We all know hobbies can offer joy, connection, and a sense of purpose. They are also crucial to our mental health and well-being.
Sometimes, we need more than just time to fit them into our busy lives. We need space!
According to Statista cooking, baking, reading, and gardening are among the most popular hobbies in Australia. These aren’t just time-filling exercises; they offer a chance to feel more joy, purpose and connection, and happily, we can often do them at home.
What about our other favourites, video gaming (when we want to share the thrill of the game with others in the same space or a draw for your online fantasy football), DIY projects, and arts and crafts that need many hands to make them work, sports and fitness, meditation and wellness, photography and making music?
We know we need to make time to take hobbies seriously. We also need to find a suitable, local and affordable space for you and your friends to share your hobbies.
The joy of purpose – or of no purpose at all
Yazdan Mansourian, researcher, and senior lecturer from Charles Sturt University has been studying hobbies for years.
The simplest form of hobby is one that is “for pure pleasure, for having fun”, like reading a book, having dinner with friends or walking, he tells ABC RN’s Life Matters.
No time for a hobby?
Rob Donovan, the founder of Mentally Healthy WA’s Act-Belong-Commit campaign says a hobby can keep us active “mentally, spiritually and socially”, and — particularly those done in a group — they give us a sense of belonging, identity and connection.
Hobbies also help to build a sense of “meaning and purpose in life” and a “sense of resilience and capability”, says Professor Donovan, who is also an adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia’s School of Human Sciences.
No space for your hobby?
We can help you with that.
