The responsibilities of life can be extremely overwhelming. Duties at work drag you down as you take on more and have no time for your outside life. Your family members constantly need you when you’re at home. The car breaks down every other week, draining a hole in your wallet and piling the stress on. When everything builds up on top of you, it’s important to reset your brain now and again. A great way to do this is to find a hobby you can do completely alone, away from the business of the world. Having a hefty dose of ‘me time’ is essential for achieving a good quality of life. The trick to finding the perfect hobby is trying as many things as you can. To give you some inspiration, we’ve collected some easy things for you to try completely alone.
Pick Up a Pen
Once you’ve picked up your pen or you’re set with your computer – start writing. You can write anything you want; it genuinely doesn’t matter what. Through writing, you can take your mind away to a less stressful place. If your writing is safe from prying eyes, you can get the weight of the world off your chest. If you’ve got children that you tuck in every night, write them a story and tell them you’re the author – they’ll be your biggest fans.
If you want to get serious and learn how to write better, you can check out this guide to becoming a better writer. Ed Latimore will guide you through 13 ways that you can improve your skills as a writer. Also, if you want some further reading, his website is full of insightful information on how you can beat down negativity and start achieving in life.
Grab a Book
If you’re not feeling so hot about creativity, just pick up a book and start reading. Reading is a peaceful way to pass the time, but it’s much more than that. Your brain’s cognition will increase through reading, your comprehension will sharpen, and your vocabulary will grow. Whether you pick up your favorite actor’s autobiography and escape to someone else’s reality or you dive into the made-up world created by your favorite author, reading will help relieve your stress levels.
If life has you struggling to sleep, reading before bedtime can help you find the land of nod. Studies suggest that a mere six minutes of reading can reduce stress by a phenomenal 68%, which helps clear the mind and prepare it for a peaceful night’s sleep.
Find the Kitchen
Moving away from the academic escapes, find your creativity through trying your hand at some mouthwatering recipes. Cooking has numerous benefits, aside from it being fun in general. Sourcing fresh ingredients and making your food at home can save you a fortune and will make you healthier. Cooking for your family and creating something you can share will fill your mind with an incredible sense of pride. This is a hobby that can be done every day, and you don’t need to spend a fortune to achieve it. Kick your family out of your kitchen and let your masterpiece unfold.
Hit the Garden
Gardening is therapeutic, and being at one with nature can improve your Zen drastically. You can grow your own herbs and vegetables to use in your cooking through gardening – a beneficial duo. Getting out into your garden also has several other benefits. It has been shown to reduce your cortisol levels, which is responsible for stress. Furthermore, research has suggested that gardening can reduce the chances of suffering from dementia by 36%. Finally, practicing your green thumb is an amazing way of squeezing in part of your 150 minutes of recommended weekly exercise.
Checkmate
You’ve likely played chess before, but see it as an old man’s game. You’re probably correct, but they’re all smart men. You see, playing chess exercises both sides of the brain. The right side deals with the recognition of patterns and the left side with object recognition. Through chess, you will increase your problem-solving skills and improve your memory, and you’ll have greater cognition to deal with other problems in life.
Sports
Escape from the world for an evening or two a week and start playing your favorite sports. Joining a team is a great way to get your exercise in as well as meeting like-minded people. There are countless sports out there for you to try, which means there’s something for everyone. For example, try playing volleyball, which is easy to learn, and tie your sports event in with a trip to the local beach.
The benefits of playing sports touch the mind, arguably more than the body. Studies have demonstrated that loneliness can be more deadly than obesity. So, the next time you slouch down to watch your favorite Netflix show, head down to your local sports hall instead and surround yourself with people.
Learn Something New
There have always been many free online courses but, over the past year, the numbers have multiplied exponentially. Learning a new skill will fill you with a great sense of achievement. Also, you can make yourself more valuable in your working life, which could result in you moving up the ranks. Getting lost and consuming new content will help your mind turn off the noises of life, while simultaneously boosting your cognition.
Hiking
Getting outside for a healthy dose of fresh air is an amazing way to relieve stress levels and have some quality alone time. With just your map and compass in tow, you can endeavor on an adventure and unplug from the world. In the UK, you are blessed by some of the most picturesque areas of natural beauty.
Take a leaf out of the Japanese’s handbook and get your fill of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku), a concept developed in the 1980s. The practice simply involves surrounding yourself with the peacefulness of the forest and closing your mind off to the outside world.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Getting stuck into a juicy puzzle is a fantastic way to escape from the world. Paying attention to the finer details will help your brain’s cognition. Completing a puzzle will improve your memory and give your brain an amazing workout. Further, once you’ve finished the puzzle, you will be filled with a feeling of satisfaction. Completing a puzzle will help you be happier and less stressed out, which will help to increase your productivity in other areas of life.
Pottery
Surprisingly, getting down and dirty and having a go at pottery has some amazing health benefits. You can let your creative juices flow while reducing your stress levels, exercising your wrists and hands, and improving your focus. As well as this, the feel of the clay can be therapeutic in itself.
Finding a hobby is a fantastic way of letting go of pent-up life problems and having some me-time. For the best results, try as many activities as you can. Eventually, you will find something that you fully enjoy. Embrace your inner child and explore the world through your fresh adult eyes – you will be surprised how satisfying finding a fulfilling hobby can be for your mental health.
