Hi everyone. I am feeling like I’ve lost any direction after getting laid off earlier this year (was working as an analyst in telecom and very recently landed a much lower position in healthcare data entry due to necessity). I already have several hobbies but I am either burnt out on them or they have lost their luster (similar to how life has lost its luster for me this past 6 months).
I would really love to learn a new skill, preferably using my hands to create something while challenging my brain. I’m willing to take classes, study, practice, and buy some equipment required for the skill.
Please tell me about your skill/hobby that gives you purpose. I’ve kind of exhausted google search which always returns the same 20 or so craft suggestions like “make custom invitations for weddings”, and while that sounds good for someone, it may not be good for me.
Current hobbies: Music composition and gardening,
EDIT: trying to move away from hobbies that involve me sitting in front of a computer. I already do that way too much.
Based on what you wrote, referencing burnout, I suspect that the issue isn’t that you need a hobby, it’s that you need to make time to do nothing at all.
Go for walks in nature, away from technology, walk alone or with friends, laugh, tell stories, share secrets and dreams.
The more you do, the more resilience builds up, the better you can cope with stress and work.
Only then might you find joy in a hobby. For me it was Amateur Radio, but it might be different for you.
All good points. I make time with friends when I can, getting laid off from my job really messed me up. I had been there for 11 years a lot of my closer friends are tied to that job and people I worked with. I still go out to lunch or for coffee with them when possible, but I don’t see them every day like I used to. I am going to double my efforts to spend time with them.
i got my amateur radio license (U.S. technician) about a month ago at a big convention. i was thinking of suggesting the hobby to the poster but first read through the comments, to check if it were suggested already. your initial advice is probably better. i’m realizing i overloaded myself and burned out during the time leading up to the test and now i’m not entirely sure why i tried getting the license in the first place. i still don’t even have a radio. I think i wanted to learn more about electronics and one thing led to another. now my mind goes blank when i try to think about what to do. i’m not OP but found it to be good advice, thanks.
Welcome to the community, we’re all still figuring out what to do with it :)
When you want to reconnect with the hobby, after looking after yourself, look for my callsign, VK6FLAB. I have produced a weekly article about the hobby for the past 13 years and there’s plenty of suggestions for things to do and learn.
I really enjoyed learning to homebrew, and my family and friends really enjoyed drinking the mead I’ve made. You can homebrew all sorts of stuff, too - beer and wine of course, but also kombucha and ginger ale. I’m looking at professional kit for my next batch which is going to be a few hundred dollars at least of steel, but my first fermentation tubs were something like $35.
My only up-front recommendation would be to get a conical fermenter as it minimises loss when racking/bottling.
Homebrew is so fun, and I love how you can make it as complex as you want. Like, you can just mix some honey and some water (in the right ratio) and let it sit, and you’ve got mead! Or you can add flavors. Or experiment with yeasts. Or brew beer and experiment with hops and grains. It’s a hobby that really meets you where you want it to.
Two rules if you do this OP:
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clean everything all the time, this is an unskippable step. You must sanitize everything the beer touches!
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RDWHAHB
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That sounds really cool. I am going to look into this some more.
Homebrew is a really good idea. You can get amazing results for relatively cheap investment. Take a look at the Robobrew and similar all in one kits. They’re basically brew in a bag systems that work really well.
And cider! Holebrewing is a lot of fun, and you can definitely get started on the cheap.
Are you looking for a new career as well? Or just a hobby? I sit in front of a computer all day and always thought being an electrician would be kind of neat. Decent money, get to work with your hands, and still some problem solving involved.
Edit: If you’re looking for more of a hobby, volunteer conservation work may also be something to look into. Something like trail work. I did a few stints in my younger years, and they were transformative experiences for me. The folks who do this type of work are super interesting and passionate in my experience, and it can rub off on you.
I’ll add that learning botany and taxonomy is VERY fun and rewarding. Going out in the field and discovering new plants and wildlife is a great treasure that always gives. It adds so much value to the outdoors
Both kind of. I mean, that’s the dream right? Finding something you find interesting and gives you purpose and then being able to make a living wage doing it. Its interesting you mentioned being an electrician. I have a tour scheduled next week at a local trade school to explore being an electrician. Do you have any suggestion on questions I should ask during my tour?
Going thru similar shit right now myself I found an anchor in working out. I started from total zero - zero push ups, zero pull ups, zero sqats, zero crunches. I can do most of these now, with pullups to go still. But I also got into better mindset and learning discipline too. Good stuff that I’ve neglected for 20+ years.
Keep it up! That’s great progress.
Woodworking. I love it. Wood is such a warm medium to work with, and it’s a really easy hobby to get into, too. You don’t have to buy expensive power tools, nor do you need to set a target of making fine furniture.
For me, I started out with scrap wood, trying to make as perfect as dovetail joint as possible, using just hand tools - a cross-cut saw and a good, sharp chisel.
That took me down a path of trying to learn different joinery techniques, which was a whole lot of fun. I bought a couple of joinery books from the big A and scrounged scraps from my local hardware to practice on. And, I know you said you wanted to get away from the computer, but there’s some incredibly good woodworking channels on YT. I tend to avoid the ones that talk too much about what they’re doing - I prefer to just watch masters at work. I find Japanese woodworking videos incredibly satisfying and enjoyable.
I don’t get to indulge the hobby as much as I want - family life keeps me pretty busy nowadays - but, when I have the occasional afternoon to myself, I love spending it in my little workshop, mucking around with wood. I always come away from a bout of woodworking feeling relaxed.
I was about to say something like this, hands on work is really satisfying when you can see the results in front of you, and even show them off as well!
Wood working is very fun an obtainable. At the end all your really need is a knife and some wood! Realtically if you want to get into it your gonna need some hand planes, but its a pretty fun and useful past time.
I recently got deep into making paper!
It’s relatively simple, relaxing, and has a lot of repetitive tasks that take a while… So it’s been fantastic for reading audiobooks! I also get to recycle old paper and cardboard instead of putting it into a bin and hoping that it’s dealt with.
Every single piece of equipment can be made by hand for cheap though honestly I highly recommend a blender and a tub. Both of which could be replaced with hand made things but like… Why would you want to spend hours beating recycled paper to a pulp which you could put it into a blender for a little bit while doing something else.
It’s also great for my debilitating RSD because even though it requires a specific touch to be gained… Every step except for literally the very last one can be repeated at any point with no downside.
If the pulp isn’t blended right… Blend it more… If the deckle is unevenly covered… Just put it back in the water… Etc etc
I really think more people should do recycling stuff in general but this has been fantastic.
WOW! That’s really neat, I’ve never considered something like that. Sounds really cool.
Some tutorials on YouTube are a LOT better than others and I’ve found some to just be terrible.
Different methods for paper making give very different results and despite the good method being easy… It’s not the one that people seem to think of when they first start?
If any tutorial tells you to put the pulp on the mould and deckle itself… Do not listen… Put it into the vat with the water and let it settle… If you put it on the mould and deckle manually it won’t be level and it’ll be bumpy and way thicker than you want it to be.
Another fun bit though is that you can experiment with the actual paper itself. Ever wanted paper that glitters? Just throw glitter in with the pulp. Want blue paper? Due the pulp blue. Want paper thats better for certain art vs others? There are loads of organic additives you can put in that change the properties without removing the recycled nature of the project.
If you have a 3D printer you can even make 3D molds to put excess pulp into and make cups and such.
I love this so much
Skill #1: You’re fine just the way you are. You aren’t lost, you’re still deciding where to go.
My advice is to take an SDS test (career interest) to get your Holland code and learn about all the jobs that would excite you.
Thank you for the kind words. I will look into the SDS test.
Sure thing! I think there’s a fee for the real one but you might find a free version or see if a local community vocational center type thing wouldn’t let you take it for free. If it sets you in the right direction though, it’s worth the cost.
And just if you could benefit from some proof, people change careers an average of 5-7 times in their lives. If you haven’t decided where to go next, how could you possibly be lost?
Take care, friend. I promise that you know all the answers to the questions you haven’t asked yourself yet.
It’s really all going to depend on your tastes and lifestyle. Like I could recommend that you get a dog and start learning how to train dogs as a hobby, but that’s just not going to work for everyone. What’s important is that you explore things and maybe even try some hobbies that could potentially improve your well-being. Maybe you live somewhere near a good hiking spot and you could take up hiking to get outdoors and get more exercise. Maybe you could learn how to cook and explore how to make healthy meals that suit you better. Or maybe you just want to create something and you could take up woodworking or make model planes or something. The possibilities are endless, you just need to decide what you’d like to get out of it.
Personally, I spend most of my time for work indoors on a computer, so most of my hobbies involve using my hands and getting outdoors. I took up a lot of extra hobbies during covid for obvious reasons. So here goes my list of >!hobbies that will maybe give you some ideas:
- Cooking/baking/bread
- Candy making
- Jam making
- Gardening
- Canning (goes great with gardening!)
- Succulents
- Mixology
- Dog training
- Camping/hiking (this one is minimal only because I don’t live somewhere with good hiking spots)
- Board games, video games, and movies during the winter when I can’t go outside
Other things I’ve considered taking up but haven’t for various reasons:
- 3D printing
- Bonsais
- Home brewing
My mate started terrarium building.
For very little cost, you can look for second hand fish tanks and go for walks to collect moss, rocks, twigs etc. Weirdly it built more meaning to the more ‘I need to move my body so I’ll go for a walk’.
Now he likes hiking, and collecting moss along the way.
The actual terrariums are gorgeous too.
Thanks for the suggestion. I tried doing a terrarium last year and was just entirely unsuccessful. Had a fungus issue, cleaned it all out, tried again, had a fungus problem. I put it on the back burner and figured I would try again in the future. Shrug.
Gymnastics. Seriously. You don’t need to be all that athletic to do the core basics. You get fitter and have fun just throwing yourself onto big soft mats.
Thought of a few more.
I should mention metal scraping, surface lapping and lens/mirror figuring (like for a telescope) too, since the other forms of metalworking have been brought up. For woodworking, there’s all kinds of old techniques if you’re looking for something a bit different. Cooper isn’t just a last name.
Stone knapping, like to make arrowheads or similar. It’s tricky I hear, but you can do it with any reasonably thick piece of glass to start, and move up to actual rocks eventually.
Weaving, spinning and of course knitting and sewing. Textile hobbies are associated with women, though, and Lemmy is mostly men, so you might get the occasional weird look.
Someone else mentioned canning, and I’ve done that one - I’m pretty good at it, too, although it’s hard work. Taking normal food and making it last literally forever is neat, you just need to pay attention to all the details.
Metal working, (although kinda expensive to get into) sheet metal bending, machining, welding. I really enjoy learning and making real world useful parts out of metal.
Wood working/whittling Its cheap to learn and can be very rewarding. Id suggest to look at local stores for discarded pallets for free wood. To make a few things out of, aim for hardwood, but lots of them end up being pine.
Potentally electronics? (Although you said you didnt want a hobby that doesnt use computers)
Photography could be rewarding Going outside to parks and just taking pictures really helps feeling grounded an in the now. And you can show others your photos!
Maybe woodworking? It can get dusty and you need some room but you can also make smaller things that don’t need big power tools or a lot of room. Like miniature things.
Or computer programming. Create an app. Or do something fun like follow one of the coding challenges from the YouTube channel The Coding Train
I was going to say the same. My husband likes gardening and builds all different kinds of planters - raised beds on the ground, elevated planters on wheels, small box planters with handles so he can easily carry it in/out for starting seeds.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Trades are great careers to be in now. Maybe cabinet making and volunteer at habitat for humanity? Learn something new that might help down the line, and do some good at the same time. Wiring, welding, or fixing an old car is another route to learn a useful and potentially employable skill.
cooking is an awesome hobbyyy
Yah! It is. I cook often, but its not really a hobby for me. I just like good food and I don’t like spending money eating out.
