My Favorite “Microhobbies”
On her “Before Breakfast” podcast this week, Laura Vanderkam talked about “microhobbies”—things you enjoy that you can do in short pockets of time that you find you have during the day. I like the term microhobbies, and I realized I already have some, so I’ll share them with you in case you’re looking for something to occupy your mind and entertain you for little bursts during the day:
Sudokus: In my blog post last week, I described my new “sudoku method” of outlining my novel, but I’m addicted to sudokus themselves. They don’t have to be difficult—in fact, I really prefer easy or moderate sudokus because I can fill in the numbers quickly. Any time I see an empty sudoku in an open newspaper or on a website, I’m immediately itching to fill in numbers. So satisfying.
Word Finds: I don’t mind saying that I’m ridiculously good at word finds, and I can do them really quickly, but that doesn’t make them any less fun. I also discovered Teddy is good at them too, so often we sit together and do them, and each one takes us only a few minutes. But even if you’re not a super fast reader or experienced at them, they’re really fun because the rules are easy, and the topics of word finds can be very imaginative. I always have word find books with me during the day, and I always take one on vacation.
Podcasts: There are a lot of podcasts out there with episodes that are 15 minutes or less, and what’s better than getting a little knowledge or listening to something fun in between daily tasks or work assignments? The aforementioned “Before Breakfast” is a good one, and I also recommend “Grammar Girl,” “Fiction Writing Made Easy,” “The Lazy Genius,” “The First Draft Club,” “Enneagram & Coffee,” and “Compete Every Day.”
Coloring: I’ve been a fan of coloring for a very long time and I’ll color anything: fairy tale scenes, Game of Thrones illustrations, nature pictures, animals, mandalas, meme-like quotes. Sometimes I combine coloring with podcasts, or I color while I’m in a meeting, because it keeps me very focused on what I’m listening to and keeps my mind from wandering. I also just like to pull out a coloring book on my off time and relax with it. It’s the perfect “pocket-of-time” activity because I can keep coming back to a picture I’m working on until I finish.
Stickering: This is my newest obsession and I can say “obsession” because I’ve blasted completely through so many sticker books. There are a few different kinds; there are sticker books that are by number, so you match the sticker to the numbered space, and there are sticker books that are more like “extreme” jigsaw puzzles where you have to find the right sticker to fit the space, often with a photo to work from. Stickering is my favorite thing right now because you end up with these gorgeous mosaic-like pieces that you can frame; I framed a picture I made of boats and gave it to my Dad and I have to say, it looks like a pretty impressive piece of artwork. The lion pic on this blog is a sticker piece I did not long ago.
Maybe one of these little hobbies will appeal to you! What are your favorite microhobbies?
Note: The picture I did here is from a sticker book called “Animetrics: A Striking Color-by-Sticker Challenge” by Jack Clucas and Jonny Reinhart.
