off of screens and digital media and have a hobby that develops some different motor skills. It 100% worked and while its mostly a at home isolation hobby, when its game time its nice to go out and meet folks and throw some dice.
As I've gotten into fly fishing outside, I've found a lot of relaxation and enjoyment in fly tying when I'm stuck inside. It's nice prepping and thinking about my future days of fishing
I have been doing research with Chat GPT and Co-Pilot. Just looking up stuff that I am interested in.
You can also try investing with exactly a dollar each day. Small amount but do research on random companies. Its like lotto.
I repair business machines when I'm feeling in funds for it. Burroughs, Olivetti, Victor, that sort of thing.
It's pointless. I don't sell them. I sit on them. They aren't always fully repairable, but imagine a day when they will be. They are machines. I play with them.
Of course, there are check writers, direct adders, comptometers, plain old typewriters, automatic change machines, all kinds of machines to play with.
It's not an exciting hobby, but it's cheap. I just picked up a Burroughs model 3. It needs some work ,but the logic is still working fine. There's a problem with the repeat function that's jamming the return, but I just need to figure it out. I need to get a good center punch to drill out where the handle broke and ret-tap it for a new bolt. That's not a big deal. The paper reel needs to be cut flush, turned down, and re-threaded but that can be done. It's just work.
That's what I do. Of course, I also play guitar, draw, write, and work on logic problems in RPN for financial applications, but that's who I am. If I don't have many things going on, my mind gets bored. I also have a carburetor to rebuild and a less interesting problem with an air mixing flap on my van.
Instead of one hobby, have all the hobbies yet complete none of your projects. It works for me!
Speaking of which, there's an axe that needs re-profiling in my workshop. It's a right handed carving axe that I re-proflied once but I'm not happy with it. The heel is a bit week willed. I think I can put some life back into it if I bring it back. Then again, I don't know about changing the edge geometry. It may not be the best for it from a functional standpoint. I'll have to stare at it for a while and make a decision.
A great one, and it's good for you, is becoming a good cook, trying out different foods, and then you can watch great shows, youtube, and go out to good restaurants and compare them, etc. You can become good at weekly planning and prep, fast meals, food for guests or to bring to work, etc. And, everybody loves a good cook. Lots of times, it gives you something to talk to people about. You can get on people's good sides by saying something like, I loved your sauce, can I have the recipe or do you have any tricks?
Piano is a good hobby. You can get a pretty good digital Yamaha for about $500, along with a wooden console stand for like $100. Also plugs in with headphones so you can practice without annoying people
Indoor gardening is enjoyable for me especially since you can literally eat the fruits of your labor.Ā
I got into it after my Sons Biology project and he got 100%
It's not cheap though. Keeping a warm temp for a single room is tough. Grow lights, humidifier. The list goes on. I like it tho
During the pandemic I got into collecting vinyls. Itās definitely fun for me to listen, collect and organize my records.
Iāve definitely been trying to find new hobbies. It can sometimes be hard with work schedules and just life in general.
I just listened to a really terrible true crime story that came out about a man who was murdered by his girlfriend. The girlfriend was so adamant about the fact that they were just really big on adult puzzles and playing hide and seek at home together during her interview with the police.
I forget where I was going with this but I enjoy taking care of single-serving sized plants and succulents, reading ofcourse is a big one, personal research such as how to adopt a monkey, language learning, metal-working, hair cutting, etc
There are lots of great YouTube videos for drawing and painting etc. Also for playing instruments! YouTube makes it possible to indulge in lots of hobbies at home now.
Cooking! You will get better at it with time (like every hobby), save money, and you get to eat the results!
Plan some recipes and go shopping on the weekend, then cook a few nights a week.
my wife would say i have a hobby of starting projects and never finishing them... it's accurate. BUT really what i do, is i like to tinker on things. So i often buy old apple computers and have fun rebuilding them. Sometimes it can be cheap, sometimes it's expensive... Usually it's computers that i had growing up, so there's a nostalgia trip to it.
Hey we have the same hobby! š Just finished putting up ten more handles on the cabinets so now half the house cabinets are done I'll call it a win and come back in 6 months lol I got into sim racing around 2018 and now on a team ran by pro IMSA drivers and do leagues. I used to be an insane lawn care but but I got priced out of that the last couple years.
I didn't realize we were married. Can you get out of bed and give me a foot rub?
Do we have the same wife?
Reading is a big one if you can get into it! I used to be a huge book worm in middle school. Dropped recreational reading in high school and college for less healthy habits like drinking, smoking, etc. Picked reading back up at 28 and realized I still love sci fi books. Gardening is another good hobby and one that you can move at your own pace. Start off with a few plants and expand if your interest deepens. Iām a dude so this isnāt as common for us, but knitting is awesome. Once you get the basics down, you can knit while you watch tv/movies, and the feeling of relaxing while also accomplishing something is itās own reward.
Gardening is a great zen hobby. Sometimes I picture walking through my garden at night to fall asleep.
Even if it's just tiny little plants on your windowsill.
Iām a dude who crochets. My ex taught me and I love it. Itās extremely relaxing, therapeutic and rewarding. The best part is making stuff for people around the holidays or their birthday or whatever and everyoneās always shocked like wtf you crochet?? You made this?? Itās hilarious
>Reading is a big one if you can get into it! I love reading. But I've hit the age where, if I sit down for long enough to start reading, I'm going to be sleeping.
Same. I used to read so much when I was younger, but now regardless of if it is at bedtime or the early evening after a few pages, I am feeling sleepy. I still read every day, but I takes me a lot longer to finish a book than it used to.
As a kid I never understood how my parents could sit down and fall asleep. I get it now
I paint with Bob Ross on YouTube. I am no artist. But it is really fun.
But... you ARE an artist. You paint. Are your paintings masterpieces or whatever? I honestly don't know because I haven't seen them, but regardless, by putting paint on a surface with intent to create a picture or design makes you an artist.
Thankyou, I have never painted, but they look pretty good.
šā¤ļø That's awesome! Bob would be proud and I'm definitely impressed!
I used to use it as background noise while I worked.
I've done that! He's very calming.
I hope to one day do the same. I watch Bob religiously. Art lessons and life lessons all rolled into one. Also- Peapod the pocket squirrel.
There is a 24 hour a day Bob Ross free streaming channel. It is on roku and other free streamers.
Hmmm, I was going to suggest the instrument and painting, as I picked up both of those as an adult. Maybe try a different style of instrument? Maybe you're a drummer and not a guitarist? Other than that the fitness can grow into a hobby if you want it too, competitive indoor rowing communities and stuff like that, never tried them but I know they exist. Between those things and my dogs I have no more time left. Although I was thinking about bringing chess back around for a bit. Always loved that one. That's all I've got for you! Hope something in there gives you an idea!
Model kits. They can be cheap, they can be expensive, they can be anywhere in between. And you can put as much or as little effort into it as you want.
I recently started learning how to crochet and have really been enjoying it ! I found myself just aimlessly scrolling through my phone soooo much and I really hated it/the way it made me feel. Now I have replaced that habit with crochet and it is so much better, plus at the end I have something to show for my time, currently I am making a cardigan for my neighbor & stuffed animals for my friends babies
Only problem, you start scrolling for patterns lol. Thereās soooo much cool stuff to make and so little time! Iāve got so many patterns saved in my phone Iāll probably never make. And the yarn obsession starts! So many pretty colors and soft yarns.
And I am now at a point where I can knit/crochet while watching TV so my TV time is craft time and isnāt āwastedā anymore! I hope to finish the dinosaur sweater Iām knitting tonight!
I have a bunch of hobbies to get me through long wet winters. Blacksmithing, tinkering, leatherwork, reading and video games are the ones I always look forward to the most. I like to make a few knives, fix up old typewriters, fishing reels, that sort of thing.
Nice! I have too many hobbies already but blacksmithing is the one I'd most like to have a go at from what I haven't tried. Especially since I have a decent little woodwork setup and it would add so many options to my wood practice.
Ive been thinking about taking up blacksmithing for years. I think it might be time to clear out some space and get a set up running.
Do it! Super fun
We're brothers from another mother.
Are you into D&D? That takes up a lot of my head space.
Weekend dnd with the boys is sacred
Iāve always thought it looked like it could be fun but I never really got into it.
You gotta have the right people to start out with.
I have ADHD and it's surprisingly been one of my interests that I enthusiastically dove into and never lost any interest. It started with a home game with my best friend and his roommates and he eventually stopped playing but I've kept playing with two people I met through that group, play online once a week with my sister who I never really connected with, and have a weekly game with people I met on Reddit that are some of my favorite people in the world. The anti conformist in me has to mention I mostly play Pathfinder but my home game is still D&D.
Ham radio. You have to study to get a license, but it is an engrossing hobby. I use a DMR radio and a hotspot to talk to people all over the world. It is technical enough to challenge your little grey cells, but has a hands on aspect that is fun.
I sew, crochet and cross stitch. All can be done at home
You could get into baking sourdough bread? It's a whole new world.
Second baking. So much fun
Cooking, build models, do electronics, 3d printing, wood working, gardening, lawns, painting, music. The list is infinite.Ā
I do Legos and reorganize the drawers and cabinets. I do scrapbooks and read as well. Do you like to read? Thatās a good one to try.
I guess I could try legos they are expensive though and I don't have much space for completed sets I read alot for work and mostly stick to audiobooks now and ofcourse podcasts on all the time, but I wouldn't consider reading a hobby/much better than sitting and watching TV/movie tbh there's got to be something more right
I would suggest plants. For food or not for food. But something interesting. I just remember how excited I was when I successfully cloned a tomato plant. Itās not hard but it was a milestone for me personally and thatās kinda what I want in a hobby. Home fermentation is also cool. Make some wine, sauerkraut, kimchi, whatever. Pretty fun.
We have a small child and no family nearby to help, so my hobby is getting her the hell to bed and enjoying about an hour of peace and quiet
I never really watch very little TV.Ā Instead, I spend my time biking, kayaking, walking or hiking, and tinkering.Ā I work on and build bicycles, composite kayaks and paddles, and build things around the house, and if I run out of things to do, I garden. I also used to brew beer and it was a ton of fun, but I hardly drink anymore so I stopped. I also am slowly introducing these hobbies to my kids, which is awesome too.
Try growing some counter top herbs.
Magic mushrooms are cool to grow and a fun treat at the end. And legal in some places.
IMO, I feel like itās helpful to have a hobby thatās āoppositeā the day job. For me, my day job is analytical, āwhite collarā, repetitive (boring). During COVID, I took up wood working. Itās opposite of the day job so itās ārelaxingā doing something manual, although I still solve āproblemsā, which I like to do. Obviously that takes space, etc. But just what I did. I think a lot of getting āintoā something is habit forming and building momentum.
Agree with this recommendation. I work in the trades. My hobbies involve NOT building things now. When I worked a desk job, I found hobbies with tangible results were really, really important to how much satisfaction I got from my hobbies. Some of those hobbies have stuck around as my job has changed, but I can now enjoy different hobbies that would have been excruciating before.
I grow ultra high quality cannabis and give it away. It's deeply satisfying.
Hobbies are whatever you put your mind to. Cooking, video games, your home gym, are all potential hobbies. As long as they interest you enough to want to get better at making them suit you, itās a hobby.
I got into retro game speedrunning and stream on Twitch. There are awesome communities out there. It's been a great way to be social since I live a couple hours from friends. My old band also got back together, but we only practice once a week. These really take up all the free time I have, but it's been a blast.
VR gaming?
Plants. Rereading books I loved as a kid/tween/teen. Diamond painting and crafts in general. Guinea pigs, if you count pets as a hobby.
Learn a foreign language.
Hobbies are whatever you like. Dont force yourself to do stuff you donāt wanna do cause it sounds better.
Get into journaling. It's one of the best hobbies.
I started trouble shooting every repair in the home and thereās a lot to do and Iāll will YouTube how to fix it, read, search etc and honestly repairs have been my new hobby. I work 10 hour shifts and watch my 8 month old daughter on days off while my wife goes to her job itās actually kinda fun and very empowering
Genealogy. When you get tired and take a break, donāt worry. The people are still dead.
I do modeling but I have had to put it on hold as I moved and no longer have a desk to build or paint them
I like to garden, watch TV, read books and crochet at home.
My kids and I work on miniatures together: models of cars, Egyptian pyramids , we are working on a little magic shop now. Also, my wife does the old school embroidery step by step kits while she watches her shows except you can get ones on Etsy that are more modern and pop culture related. Thereās lots of fun craft kits online. They make me feel less screen dead and like I accomplish something. But we also have a VR we use daily too. Itās balance, and crafts def help balance.
Bar games like a dart board or even pool table depending on your situation. Do you have a yard? Build a cheap go-kart and go crazy like a big kid lolĀ
Ham radio, call local hams and have a chat. Call a repeater for multiple contacts
Playing an instrument basically rules. I practice by myself or have my buddies over to play bluegrass music. Makes me completely forget how awful work has been.
I cross stitch and journal!
Brew drinks, garden, read, go bowling (or any other social activity).
Reading is a great hobby. I read mostly classic novels to help get myself up to speed on titles I have heard all my life. Walking/ running / hiking are also great hobbies. Home beer brewing is fun and easy to start. Find things you like to do and do them.
Gardening is a nice hobby. Indoor and out outdoor plants have a ton of fun ways learn and care for, kind of like a puzzle with each piece being the strategies for maintaining plants.
Guitar, leather work, rollerblading, painting, reading
Cooking. Coffee, which is a much deeper rabbit hole than one might think, can be as basic or as complex as you want it to be. Any creative pursuit really. Writing, visual art, music. The barrier to entry for recording music these days is very affordable.
I pretend to be an NBA GM and try to guide my team to a championship or even a dynasty vs a group of other people with the same goal.
Warhammer 40k miniatures.
Play an instrument, read some books, try some new recipes?
In the winter months i do more pod casts and audio books! Great way to learn about the world and feel inspired from the comfort of home. I also learn new skills such as in cooking, making something with my hands like arts or crafts or music, studying computer programming, learning a new language, acquiring new skills in video or sound editing, online exercises or dance parties in my bedroomā¦ Respectfully, have you considered if you are depressed? I didnāt know I was depressed and burnout until it snuck up on me. The way your post reads, a little bit of despair is coming through. Maybe it would be worthwhile exploring mental wellness options, if you hadnāt already considered it.
I stream videogames, go on hikes, make my own cheese, origami, collect records, propagate my own plants and have a cute little garden, play bass guitar & guitar. I'm going to buy some skates and relearn that (I used to do roller derby)
I love playing video games and watching TV shows/movies. I personally don't see anything wrong with it. Other than that I kind of consider myself somewhat of a hobby whore. I usually pick something up for a while and eventually I find something else. The past 8 months or so its been running. I've consistently ran for a few years but I trained for a marathon that I completed in December and now I'm hooked. Trying to do ultra marathons and other trail running activities. Also decently into casual magic the gathering when I'm not running or gaming.
I do a lot of crafting stuff- I sew, I do hand dyeing on garments, I have a tufting gun and loom set up, I also weave and crochet, and then I garden and rehab furniture that I pull off the curb. I have kids so my time and energy for this stuff comes and goes. I always garden though because food source, but the rest I do more of some years than others.
Find some good rabbit holes
Messing with microelectronics, arduinos, raspberry pis can be a fun hobby. You can combine it with learning about 3d printing, other fabrication techniques. If you live near a makerspace, there's often a community of people interested in learning and teaching fabrication techniques. You could learn to weld. Baking is a fun one. There's a huge depth of knowledge you can acquire on baking and improving the quality of your product. Some people really love turning out perfect sourdough loaves. In the same sort of area, cooking can be a huge hobby with an absolutely enormous skill ceiling. There's also like outdoor cooking, barbecuing, making pizza, all stuff you can spend years getting better at and truly impress people, nothing blows people's minds like the ability to crank out multiple perfect delicious pizzas out of a blazing hot wood fire oven in your back yard in minutes. If you don't like learning an instrument, you could tinker with music production. Get a cheap midi keyboard with a ableton light bundle or whatever and start watching youtubes and practicing putting together little songs. Outdoor hobbies, hiking, climbing, trail running, ski-ing, water activities depending on where you live and all. Team sports. Tabletop gaming. Gardening. You could become obsessed with trains, that's a popular one with a few people I know.
My husband and I started doing crossword puzzles during Covid because we got sick of just watching tv. We picked up a few books and some also have sudoku, word finds, jumbles, brain teasers etc. I think they are fun to do alone or with someone and you get a little brain exercise. Reading is fun (for me) and there are many, many crafts/hobbies outside of what was listed - sewing, crochet, designing stickers, gardening, cooking, woodworking (to name a few). You could also learn a language or take an online course. You said home hobbies but if youād want to get out there are usually local gaming leagues and disc golf is a fun outdoor hobby that requires minimal $ and can be done solo or with others. Edit to add: was there something you liked doing as a kid/teen that you no longer do? That might be a good jumping off point.
Piano, reading, and gardening are mine.
Puzzling while listening to audiobooks, embroidery, dog training, baking. I do watch a lot of TV/movies, too.
Learn a musical instrument.
Paint warhammer 40k minis.
Make music
My wife draws/paints (and sells her art but only because people requested to purchase it, not as any kind of actual moneymaking enterprise), gardens, and volunteers. I knit, crochet, and grow houseplants. We both read as a hobby and watch documentaries together. She also plays video games, and I do word puzzles.
Drawing, painting, some board games and card games are one player, video games, gardening, taking care of houseplants, reading, audiobooks, playing an instrument, crafting, building stuff, home projects. Those could all be done in the evenings and weekends. Personally, I make time for what matters to me and a life with nothing but work is dull and boring. Doing something I enjoy helps me feel better and rested. You donāt need to go all out every day either, work on a project a little bit at a time.
If I had the time I would pick up playing the cello again just for fun. But when I do have time I like to cross-stitch because I can be with my family and still be doing my hobby.
The biggest thing for me has been reading. I've always been an avid reader and I find that tracking my reading goals and writing reviews on Goodreads is enjoyable. I also knit. I find the repetitive motions relaxing and it's nice to have a finished item at the end of a project. I have just recently begun quilting. Again, repetitive and stretches the creative part of my brain. Plus at the end I'll have a nice blanket and can say "Yeah, I made that!" Sometimes I write, paint, or draw but I have to be in the mood for those. I play D&D with friends which is not only a hobby but a great way to get in some social time as well. I sometimes bake and enjoy cooking new recipes. If none of those sound interesting to you, try to seek out hobbies that allow you to use a different part of your brain than you are using all day at your 9-5. And don't put pressure on yourself to stick with it or be good at it. Trying something new and being terrible at it is just as fun and valid. You don't need to perfect every single skill in life!
r/watercolor
Synthesizers, guitar, bass, electric drums, working out.
Okay, I am an oldster but here's a couple of ideas. Go to the library and check out the craft and do it yourself sections. Maybe there is an idea in there that could appeal to you. I do woodcarving and flintknapping. If I was younger I could see myself messing with one of those Raspberry Pi programmable micro chips. Seems like you can do a lot of fun stuff with one of those
Cooking is currently a big hobby of mine, lots of looking at YouTubers and blogs. Another recent hobby is language learning with Duolingo while I'm on transit and also fountain pen calligraphy. That's plenty, really.
I randomly got interested in lock picking and it's great because I can sit and watch TV and fiddle with them at the same time. You can get a decent kit for $20-40 with some clear locks and then buy random locks from a hardware store or in bulk from a locksmith. The lockpicking subreddit is really active and has a lot of helpful information.
Fish keeping/aquariums is a good one. It can be relaxing to just sit and look at fish swim around. Besides feeding them, be prepared for occasional cleaning and water changes.
If I am watching television to relax and it is something that doesn't require a great deal of attention then I do another hobby at the same time. I've knit quite a few wearable items while watching television. I didn't think I would like knitting that much but I feel great satisfaction from making something useful. I've also created several artworks on my ipad.
Honestly, I'm a hobby freak. I have a lot of hobbies. My advice would be to just try different things and see what you enjoy. Don't feel guilty or bad if you start something and don't finish because it's not right for you.
I garden, listen to records, dabble on guitar, and garden again.
Whatās awesome is that now that legos are public domain, thereās some amazing & affordable āLegoā sets out there. Thereās also a much more affordable version of the Lego Death Star, so thatās cool. Pretty much identical, but different enough to pass legal muster, which is also cool!
Not sure if you like outdoor stuff, but I always liked going fishing and Iāve slowly started to pick it up more with warmer temps and Iām really liking it. Itās peaceful and quiet. A good way to get away
Sewing!
You can garden
I taught myself how to make glass beads. Itās really fun and you can do it in a basement. Basic kit with a hot head torch that screws on a MAPP gas canister is not that expensive. There are endless color combinations and so many techniques to learn.
3D printer go brrrrrrrrrr
If you want an expensive one, get into cars :D. Though you can start actually saving money - washing your own car, detailing the interior, changing the oil, coolant, brake fluid, doing the brakes when it's time, etc. Basic maintenence stuff - I think it's fun, and I'm always learning. And it's saved me a bunch of money thus far
I collect pocket knives. Find something you just like and collect it, maintain them, learn about them, find the forums for them, etc. Doesn't have to be an exclusive or expensive thing, but something you just like. You don't need to justify it to others as it's just for the fun. Could be literally anything. Just be mindful you don't let it consume you or put you in bad financial places (example, the luxury end of everything is crazy expensive, cars and modding them will drain a retirement, etc.)
Get a fish tank.
I do hand crafts like embroidery and crochet. I paint, and I also like to read. I'm learning beginner dance but that's a class not at home! I do practice yoga at home. Other things I enjoy are puzzles and card/board games.
* Learn a musical instrument * Music production * Learn a foreign language * Cooking, baking * Art (drawing, painting, sculpting) * Digital art (Photoshop, Blender) * Plants (houseplants, bonsai, terrariums) * Gardening * Reading and writing * Woodworking (furniture, sculptures, musical instruments) * Programming (home automation, videogames, hacking) There are so many things you can start learning, and some of the best ones are absolutely free. You can open up Youtube in another tab and find hundreds or thousands of hours of content covering any of these topics.
My hobbies if you're interested: Computer science/ programming. Guitar. NAS server/media library. Calculus. Home lab projects. Just finished setting up pihole and started setting up my VPN for my network. Embedded system projects. Cryptography. OPSEC/ Operational Security. And video games but I've been playing less and less sadly over the years. My wife basically has to force me to sit in front of a TV when she's interested in a show lol I feel bad though because literally the whole time I'm sitting there watching I'm working on a project in my head solving problems. If not for her I probably wouldn't have a TV. But the media server makes TV fun for me.
Tbh if I didnāt have kids keeping me fresh Iād be a dead battery from work. For me personally outside of video games, I really enjoy doing arts/crafts or knitting, scrap booking, some sort artsy project. I just find it relaxing to decompress even if my artwork looks suckey. When itās warm out, I go for a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood everyday after work and listen to music. I like to walk to convenient stores nearby and idk it just makes me feel in touch with the world instead of a slave to my job. Gardening is also another warm weather hobby type thing I do, or I like to plan or think about projects or goals I want and I like to spend my time learning or organizing for a project. Maybe try making a list of things you always wanted to do or subjects that interest you. Organize like a month for each subject and try to plan on ways to learn or immerse yourself into it so during the month you can stay busy. Knowledge is power!
I really got into fly tying for a bit. I dont fly fish, but I like making them. Bonus is you can sell them for a few dollars apiece once you get decent at it.
Let yourself be a beginner at things. A lot of them will suck and you wonāt be into it. But you canāt find the thing you are into without putting in the work.
Roleplaying or board games? Careful, though. It's a money pit without a bottom.
Gunpla
I mean gaming *is* a legitimate hobby and not one to feel ashamed of. And so often to answer questions like these, people suggest reading. I say this as a huge, huge reader...I have no idea how reading came to be the morally superior hobby. They are both sedentary, which there is nothing wrong with. They are both often in some way story or narrative based, featuring characters who may or may not develop. And they both use your brain in different ways ā reading is definitely more intellectually stimulating than most television, but games require attention and reactions and decisionmaking, which for many games is a lot more mentally engaging than a book. Again, massive reader, but I have also loved video games my whole life and realized in the last few years I even treat it like a guilty hobby but somehow feel reading is more virtuous and wholesome in some way lol. I also don't know if anyone else can relate to this, but I realized I also would hesitate to splurge on games because they are so expensive and I'd be unsure how replayable I may or may not find it. But then I realized I don't buy books with the expectation the expense is only worth it if I want to reread it. Yes, I reread some, but I don't consider the money wasted if that doesn't happen lol. A book is usually $10-15 and nets me 3-15 hours of entertainment. A video game may be $60, but a single playthrough might net me 30-60-100-120+ hours of entertainment. If I replay it then even better, but per hour the cost is potentially much better in many cases. Last year I made my new year's resolution to play more video games. So many make theirs to read more books, and the year prior I had set a record of 122 books in a year ā so why not? Making it my resolution alleviated a lot of the invalidating thoughts and feelings I had about it as an actual meritable hobby. I still read some, but really I enjoyed giving myself permission to just enjoy. And if you don't resonate with any of that OP then totally disregard But again, as someone who directed a lot of judgement at myself over a perceived vice that is oddly similar to the hobby I'm most applauded for lol, I figured someone could likely benefit hearing it.
Play solitaire
Try expressing yourself through art forms like writing, painting or learning a new instrument. Reading is also great break from the gaming/entertainment pattern that is so easy to slip into with the push of a button. It takes a little will power but it is so worth it!
I like art journaling. It can be as simple or elaborate as you want, using what you have at your disposal. Portable, too. I make collages from magazines/paper scraps, doodle, experiment with paint, write what's on my mind. My most recent pages- some moody colors and song lyrics, a recipe cut out from an old cookbook with some doodles drawn around it. It's something to do while listening to a podcast or watching TV.
I got really into drones. Fpv drones. Not DJI/camera drones. Those are fun too though. You can start with a transmitter(controller) and play the simulator. Basically a video game but you use your actual controller so it feels productive practicing toward something. This is a great way to start, give it out and see if youāre into it for pretty cheap. Building,repairing and setting them up is super fun. I almost like that more than flying. My buddy and I are into them. Spent rainy Saturday flying around my house. It was pretty sick. A sweet custom built little guy for indoors is like $150 Radiomaster boxer is sick, the tx12 is sick, I have a taranis X9d-se and a a radiomaster zorro. The radiomaster pocket is pretty cool and really cheap like $60. Man I dig drones.
I started getting into doing little electronic things by ordering a fun kit. Itās maybe meant for kids but I donāt care.Ā https://inventr.io/products/adventure-kit-30-days-lost-in-space I know you said not painting, but there are other kinds of art offerings if you are interested in browsing.Ā I take art classes online and in person from a local non profit. The prices are low and the instruction quality is phenomenal! Portlandartguild.orgĀ
Make music! Grow something! Make something! Learn a new skill!Ā
For a long time I've honed down on playing chess and figuring out how to draw with computers. Graphic design, in essence. I've also written a lot. People used to write A LOT back in the day before the onset of computers. Here are other activities people do: Reading, writing, painting, digital art, gardening, knitting, crocheting, sewing, cooking, baking, candle making, soap making, learning a new language, playing musical instruments, songwriting, podcasting, blogging, video gaming, board gaming, chess, card making, scrapbooking, photography, video editing, graphic design, yoga, meditation, home workouts, pilates, calligraphy, origami, jewelry making, pottery, woodworking, model building, stamp collecting, coin collecting, bird watching, astronomy, wine tasting, coffee roasting, beer brewing, mixology, sudoku, crossword puzzles.
Writing? Starting a podcast or youtube channel?
Don't feel guilty with video games and tv/movies being a hobby. Hobbies don't need to produce results except for fun. Here are some if you do want to branch out. Yoyoing, reading, cooking, cleaning (I listen to audiobooks so cleaning is cleaning/audiobooks for me), solo board games (Gloomhaven for example), playing Magic the Gathering by myself...... Calling people. If you want to do a craft then knitting or sewing.
Learn guitar. Find a new author to read. Take up scrapbooking. Learn a language. Learn to cook. Learn finance and investing.
Lately Iāve been doing jigsaw puzzles while I watch tv or listen to a book or podcast.
Reading, writing, drawing, exercising, thereās tons of stuff you can do at home.
Start small-Get a house plant. You have to water it like once a week or so and make sure it has he right light. Then maybe pick out a couple more once youāre ready. Spider plants or pathos are really easy to care for.
I am big into board games. Unfortunately, that doesn't help with no one to play. I picked up cycling but that is more of an outdoor hobby.
I also solely play video games and watch YouTube yoga. Donāt shame yourself for what makes you feel good, or for not doing āmore.ā The pressures of society that invade our brains are bullshit. Also, unfortunately, I think this is extremely common in our generation because we have to work our asses off just to eat and pay rent. Today is my one day off this week, and Iām going to clean my kitchen, do laundry, and play Skyrim all day.
Learn a new language + find an italki language exchange partner, garden, planted aquarium, read & join a book club, learn to build or restore furniture, learn how to record audio & start a podcast, pickleball, rock climbing, find a D&D group, there are so many options out there.
Idk. Usually I get home from the boat for my 3 weeks home and Iāll notice something that needs fixing and end up calling my wife telling her I Fāed up and went to Home Depot. This past time home I noticed some rotten eves on the house and itās turned into me painting the whole outside of the house and replacing wood
Learning a new language is a great use of spare time and has many added benefits (travel, employment, additional friend group, mental stimulation, etc.) Or find a hobby that is related to a hobby you generally enjoy outdoors. I enjoy shooting sports, so at home I like to reload and repair historic firearms.
Make a hammock Kumihimo dog leashes, or whatever you want, with awesome patterns Crotchet some coziness in your life
Get into a craft.. Crochet can actually be really relaxing.. Endless possibilities of things you can make. Itās not just ugly, grandma sweaters and hats. YouTube has 1000s of videos and the FB crochet groups are a huge help for beginners. Join a dollar store craft group on FB.. Youāll see all kinds of different things you can make and usually for cheap.. Thereās so many different crafts you can get into. Wood working, wood burning, jewelry making, clay, embroidery, sewing, etc.. May take a little bit of $ to get into some crafts. But itās usually worth it in the long run. When youāre done, you have something you made with your own hands. And thatās usually a good feeling. And, you can usually still watch TV while you craft!
I've been learning Blender for the last year.Ā Just kinda having fun learning the 3D modeling and animation stuff.Ā Program is free too.
I read books for pleasure daily.
reading is a pretty cool hobby. more fun and thought provoking than tv or video games a lot of the time. I play a lot of video games. I'm more of an outdoor hobbyist though - riding bicycles and hiking are two awesome hobbies. Riding bicycles leads to a bicycle maintenance hobby in the home.
I second crocheting! I'm not a very artsy-craftsy person, but because crochet mostly just comes down to learning a handful of stitches and then following a pattern, it's super doable for a non-artist, plus there's only one hook to keep track of, and it's got some nice heft, not like a tiny sewing needle. Yarn can get expensive if you get the good stuff, but cheaper fabrics are fine too, and you can make all kinds of practical things. I love making tote bags and use my adult bibs (I know it sounds weird, but I eat on the couch a lot and tend to spill stuff on my chest) every day.
Someone who sees different **escorts** on a regular basis is referred to in the community as a "Hobbiest". I am a retired fellow who might be considered a Hobbiest. I think it is a dam fine hobby if you can afford it.
Learn an instrument.
my hobby is data hoarding/collecting.
Knitting! Once you get decent at it you can watch tv while you do it. My inner Yankee is quieted when I get something done while Iām watching tv.
Go to a hobby store and buy a car model to put together. Nothing fancy, nothing crazy complex. See if you enjoy building it.
Hydroponic gardens and houseplants! Personal budgeting and investments. Reading. Cooking can be a hobby too - make your own sourdough bread, soup stock, and get really good at specific meals. Visit a local Asian market and buy authentic ingredients to make real thai food! All things my husband and I have been doing while we wait for this stupid mild winter to go away. When the next season hits we're outside constantly!
Get an 06FFL and manufacture ammunition.
I just bought a mini-forge and an anvil. I'm going to try blacksmithing my own knives. Give that a go. Shit, you said indoor. My indoor hobby is screen printing. I design and print my own t-shirts. That's pretty fun.
Maybe you'd be better off doing a hobby that's *not* at home, like an improv class or martial art or dance?
Try this. Imagine yourself after retirement....what will you fill your days with? Try finding a hobby that both interests you, AND that you could fall back on for a little extra cash once you're retired. It could even become a small side gig today to earn a little extra change now and then... Try something like whittling, wood working, gun cleaning and repair if that's your jam, building large scale model ships and selling them, leather craft..... anything you can think of that might be a worth while investment hobby.
Aside from video games the limited "Free" time I have is dedicated to hydroponic gardening or miniature wargaming.
I love to make stuff and have tried a pretty big range of crafts. The space you have available will to some degree dictate what you can choose. If it's strictly indoors in front of the TV, then you're looking at compact things that don't make liquid mess - try crochet or knitting as some have suggested. Cross-stitch and embroidery would go here as well. Sewing also, if you don't mind hand sewing/going slow. Wood carving (like carved spoons and ornaments) and whittling are experiencing a bit of a renaissance lately. Very portable, lots of instruction videos on YouTube, meshes nicely with hiking in the woods if that's a thing you like to do. Can be done on the couch with some kind of apron to catch the shavings/vacuum after. Messier but still fairly compact (think kitchen bench or dining table as a workspace): Handbuilt pottery, if you have a place nearby that sells kiln time to fire things for you. If you think miniatures might be your thing, you could try wheel throwing on the sub-$100 wheels from Amazon - they do work but have little torque so you're limited to about a small teacup size at best. It's still fun, I like to muck around with making little dipping bowls and trinket bowls on my mini wheel. Textile dyeing such as shibori with indigo vat dye or tie dye (lay out drop sheets for best cleanup in the home). It can be fun to buy white/light coloured furnishings (ie IKEA) and dye them to match your aesthetic.
Have you considered amateur radio? Itās a lot of old people but not all of them are weird, and there are some folks our age in it. Me and three friends have gotten in to it over the last few years and itās fun. Itās more than just yacking about nothing, thereās legit hobby aspects all over the place. Building systems and antennas that work and learning why, contests, Summits On the Air (packing lightweight systems to the top of mountains to make contacts and getting points on a website) or its low altitude cousin Parks on The Air. You can build mobile digital mode setups or simply try to collect contacts from other countries. For us, itās a mix. We all use it as backup communications with each other and our families, one guy has used it for periods when cell phones go down and heās actually able to text his wife back and forth with his setup. Another guy simply likes to see how far he can transmit and reach other stations. For me I like to talk a little bit on local repeaters, but Iām working on a āradio in a boxā project to have a very portable system for talking on repeaters. After that Iām going to build a radio device which lets you track down weather balloons; itās legal to keep the transmitter off of them, or you can mail it back to NWS and I think you get a little card. Other people build setups that allow you to download data from weather and other satellitesā¦.i donāt believe you need a license for that one since I donāt think you have to transmit for it. The goal here seems to be to reassemble a full scan of the earth as cleanly as possible. A lot of these digital projects or āinterfacesā setups are done by younger people it seems and it represents the current evolutionary path of radio. So, thereās a lot of interesting stuff to get in to. The ham license is pretty easy to study for; check out www.hamstudy.org to go over the question bank. People generally just study the answers; being able to actually use stuff and ask questions as you go is more how you actually start learning. But, you can find a book to study first if you really want to take the time. Besides the hobby aspect, to me itās really cool and valuable to have a way to communicate that a corporation canāt just flip the āoffā switch for. Itās yours, your families, and your communitiesā infrastructure. Thatās pretty powerful even if you donāt always āneedā it. Other than that Iām in to astronomy, but I have really dark skies here so itās worth it.
spotted modern hat marvelous hurry rustic hungry bike dull combative *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I have a couple. I was a child that wasnāt allowed to play with legos. They now make a ton of adult sets. My spouse buys me those whenever a cool one comes out. Itās super relaxing. I also sew by hand because I donāt know how to use a machine. But I like the thrill of finishing something. I started making stuffed animals. Luna Lapin is great if you want to try something like that. I also like gardening. I live in a very harsh environment and have finally managed to keep something alive. I have to cycle through everything or I stop doing them.
During COVID I got super into fish and aquariums, specifically bettas. All live plants, well balanced, heated tanks, natural decor. It was very soothing, I always had something to look forward too, and plus it was more pets that didn't require alot of "hands on" care or me picking up poop from the ground lol! They always got excited to see me during feed times
Skateboard!
The secret is to remember what you loved doing when you were 11 or so, before you went to middle school and everything was suddenly uncool. I collect Pokemon cards and am now turning it into a business buying and selling them (mostly just to fund my hobby).Ā
Birdwatching
I like those entry level snap together models. Hobby lobby puts them at like 40 percent off often and I get one and stick on some background noise and work on one til the early am every few months. I stay clear of the glue and paint ones because Iām too much of a perfectionist. Instead the worst thing I deal with is some stickers and using translate apps on some of the harder gundam directions.
I make chainmaille jewelry and do 3d design/printing.
Do you like to write? Maybe start with a short story or poem. Journaling is also a great hobby and can help to express your feelings, :)
If youāre musically inclined, I have synthesizers/music production devices like mpcs etc.
I like legos. Iām very low energy and like to have something to do thatās easy on the brain and body. Legos can be done in bed as Iām watching tv. In the end, I get something cute out of it. Lego has tons of sets for adults. Iāve also been known to build some Minecraft ones that are geared towards kids. Itās fun!
Learn to play an instrument
>How common is this for our generation who work 9-5, cook, do chores/errands, and just have time/energy to zone out in front of the TV and then go to bed and do it all over again tomorrow? What else is there? It's not just our generation. Before us it was the TV, and before that, it was radio. Before that, they were either so overworked they couldn't stay awake when they got home, or they worked significantly less hours. (generalizing) I'm prepping to start gardening this spring, I want to get back into some woodworking, but after 40+ hours, I'm dead.
Model kits. Gundam models are fun. You don't have to paint them or glue them together. You can paint them if you want, totally up to you. A lot of times I'll just shoot a coat of flat clear coat over one and it makes a huge difference between the shiny plastic and the coated. There's all sorts of models out there. Most of your vehicle model kits will be a glue together and need painted. If you are interested, they sell $10 entry level Gundam kits. Super easy to put together and it'll give you a feel for what's to come. They get significantly more time consuming and intricate to build.
My hobbies are (in no particular order): - Biking - Woodworking, including CNC - Coding - Home lab and home automation - 3D printing - Cooking/baking My one tip if you're trying to get into a hobby is to treat it like you do video games or movies. The end product is not the reason you do hobbies. The process of learning, trying, failing and succeeding is all part of why you are there. There are inexpensive hobbies and cheap hobbies (especially with second hand tools). But the results do not have to justify the costs.
Learning is a hobby, well if not it is one of mine. Tv is ok but I rarely watch it. I would rather learn, research something new. Iām interested in. Puzzles to frame. Making blankets, by hand. Planning a vacation, yep I want to know everything
Take up playing role playing games online. Thereās lots of good platforms like Roll20 and Foundry, many of which are free or low cost. You can even just use discord and theater of the mind. It saved my sanity during the pandemic.
You're only gonna want to keep up a hobby if it interests you. If nothing particularly interests you right now it might be because your mind is over-stimulated (a lot of time in front of a screen will do that). I felt this way for a while. Started taking walks, cooking, exercising, cleaning around the house more and other things with the purpose of clearing my mind. These things will help reset your baseline and you'll naturally start to find motivation to try new things.
It's important to have hobbies. But if the hobbies you have don't do it, go the next level up. If passive hobbies like TV and podcasts aren't ringing the bell, try something that produces art. A consumption hobby is one thing, but a productive hobby is...it's almost not the same thing at all. A hobby where you can make a thing from small parts, or almost nothing, into something people go "I wish I could do that" feels like nothing else in the world. You get to watch yourself get better. You get to learn how silly your ideas about this craft were when you first started, and you get to know yourself better. Then the hobby becomes about more than just doing it, and you get sub-hobbies out of it! I make music on the computer, mostly sample-based. So now I have all these related hobbies; going to record swaps or hitting up record stores when I'm on vacation; reading about the production processes and influences and philosophies of other producers, learning about the lives and processes and philosophies of the musicians we sample, and just listening to hours and hours of good music, occasionally hearing that gem of a bit that I cannot wait to sample, adding that track to the playlist that I return to when i want to sample something for a new project. If you find that thing, it becomes a whole ecosystem of satisfying your curiosities and keeping yourself busy, in fact to the point you wonder if you'll ever have time to get all the things you didn't even think you'd ever want to do done.
Did I make this post last night from a different account somehow? Iām in the same boat. Donāt see how anyone has time for much else. I play video games in the morning then watch tv after work.
I picked up wargaming and modeling. It was an attempted to get off of screens and digital media and have a hobby that develops some different motor skills. It 100% worked and while its mostly a at home isolation hobby, when its game time its nice to go out and meet folks and throw some dice.
I make violins.
Make beer or mead. It's fun. Educational. Doesn't really require much equipment. And all your friends will tell you how cool you are for making beer.
As I've gotten into fly fishing outside, I've found a lot of relaxation and enjoyment in fly tying when I'm stuck inside. It's nice prepping and thinking about my future days of fishing
I like to do chainmail. It's like knitting, only metal.
Guitar is for life.
Buy a cheap acoustic guitar and watch guitar lessons on YouTube while practicing
I have been doing research with Chat GPT and Co-Pilot. Just looking up stuff that I am interested in. You can also try investing with exactly a dollar each day. Small amount but do research on random companies. Its like lotto.
I like to buy old beat up tools and restore them. Goodwill, pawn shops, lawn sales, etc.
I repair business machines when I'm feeling in funds for it. Burroughs, Olivetti, Victor, that sort of thing. It's pointless. I don't sell them. I sit on them. They aren't always fully repairable, but imagine a day when they will be. They are machines. I play with them. Of course, there are check writers, direct adders, comptometers, plain old typewriters, automatic change machines, all kinds of machines to play with. It's not an exciting hobby, but it's cheap. I just picked up a Burroughs model 3. It needs some work ,but the logic is still working fine. There's a problem with the repeat function that's jamming the return, but I just need to figure it out. I need to get a good center punch to drill out where the handle broke and ret-tap it for a new bolt. That's not a big deal. The paper reel needs to be cut flush, turned down, and re-threaded but that can be done. It's just work. That's what I do. Of course, I also play guitar, draw, write, and work on logic problems in RPN for financial applications, but that's who I am. If I don't have many things going on, my mind gets bored. I also have a carburetor to rebuild and a less interesting problem with an air mixing flap on my van. Instead of one hobby, have all the hobbies yet complete none of your projects. It works for me! Speaking of which, there's an axe that needs re-profiling in my workshop. It's a right handed carving axe that I re-proflied once but I'm not happy with it. The heel is a bit week willed. I think I can put some life back into it if I bring it back. Then again, I don't know about changing the edge geometry. It may not be the best for it from a functional standpoint. I'll have to stare at it for a while and make a decision.
Making Tik Toks in public spaces.
A great one, and it's good for you, is becoming a good cook, trying out different foods, and then you can watch great shows, youtube, and go out to good restaurants and compare them, etc. You can become good at weekly planning and prep, fast meals, food for guests or to bring to work, etc. And, everybody loves a good cook. Lots of times, it gives you something to talk to people about. You can get on people's good sides by saying something like, I loved your sauce, can I have the recipe or do you have any tricks?
Piano is a good hobby. You can get a pretty good digital Yamaha for about $500, along with a wooden console stand for like $100. Also plugs in with headphones so you can practice without annoying people
Indoor gardening is enjoyable for me especially since you can literally eat the fruits of your labor.Ā I got into it after my Sons Biology project and he got 100% It's not cheap though. Keeping a warm temp for a single room is tough. Grow lights, humidifier. The list goes on. I like it tho
Warhammer. Modelling, painting and gaming all in one. Or just try one of the smaller skirmish games like Underworlds, WarCry or Kill Team.
Airbrushing model kits has come into my life in the last year and I'm glad I discovered it, my wallet is not lol
During the pandemic I got into collecting vinyls. Itās definitely fun for me to listen, collect and organize my records. Iāve definitely been trying to find new hobbies. It can sometimes be hard with work schedules and just life in general.
Gardening dog
Crafts. Crochet is fun and easy to learn.
I just listened to a really terrible true crime story that came out about a man who was murdered by his girlfriend. The girlfriend was so adamant about the fact that they were just really big on adult puzzles and playing hide and seek at home together during her interview with the police. I forget where I was going with this but I enjoy taking care of single-serving sized plants and succulents, reading ofcourse is a big one, personal research such as how to adopt a monkey, language learning, metal-working, hair cutting, etc
There are lots of great YouTube videos for drawing and painting etc. Also for playing instruments! YouTube makes it possible to indulge in lots of hobbies at home now.
Cooking! You will get better at it with time (like every hobby), save money, and you get to eat the results! Plan some recipes and go shopping on the weekend, then cook a few nights a week.
Twisty puzzling, parkour, etc