Photography is my go to now. It started, actually, during the pandemic. I could take pictures of birds while at my computer teaching classes. Not the cheapest hobby in the world, but it lets me be creative without being able to paint :-)
I love to do so many things and during the pandemic my sports and inside passions kept me sane and still do. I find establishing a routine keeps me engaged and on track. The activities that I like to do and that cost very little are hiking, all kinds of biking, tennis, x-country skiing, snow shoeing, working out 5-6 times a week, backpacking, and camping. My inside passions consists of oil painting, reading for pleasure and agonizing over the news. Thanks to the Pandemic I started taking Spanish on line. I am terrible, at it BUT i am a life long learner so who cares! Chris, just claim back your pre-pandemic activities. They are waiting for you especially the basketball court!!
I retired a year before the pandemic hit. I had a hair-on-fire career and have always had hobbies that I needed to keep my sanity, and I still have them. I cycle outside 6 days a week March-November and on a spin bike in winter. But I also have two pups that bring me so much joy. In 2020 when we were all hunkering down, we still needed to take the pups for walks, and that got us outside for fresh air and sunshine. We weathered the pandemic well, and I thank my pups and my bike for that. But also, it is so important to serve in your community in whatever way fits your personality. I have a couple of volunteer gigs and they show me that I have it much better than others (one can always find someone with more challenges). When someone in my extended circle (usually at church or neighborhood) is struggling, I make them dinner, bread, or pie. Or help with their kids (which is more stress than you would think, as we are childless). Just look for ways to be there for someone else and it helps to reset your own stress meter and give you a respite from thinking about your own challenges. As much as want to withdraw when things are challenging (and I am no different), humans are wired to need one another. Sometimes our greatest need is to be of use to our community.
Walking, with or without earbuds - but NEVER with anything work-related playing in my ears - has been my go-to. Granted, I live in Southern California so weather is not much of a reason for putting it off; but even if I have to go to some kind of machine to accomplish it, the enforced freeing of mind helps allay anxiety and seems to clear space for new ideas or new views on old ideas to emerge. I highly recommend well-performed novels you are embarrassed to admit having listened to or music that has not a single virtue other than it makes you smile!😊
I used to run or go on hikes almost daily. I was running 2 or 3 marathons or 50k races per year. Since the pandemic happened - nada. There's no good reason. Just something mental and emotional changed. Not surprisingly, my health (physical and mental) has gone downhill. I'm like 40 pounds heavier. And I... just can't make myself get out and start running again.
One of my other hobbies is outdoor photography. But, since I'm not going out and running/hiking on trails anymore, there's a lot less opportunity for that.
Also, politics used to be my hobby. It started getting less fun in recent years, but *especially* the past 3-4 years.
I relate to this. One of my big activities as a film critic and author was attending science fiction conventions. During the pandemic I did a number of them via Zoom, but other than a local one in Boston it's only last month that I've started going (and participating as a panelist) in person again. In fact I'll be at Philcon (the Philadelphia convention held for reason to complicated to explain in Cherry Hill, New Jersey) this weekend.
Yes, you've got to make a positive effort. I've gotten too used to staying in. (Getting older may be part of it as well.)
These are relatively new in the past year and a half (before that for at least 6 years, just reading):
Golf at least once a month during season (this winter I'm considering one of those in door golf experiences)
Shooting pool twice a month
Playing chess with a friend (in person) at least once a month.
Don't know if this counts but watching football with my father in law.
Crossword puzzles (attempting once a week).
Reading everyday
I want to get back to writing and hiking. I use to paint miniature fantasy figures in an attempt to create my own chess set. I'd like to get back to that (I bought all the figurines, didn't finish painting them).
I recently bought:
An origami book
Colored pencil set
Oil Paint set
Oil Pastels set
Drawing paper and brushes
But have yet to get to them.
Finally, I'm thinking about purchasing unique jigsaw puzzles.
I’m not sure about “hobbies” per se, but certainly “activities outside of work”. And given that I’ve just recently retired (kind of, I think, but I digress), these activities become even more significant, as they keep your mind active, your body active, and with some, they keep you “connected” to other people.
Over the last year or two, as I’ve prepared to retire, I built a “Things To Do When I Retire” list, predominately filled with things I USED to do that I let go by the wayside (painting, playing guitar, hiking, completing my BA, etc.).
That said, now I’m taking our huskies on daily walks of between 2 and 3 miles a day, and just joined a Monday Hikers group and did a wonderful 6+ mile hike on the Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains this week (yes, I’m in So Cal). I’ve also re-upped my membership in a plein aire painting group I was part of, and joined two other art organizations that I always meant to join.
Given that, at least for the moment, I don’t have a “vocation”, I’m not sure “hobbies” is even the right description for these activities, but for the purposes of responding to your query, Chris, there you go!
Thanks for sharing and being so open with your vulnerability. I grew up in L.A. with early career aspirations of becoming a marine biologist (didn't happen). I got my scuba certification when I was 14, and dived regularly for 7 or 8 years, and then life got in the way and nearly 50 years slipped by. I got re-certified as we were coming out of COVID lock downs in 2020, and that rekindled my passion. Since then, I bought an underwater camera housing and have been averaging 100 dives per year. There's a physical element to diving, but the biggest benefit for me is mental - there's nothing like floating effortlessly and watching the natural world float by - I call it my zen.
This is easy for me because I live 40 minutes from Monterey, CA, and can dive any day that work and the weather cooperates. I realize that diving isn't for everybody, but maybe you can rekindle a long-lost passion for something that was once important to you, and since has slipped away?
Thank you for writing this! I am on the same boat as you, except retired and not looking for work, so I do have time, just not very motivated to get into old or new hobbies. So I can't contribute much there... although, I am writing this from South America (Perú, one of my faves!) as I recently took the leap on extended travel (which I wanted to do even before the pandemic hit) so I guess it's a start. Again, thank you for this article, it helped me realize I am not the only one experiencing loss of hobbies and a hard time getting back into them. Like Katie said, I feel seen. PS - love how many responses this post generated!
Jigsaw puzzles BECAME my hobby during the pandemic.........it's a wonderful way to take your mind off the rest of your life.......in my case, while listening to elevator music in my hearing aids which are linked to my cell phone. Try it, you might like it.....
Music! My single biggest hobby is music. I haven't made any music in a very long time. A remarkable lack of talent combined with significant arthritis in my hands to drive me away from trying to make music. But I can LISTEN to music and I can READ about the musicians who create and make the music and that has always brought me great joy. In recent decades I have become an all-out jazzer. Big bands, bebop and its derivatives are my favorites. I am fascinated by the music but I am also fascinated by the musicians who are driven to make that music. In recent years I have done deep dives into the lives & music of Billy Strayhorn, Dave Brubeck and Thelonious Monk. All three lived very interesting, often fascinating, lives. All three were brilliant composers and arrangers. All three have made significant contributions to my well-being,. They never knew it...but I did! I'm a member of the Los Angeles Jazz Institute, even though I live in Wisconsin. For most people music is in the background of their lives. For those of us who consider ourselves very, very fortunate, music IS the FOREGROUND of our lives.
Yes... Covid certainly changed my habits. We live an hour from Orlando and we frequently visited the Universal Parks. Now, we haven’t been in years. I retired during Covid and my recent hobby is learning to play piano! It’s my happy place! Good luck! I have complete confidence that you will follow your heart on this!
I have always been attracted to gadgets and technology. I suppose you could say that my hobby is the constant dabbling in those things. For many years, no day was complete without my spending at least an hour in my office at home, doing something (anything) on my computer (email, exploring the Internet, etc.). More lately, my home dabbling involves running/maintaining the network cables in my home and ensuring that I have the most sophisticated home network that I can build...this supports my cord-cutting streaming habit throughout the house, etc. I'm also constantly looking for the next improvement in the hardware we use for streaming. It all strokes my interest in technology and gadgets. I feel like I'm learning something new. My wife puts up with constantly having to be tought the new (better!!) way of doing something. (She puts up with a lot being married to me).
Most lately, I've been active on the Tech Committee of my church. So, I've enjoyed nerding out with my fellow committee members. We've done a lot of updating of the technology at my church, and I've learned even more in the process. And now, we have the best produced Live Stream of a worship service in our denomination in our region. Very proud of what we produce.
That gives me socialization AND lets me learn. I love to learn, and hope I never get tired of learning new things.
My main hobby was also impacted by the pandemic, as I love going to the movies. I'm aware people suffered a lot during the pandemic but not being able to go to the movies for four months was sheer torture. I had a streak of seeing a movie every week in theatres for 16 years
Because I couldn't go to the movies, I decided to bring the movies home to me. I realized as a movie buff, there were so many movies I haven't seen, so I started Catching up on the Classics. 3.5 years in I've seen every Best Picture winner, every movie on the AFI top 100, and working my way through best actor, actress, director and screenplay, while also trying to see every movie from certain directors I love.
The pandemic also made me discover a love of traveling. I had always talked about doing certain experience and I realized, screw it, why not just do it. So since I got vaccinated, I've been all over the United States, from having a steak dinner at St. Elmo's in Indianapolis to visiting Aberdeen, Washington and retracing the steps of Kurt Cobain.
I'm even combining my love of movies and traveling with my new goal of seeing a movie in every state.
Photography is my go to now. It started, actually, during the pandemic. I could take pictures of birds while at my computer teaching classes. Not the cheapest hobby in the world, but it lets me be creative without being able to paint :-)
I love to do so many things and during the pandemic my sports and inside passions kept me sane and still do. I find establishing a routine keeps me engaged and on track. The activities that I like to do and that cost very little are hiking, all kinds of biking, tennis, x-country skiing, snow shoeing, working out 5-6 times a week, backpacking, and camping. My inside passions consists of oil painting, reading for pleasure and agonizing over the news. Thanks to the Pandemic I started taking Spanish on line. I am terrible, at it BUT i am a life long learner so who cares! Chris, just claim back your pre-pandemic activities. They are waiting for you especially the basketball court!!
I retired a year before the pandemic hit. I had a hair-on-fire career and have always had hobbies that I needed to keep my sanity, and I still have them. I cycle outside 6 days a week March-November and on a spin bike in winter. But I also have two pups that bring me so much joy. In 2020 when we were all hunkering down, we still needed to take the pups for walks, and that got us outside for fresh air and sunshine. We weathered the pandemic well, and I thank my pups and my bike for that. But also, it is so important to serve in your community in whatever way fits your personality. I have a couple of volunteer gigs and they show me that I have it much better than others (one can always find someone with more challenges). When someone in my extended circle (usually at church or neighborhood) is struggling, I make them dinner, bread, or pie. Or help with their kids (which is more stress than you would think, as we are childless). Just look for ways to be there for someone else and it helps to reset your own stress meter and give you a respite from thinking about your own challenges. As much as want to withdraw when things are challenging (and I am no different), humans are wired to need one another. Sometimes our greatest need is to be of use to our community.
Walking, with or without earbuds - but NEVER with anything work-related playing in my ears - has been my go-to. Granted, I live in Southern California so weather is not much of a reason for putting it off; but even if I have to go to some kind of machine to accomplish it, the enforced freeing of mind helps allay anxiety and seems to clear space for new ideas or new views on old ideas to emerge. I highly recommend well-performed novels you are embarrassed to admit having listened to or music that has not a single virtue other than it makes you smile!😊
I feel seen!!!
Yes to all of this, Chris.
I used to run or go on hikes almost daily. I was running 2 or 3 marathons or 50k races per year. Since the pandemic happened - nada. There's no good reason. Just something mental and emotional changed. Not surprisingly, my health (physical and mental) has gone downhill. I'm like 40 pounds heavier. And I... just can't make myself get out and start running again.
One of my other hobbies is outdoor photography. But, since I'm not going out and running/hiking on trails anymore, there's a lot less opportunity for that.
Also, politics used to be my hobby. It started getting less fun in recent years, but *especially* the past 3-4 years.
Ugh.
I relate to this. One of my big activities as a film critic and author was attending science fiction conventions. During the pandemic I did a number of them via Zoom, but other than a local one in Boston it's only last month that I've started going (and participating as a panelist) in person again. In fact I'll be at Philcon (the Philadelphia convention held for reason to complicated to explain in Cherry Hill, New Jersey) this weekend.
Yes, you've got to make a positive effort. I've gotten too used to staying in. (Getting older may be part of it as well.)
We lived in the next town from Cherry Hill for 35 years. We moved from there 2 years ago when we downsized.
These are relatively new in the past year and a half (before that for at least 6 years, just reading):
Golf at least once a month during season (this winter I'm considering one of those in door golf experiences)
Shooting pool twice a month
Playing chess with a friend (in person) at least once a month.
Don't know if this counts but watching football with my father in law.
Crossword puzzles (attempting once a week).
Reading everyday
I want to get back to writing and hiking. I use to paint miniature fantasy figures in an attempt to create my own chess set. I'd like to get back to that (I bought all the figurines, didn't finish painting them).
I recently bought:
An origami book
Colored pencil set
Oil Paint set
Oil Pastels set
Drawing paper and brushes
But have yet to get to them.
Finally, I'm thinking about purchasing unique jigsaw puzzles.
I’m not sure about “hobbies” per se, but certainly “activities outside of work”. And given that I’ve just recently retired (kind of, I think, but I digress), these activities become even more significant, as they keep your mind active, your body active, and with some, they keep you “connected” to other people.
Over the last year or two, as I’ve prepared to retire, I built a “Things To Do When I Retire” list, predominately filled with things I USED to do that I let go by the wayside (painting, playing guitar, hiking, completing my BA, etc.).
That said, now I’m taking our huskies on daily walks of between 2 and 3 miles a day, and just joined a Monday Hikers group and did a wonderful 6+ mile hike on the Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains this week (yes, I’m in So Cal). I’ve also re-upped my membership in a plein aire painting group I was part of, and joined two other art organizations that I always meant to join.
Given that, at least for the moment, I don’t have a “vocation”, I’m not sure “hobbies” is even the right description for these activities, but for the purposes of responding to your query, Chris, there you go!
Thanks for sharing and being so open with your vulnerability. I grew up in L.A. with early career aspirations of becoming a marine biologist (didn't happen). I got my scuba certification when I was 14, and dived regularly for 7 or 8 years, and then life got in the way and nearly 50 years slipped by. I got re-certified as we were coming out of COVID lock downs in 2020, and that rekindled my passion. Since then, I bought an underwater camera housing and have been averaging 100 dives per year. There's a physical element to diving, but the biggest benefit for me is mental - there's nothing like floating effortlessly and watching the natural world float by - I call it my zen.
This is easy for me because I live 40 minutes from Monterey, CA, and can dive any day that work and the weather cooperates. I realize that diving isn't for everybody, but maybe you can rekindle a long-lost passion for something that was once important to you, and since has slipped away?
Thank you for writing this! I am on the same boat as you, except retired and not looking for work, so I do have time, just not very motivated to get into old or new hobbies. So I can't contribute much there... although, I am writing this from South America (Perú, one of my faves!) as I recently took the leap on extended travel (which I wanted to do even before the pandemic hit) so I guess it's a start. Again, thank you for this article, it helped me realize I am not the only one experiencing loss of hobbies and a hard time getting back into them. Like Katie said, I feel seen. PS - love how many responses this post generated!
Jigsaw puzzles BECAME my hobby during the pandemic.........it's a wonderful way to take your mind off the rest of your life.......in my case, while listening to elevator music in my hearing aids which are linked to my cell phone. Try it, you might like it.....
Music! My single biggest hobby is music. I haven't made any music in a very long time. A remarkable lack of talent combined with significant arthritis in my hands to drive me away from trying to make music. But I can LISTEN to music and I can READ about the musicians who create and make the music and that has always brought me great joy. In recent decades I have become an all-out jazzer. Big bands, bebop and its derivatives are my favorites. I am fascinated by the music but I am also fascinated by the musicians who are driven to make that music. In recent years I have done deep dives into the lives & music of Billy Strayhorn, Dave Brubeck and Thelonious Monk. All three lived very interesting, often fascinating, lives. All three were brilliant composers and arrangers. All three have made significant contributions to my well-being,. They never knew it...but I did! I'm a member of the Los Angeles Jazz Institute, even though I live in Wisconsin. For most people music is in the background of their lives. For those of us who consider ourselves very, very fortunate, music IS the FOREGROUND of our lives.
Yes... Covid certainly changed my habits. We live an hour from Orlando and we frequently visited the Universal Parks. Now, we haven’t been in years. I retired during Covid and my recent hobby is learning to play piano! It’s my happy place! Good luck! I have complete confidence that you will follow your heart on this!
Good for you!!
I have always been attracted to gadgets and technology. I suppose you could say that my hobby is the constant dabbling in those things. For many years, no day was complete without my spending at least an hour in my office at home, doing something (anything) on my computer (email, exploring the Internet, etc.). More lately, my home dabbling involves running/maintaining the network cables in my home and ensuring that I have the most sophisticated home network that I can build...this supports my cord-cutting streaming habit throughout the house, etc. I'm also constantly looking for the next improvement in the hardware we use for streaming. It all strokes my interest in technology and gadgets. I feel like I'm learning something new. My wife puts up with constantly having to be tought the new (better!!) way of doing something. (She puts up with a lot being married to me).
Most lately, I've been active on the Tech Committee of my church. So, I've enjoyed nerding out with my fellow committee members. We've done a lot of updating of the technology at my church, and I've learned even more in the process. And now, we have the best produced Live Stream of a worship service in our denomination in our region. Very proud of what we produce.
That gives me socialization AND lets me learn. I love to learn, and hope I never get tired of learning new things.
My main hobby was also impacted by the pandemic, as I love going to the movies. I'm aware people suffered a lot during the pandemic but not being able to go to the movies for four months was sheer torture. I had a streak of seeing a movie every week in theatres for 16 years
Because I couldn't go to the movies, I decided to bring the movies home to me. I realized as a movie buff, there were so many movies I haven't seen, so I started Catching up on the Classics. 3.5 years in I've seen every Best Picture winner, every movie on the AFI top 100, and working my way through best actor, actress, director and screenplay, while also trying to see every movie from certain directors I love.
The pandemic also made me discover a love of traveling. I had always talked about doing certain experience and I realized, screw it, why not just do it. So since I got vaccinated, I've been all over the United States, from having a steak dinner at St. Elmo's in Indianapolis to visiting Aberdeen, Washington and retracing the steps of Kurt Cobain.
I'm even combining my love of movies and traveling with my new goal of seeing a movie in every state.