“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy,” as they say. Focusing on your work isn’t bad; on the contrary, it’s admirable. However, focusing too much on your work alone isn’t healthy.
However, focusing too much on your work alone isn’t healthy. It makes you more vulnerable to burnout and stress, which can severely hamper your work in the long run. One way of solving this is by having a better balance between your work and your hobbies.
Aside from having a better work-life balance, there are several more benefits of having hobbies outside your job that you can gain from doing them. What are these other benefits, you may ask? Let’s find out.
What are Hobbies?
First up, you may wonder: “what exactly are hobbies?” Hobbies are activities you engage in that aren’t part of your regular job, which you do primarily for relaxation. There are various hobbies: playing a musical instrument, engaging in sports, reading, playing video games, and more.
But what if you don’t have a hobby yet? How do you find one? Well, what exactly do you want to do in your spare time? It doesn’t have to be profound or strenuous if you don’t like it. Just something you enjoy and feel relaxed doing when you have spare time.
Hobbies Improve Your Work-Life Balance.
Perhaps the most important of the benefits of having hobbies is it helps separate daily life and work life. It lets you unwind from a hard day’s work and enjoy your spare time, which aids in improving your mental health.
Another benefit of having hobbies is it makes working in your online job less lonely and isolating. Take exercising with your friends or family, for example. Instead of remaining cooped up in your workstation, you can bond with your loved ones while improving your physical health.
Or, if you’re not into physical activities (like me), you can try finding a game to play with your friends online. And it doesn’t have to be a competitive online multiplayer game if you don’t like playing with strangers.
Thanks to advancements in technology, you can now play tabletop games online. So if you liked playing cards against humanity, werewolf, or any card game, you now have the means to do so online.
Hobbies Help Get Your Body in Shape.
No, a circle may be a shape, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. Besides exercising, having a physically-oriented hobby, such as playing sports or playing musical instruments, keeps your body physically fit and healthy.
This is especially important after two years in lockdown due to the pandemic. A combination of lack of physical activity, reliance on easy-to-make food, and the comfort of working in your bed has helped increase our weight.
If we continue with this sedentary lifestyle, we may encounter serious health problems in the long run, such as high blood pressure and obesity.
Having a hobby that requires you to be more physically active helps mitigate this a lot. According to a study by several psychologists, even something as simple as leisurely activities can improve blood pressure and reduce your body mass index.
Meet New Friends and Bond With Current Ones via Your Hobbies.
Another of the benefits of having hobbies is widening your social circle. Speaking from experience, I have met many new friends thanks to my hobbies, in-person and online. Having people who share the same interests as you do makes it more enjoyable than doing it alone.
It’s not just friends that you can share your hobbies. Why not share your passion with your family too? Sharing your hobbies with them can help you find something to bond together once your shift ends. After all, the family that plays together stays together, right?
A Hobby Actually Improves Your Work Productivity.
Aside from being healthy, having hobbies also has the positive effect of helping you be better at work. Hobbies help you develop positive work traits such as perseverance, creativity, and a more positive attitude, according to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.
Having hobbies is also something that employers look for in applicants. Employers often ask aspiring employees if they have any hobbies to see if they have the passion and drive for work. Ironically, employees who have hobbies are more resistant to stress and often more innovative in how they work than those who don’t have hobbies.
Get Inspiration for Work Through Your Hobbies.
Using your creativity for work is an exhausting task. There will be days when you will experience a creative block at work. Before you start panicking, it is totally normal to encounter a creativity wall while at work.
One way you can solve this is by distancing yourself from work through your hobbies. Doing so clears your mind and allows it to find inspiration from doing the things you love. So don’t be afraid to take a break and give yourself time to gather your thoughts.
Balancing Your Work and Passion.
Now that your house has become your workplace, it can be hard to separate work life from home life. Which, in turn, could cause stress and other health issues to you. That said, one advantage of remote work is it gives you more time to enjoy the benefits of your hobbies than in an office.
This is why hobbies are vital today, as these activities help you regain your work-life balance. And if you work remotely, you can skip your daily commute, freeing you up to spend more time on the things you actually enjoy.
If you’re curious to try this work setup, head to Remote Staff to sign up for one of our many available online jobs.
