Everybody Needs a Hobby!

By Tina Baumgartner

I read a comment on Twitter the other day that really made me think and also feel a little sad. It was posted by a Millennial woman, and with that a member of the generation everybody is talking about and dissing all the time. Just as a reminder, Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996.

Anyway, the woman wrote that the members of her generation have no hobbies.

Everything they do, she wrote, is a hustle or a side job, some way to make money. She mentioned a class she taught and that the first question asked was “what is your ROI (return on investment) on this class?”

I am not a Millennial by a big margin but I can totally see that this generation grew up constantly hearing that they have to make money, be efficient, monetize this, and turn that into a side business. Are you taking decent photographs? Monetize them by selling on Microstock websites (been there, done that). Are you baking great cakes and cookies - turn it into a Youtube channel and it better go viral. Your crocheted animals are adorable? Sell them on Etsy! Are you one of those hardcore gamers who click the mouse faster than anybody else? Look for a company who pays you for it!

Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming the Millennials, after all, they could rightfully be called Generation Student Debt. I read another thread on Twitter (am I spending too much time on Twitter? Could, maybe, somebody pay me for that?) where young professionals shared how much they owe in student loans. The story generally went something like: “I graduated with $60K in debt. I have been paying back every month for 5 years now, I still owe $60K.”

The stories were sad, upsetting and some downright heart breaking. No wonder then, that this generation with so much debt that came of age during the crazy years of the dotcom boom and who were told that everybody should be an entrepreneur and maximize the return on investment of everything they do, has forgotten or - more likely - never learned how to do something just for the fun of doing it. No ulterior motifs, no ROI, no guilty thoughts of “I should be hustling instead of lingering”.

The Value of Hobbies

If you search “value of hobbies” on Google you will find more articles than you will possible ever want to read. The benefit of doing something simply for the pleasure of doing it, is intuitive for those of us, who have hobbies, but, of course, I had to take this a step further and at least have a quick look at what the scientific literature has to say.

This study showed that people who engage in more enjoyable activities had lower blood pressure, total cortisol, waist circumference, and body mass index, and perceptions of better physical function. There are other studies that link hobbies to well-being. However, there wasn’t that much more on the general topic. These “hobby studies”, interestingly, seem to focus on 2 groups: older people, who, often retired will have the time to pursue hobbies without cutting into work and family time as well as kids and adolescents and in their case specifically the benefit of sports. While that is all interesting, it leaves out the Millennials as well as us forgotten, never talked about Gen Xers and those Baby Boomers who are still working.

How I Ruined a Hobby …

So, I guess, I need to go back to my own experience with hobbies, especially photography. I started taking pictures when I was let go out of the blue due to downsizing. Photography was a life line, something to take my mind of all the destructive and negative thoughts and self-doubts. I loved it and soon found out that I have a knack for taking pictures of people. I rented temporary access to a studio and started working with amateur models, including my own son - then a little kid. I also took a lot of candids at events like birthday or block parties - and got lots of great feedback and encouragement and even a couple of minor paid gigs.

You know where this is going: although I was employed again I decided that I should make some money from my photography. Passive income started being the hot concept right around that time: taking pictures that can be sold over and over again, the gift that keeps on giving - making money doing what I love. It sounded like a great idea!

I tried it all: postcards, prints, microstock, portrait photography, new business models, old business models, online sales, digital prints on Etsy, … probably a few more. I wrote plans, researched cameras, teamed up with a friend, tried it alone - and you know what: it took the fun right out of it. I destroyed what was a perfectly good hobby by pressuring myself to make money off of it. It was no longer about creativity, fun, interacting with people and all about what motifs sell, model releases, the photo trends of the year, the right colors and outfits, fashion and finding pro bono make-up artists.

But not only that, sorting through hundreds, sometimes thousands of pictures from a shoot, selecting the best ones (what is best?), making sure they are pin sharp, futz around in photoshop, add keywords, disambiguate the keywords, upload them to microstock sites - only to have 8 out of 10 refused without a reason - was the opposite of what I loved about photography when I first started. Being creative, being outside, working with people, not overthinking stuff. Just shooting and having fun was replaced by hour after hour spent behind the computer. Which is what I do for work - it isn’t what I want to do for fun.

The other thing I appreciate about photography is its Zen-like quality. You have to be in the moment. Photography is like meditation - and a nagging voice in the back of my head asking me whether anybody will buy this picture, reminding me to take the portrait version as well, because it’s more useful for magazines, and forcing me to use the tripod (I hate tripods) because the picture will be sharper didn’t just take the fun out of it, but also killed the Zen-like qualities. One simply can’t meditate - even with a camera - with a long list of dos and don’ts in mind.

I stopped taking pictures entirely. Trying (and, btw, failing) to make any type of real money from my hobby ruined it.

… and what I Learned From It

The experience taught me an important lesson, though: I (and I guess most of us) need something fun to do, some thing to take the mind off work, family, politics, daily struggles and drama. Something that is enough by itself, that doesn’t need, in fact doesn’t tolerate, an ulterior motif, like making money or advancing our career. Adding that economic/commercial aspect to it, doesn’t make it better, it ruins it, it turns it into work and with that it will no longer achieve what it was meant to do in the first place: provide balance.

That “something” is called a hobby. It can be a million different things.

You need one. If you don’t have one, I suggest you start today and pick one. If it isn’t right, fine, pick another. You will know when you found “the one”. It will feel right and after a few hours of taking pictures, playing the Ukulele, ice skating or sorting fabric you will feel more relaxed and balanced.

Then, please, do yourself a favor and accept that this special activity will never make you any money, in fact, actively ban any thoughts of turning it into a side gig from your mind.

Don’t be me, don’t ruin a perfectly good hobby by trying to turn it into a business.

I still love photography - and one day I will go back to it with the clear intention to never even trying to sell a single picture.

~~~~~

Oh, one last comment: may I suggest crafting as a perfect hobby. You could also come volunteer at FabMo, sorting fabric is very relaxing - and, even better: you can combine the two.