Why I need lots of hobbies

In our house there are always projects on the go. We have a massive Lego Taj Mahal being built on the dining room table, diamond painting set up in the kitchen, cross stitch spread out in the study, and crafts that I'm making for our upcoming Disney cruise all over the floor in the spare room.

There are also many projects yet to be started - I've shared before how I use Trello to keep myself organised, and I also use it to track craft projects that I'm currently working on, new crafts that I fancy having a go at, as well as books to read and recipes to try.

I love having a choice of different things to do when I have some spare time. I enjoy having different craft projects to fit different situations. I also like always having something to do to fill my time. Like many people nowadays I'm guilty of turning to a screen for entertainment, but I find myself much happier at the end of the day if I feel that I've spent my time productively.

I enjoy working on long term projects that will take me several years, like a large cross stitch sampler, but I need to mix that up a bit with some shorter projects that can be completed in one go, like a Hama bead make. I enjoy reading long books that I can really engross myself in, but I'll usually have a shorter novel on the go at the same time.

Photo credit Rebecca Grant via Unsplash

Although I do work part time, I also spend lots of time running around after the children and sorting out all their little problems. I need something to not only keep me busy, but also to plan and to look forward to. I always have lots of things going around in my head, and it's much better if these are fun things that I want to think about, rather than things that I'm worrying about.

I like giving myself a challenge, even if that's just working to complete a project to a certain timescale and I'm only accountable to myself. It makes me feel happy to watch my progress over time, for example with crochet, where I've made enormous progress since my first wobbly granny squares. Being surrounded by things that I've created reminds me of my accomplishments.

So I think I'll always be someone that needs lots of hobbies to keep me busy!