Adding in adult hobbies to my life has been a big goal in my 30’s, but more specifically simple and lazy adult hobbies. I spent most of my 20’s stressed, hustling, working long hours, and spending even more of that time either in the gym or thinking about the gym and weight loss.
So learning to add in relaxing time has been a big focus in creating balance and flexibility with my job, business, goals and life in general. But I’m a pretty lazy person now. I’ve burned myself out so much that even trying to add in something that will greatly benefit me is still a chore.
Not anymore! There are plenty of other hobbies to try, but these are the 6 simple and lazy hobbies that I keep coming back to, making time for and can tell have positively impacted my life.
This list is also to hopefully break up the absolute MASS of hobbies being pushed right now, and give you a simple starting point when it comes to learning to add in self care time through hobbies and also looking at what a hobby is or can be different.
If starting hobbies in general is a difficult thing for you at the moment though, definitely check out How to Start Hobbies Again as an Adult to be better prepared to try out this list.
1. Word Searches
The first thing I’m going to recommend is word searches, am I being serious? That’s for old people isn’t it!?
Yes, and haven’t you noticed the old people that do it still have a good memory, brain function and keep busy?
Through social media and today’s society, I personally feel like my brain activity has dropped. And not in a funny way, but in a “I really need to start doing something”.
And this is such a silly and simple thing to start! I honestly went to the dollar store, grabbed 2 and have been slowly working on it.
I’ll do word searches when I want a break from scrolling, to start my day before my coffee walk, or when I need a break to reset my day.
It’s nothing special or trendy or flashy. But I notice a difference in my mental healthy, even ever so slightly, when I’m using my brain to simply look for words rather than scrolling on a screen.
And seriously, this has helped a lot with my phone addiction and transitioning away from the forever scroll that happens. So grab a few and leave them around the house to quite your scrolling addiction at the same time!
2. Reading
Like a lot of people, reading has become another great adult hobby to find me in my 30’s. I used to read a lot when I was younger, but I think when reading for school classes became enforced, and I had little free time between jobs, school, sports and the volunteering I did, reading went away.
I will say though, as fun as it is to see all the recommendations online, it has caused my TBR list to grow faster than I’m able to read. And between trying balance goals with fitness, business and even sleep, I’ve had to take a look at what reading looks like for me.
I’ve read some amazing books that I could easily binge in a couple days or over the weekend.
Check out Book Recommendations To Escape The World For A Bit for my current favorites
However, it has started to skew my perception of reading into something that needs to be all consuming or the only thing I do. But that’s changing, and you can check out this video for how I’m approaching it differently now.
Because books can take a month or longer to read.
You can struggle to find your next one you enjoy sometimes.
They can be slowly read or consumed quickly if you’d like.
But there’s no right or wrong way to read or list to follow in order to be considered a “reader”.
Hobbies are for your enjoyment and meant to benefit your life, not create a new stress.
So here’s my recommendations for getting into reading in a healthy way. Start with the big suggestions in a genre you think will be interesting.
- If a book doesn’t call to you or keep your interest, let it go.
- I made a separate “books” list on Amazon and just add anything that looks good to that list. I always circle back to it if I’m looking for ideas. I rarely buy them, but it’s an easy way to look and then add to my Kindle or look elsewhere.
- If you have kindle, explore the indy authors and random recommendations. That’s how I found a lot of the books I loved on there.
- Explore your library! It’s like going to the book store without spending all your money. Or even better, if your neighborhood has a library box (I just found one in my area and already looked through and donated some of my own books) that’s a great way to start out too.
- If you want to buy books but don’t have the cash to spend the $15 per book, check out second had bookstores or thrift stores. I know I’ve found some gems hidden there and books I never would’ve known about because they aren’t popular online.
Again, there’s no right or wrong way of doing this, just whatever makes you happy and keeps you interested in reading your next book.
3. Walk and Podcast
This has been a big shift for me, not only in adding hobbies to my life, but also redefining what a hobby is. I’ve already done the work that WALKING was an ok activity to do (I had a bad view of myself and fitness and thought it I was outside I had to run).
Check out The Best Workout For You to help you view movement differently
Not only is this a great way of getting your steps and simple activity in, but it also helps you better your mindset with not scrolling online. Can you tell I’m REALLY trying to avoid doom scrolling right now?
But this has turned into something I look forward to every day it’s not raining outside (like it is as I’m writing this, guess I’ll walk on the walking pad instead). I don’t get through a full podcast every time, but then I look forward to finishing it the next day.
So quick reminder or maybe notice for you:
Walks don’t have to take long. They can be 45 minutes or 20 minutes. They can be exploring the park or walking to the end of the block and back.
Getting outside with some fresh air is the biggest thing, no matter what!
And when it comes to podcasts, since we aren’t out here hustling and forcing life anymore, I’ve had to find something else to listen to. Or at least in a way that feels more aligned right now.
My current must listen to’s are:
- Aware and Aggravated with Leo Skepi
- The Telepathy Tapes with Ky Dickens
- I’ve Got You with Isabella Lanter
- Health and Hobbies Diary with ME! (feel free to check it out every Thursday wherever you listen to podcasts!)
This would also be a great time to listen to an audiobook! I’m still working on that area, because all the audiobooks I listened to before were self-help or business related. But I DID listen to Remarkably Bright Creatures on Spotify recently and absolutely loved it! So, since my Spotify account now has audiobooks available, I’ll be enjoying that more. You could also check out what your library has available on the Libby app too.
All kinds of options to keep you happily active and mind engaged.
4. Plant Mom
Let me start this hobby suggestion by saying I’m still working on this plant mom thing! Our house right now doesn’t get any direct sunlight, there are few windows, and I’m not very attentive.
I need things that will just survive on their own, where I water once a week or every other, and are known to survive.
But it’s been SO fun as I’ve grown my little tribe of greenery!
Like anyone that wants to dive into plants, I started with some simple $5 “house plants” and a few succulents. They all died but one.
Nice.
However! As sad as it is, when my aunt passed she had SO many plants. Most of our family and extended family took at least 1, but I got 3!
I think my mom took most of them because she has a weird green thumb; she does nothing besides water them and all her plants are thriving. She lives in a forest there are so many plants!
But recently, my mom, sister and I cut back one of the plants I got and it was MASSIVE! The picture I’m sharing is of that day when we untied this monster and put them all in jars to reroot and repot.
I have since repotted them and working on giving some to my siblings. Because I do NOT need 7 pots of the same plant!
But all of that aside, I’d look at simple plants based on your current living situation. And start small! Spider plants are always great, and I have 2 of those now. Otherwise if you don’t get a lot of light in your house, look for low light plants that will be fine. If they need specific living conditions, or better ones than even you currently have, don’t get those ones.
However, if you aren’t up to plant parenthood yet, I’d highly recommend at least buying yourself flowers weekly or at least once a month. I’ve been doing this for years and whenever I forget or stop for awhile, I notice a difference. Something super simple can make a huge impact in self care for yourself.
5. Rearrange
Maybe you didn’t grow up with a mom that rearranged the rooms and furniture a lot, but I did. And let me tell you, I took that for granted. Because a simple room change, even with the same furniture and everything, can make a huge difference and seem like a fresh start when you are looking for more.
And especially if you’re limited with what you can do with a space, there’s so many little options if you’re open to it to make a space yours and feel better.
For instance, we have a landing area on the second floor that’s been turned into my space. There’s only so many options you have with moving things around, and I had a lot of pictures that I couldn’t figure out what to do with.
My choice, chaos wall! Or art wall or decorations, however you want to look at it. But I can’t tell you how happy I was to put those up and figure out where I wanted things!
So here’s your reminder that you can put things on the wall, there’s always a way around it and it makes a huge difference.
Or even just alternating how a room looks. If there’s only 2 options for how a room can be, switch them back and forth when you need to.
The reason I’m adding this in is because I’m a person that never stayed put for more than 3 years. I’ve always had some kind of big life change or focus that happened to switch things up.
And right now, I’m growing my small business again, in a super happy long term relationship of 5 years, and I feel like I need to tear it all down. Even though I don’t want to!
This is where changing your space can help. Because maybe you aren’t able to move or change locations. But you can take small steps to make your environment better for where you’re currently at. Maybe that’s getting rid of some things and adding in new ones. Whether brand new from the store or new to you from someone else.
And also a quick hobby reminder, it doesn’t have to be something you do every day or every week. Hobbies are options for you to do when you need to.
When you’re looking for a change or reset.
6. Baking
Baking has been a relatively newer hobby for me! I actually worked in a bakery for a year, sounds great, but it was pretty taxing on my mind and body. I always thought it would be fun to bake at home, but I needed some time away from it after I quit that job.
So 6 months later, here I am trying!
And let me tell you, it’s a struggle!
When I worked at the bakery, I was basically just forming loaves and helping prep the next mornings goodies. No actual baking for me.
So to say it’s been annoying when things don’t turn out, or having to picture what a normal 1-2 loaf batch looks like rather than 30+ loaves, it’s been strange.
So here’s how I’d approach baking if you’re interested:
- Choose one bread to start with, and keep making and adjusting it each week until you’re super confident with it. Then try something else if you’d like.
- Be ok with recipes not turning out each time (cinnamon rolls have been a struggle for me to get consistent!)
- Buy cheap ingredients to start with. Making dough shouldn’t be more than $10 for a couple weeks of baking. We’re still learning.
- Give them to friends and family and get their feedback. You may not need 10 cinnamon rolls each week, but everyone I know in my life is happy to have one, even if they aren’t perfect.
The biggest thing that I still have to remember is, not all hobbies are going to be super enjoyable and relaxing all the time. It can get frustrating when things don’t work out, a plant dies, the room is too small to move furniture how you’d like, the book you’ve been waiting to read sucks, there are no new podcast episodes or you can’t find that last word even though you looked through it 5 times now and your partner finds it right away.
Hobbies can be annoying, and that’s ok!
The goal isn’t to have or start something else that you’re going to be a pro at or make money from it. It can literally just be something that you do as you wait those 10 extra minutes to leave the house, something nice to look at that exists in your house, or something that just brings you joy.
There’s no right or wrong way to do or have hobbies.
I hope this list helped give you some ideas to at least start adding hobbies into your life.
And hopefully it also gave you some perspective when it comes to adding hobbies without needing them to be perfect or a certain aesthetic.
It’s not about a strict routine or making it your personality. Hobbies as an adult are meant to bring some balance to an otherwise hectic and stressful life.
I’ve noticed they’ve helped reduce a lot of my stress and been a good outlet as well. Something to look forward to after a long day or week.
