Over the years, it’s seemed I gained fewer hobbies, space to do them. I slid into work mode. Everything became work. Clock in, focus, clock out. Even if I did something ‘casual’, it often had a flavour of work or was for a work reason. The more the years pass, the more this is changing for me, and I could not be happier.

There is something therapeutic about just doing something because. No reason, no motive, no grand plan, no forward momentum in your career. My first rediscovery of hobbies was very focused on how could this relate to my career, which really does defeat the purpose. The thing is, sometimes you just have to do something different. That isn’t what you do daily. That has no goal, no outcome, no what if.

I am by nature a planner, this can be awesome, but it also can be something that comes with brain spirals and a lot of thoughts. Losing myself in a hobby allows me to be in the moment – something that is not natural for me as my brain likes moving between the layers.

I realise over the years my focus on things having to be purposeful and have a reason has meant I’ve lost skills. I lost the instruments I played, the crafts I could do and even, at one point, the art I created. That’s been something of awakening as I’ve been slowly rediscovering the sheer joy of those things, letting myself have those moments where I can just create for the sake of creating.

Each time I have explored a new hobby or take time like this, it’s a gift and incredibly therapeutic. When I learn something new, I get to move into a beginner state which is incredibly refreshing and rejuvenating. I have learnt it’s easier to demand something of yourself than not, or it is for me. By taking space for hobbies and just doing, I allow myself time to experience – which is incredibly important.