How do people find time for hobbies & interests?

In Lonesome Dove

I have many hobbies and interests that I enjoy. Unfortunately, I'm finding less and less time to enjoy them. Last night was the first night in months that I worked on any sort of a hobby or interest. I picked up a pair of my knitting needles and went knitting for a bit and it was so good.

I work long hours from morning til night (no joke) and sometimes even weekends. I despise the TV when I am free.

Do other people have hobbies and interests and how do you find time for them?

ancapailldorcha

I read on the bus on the way to work. Making time isn't easy as I'm usually exhausted in the evening and the weekends.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

How many hours work do you have to do? I'm kinda lucky I don;t need to work as much at the moment, but the problem I have is not making as much use of the free hours I do have.

NomadicGray

I dont work ridiculous hours and have a ten minute commute. I only really watch sports and that's mistky on the weekend

I don't have many hobbies either so have no trouble fitting them in.
Getting the motivation can be an issue sometimes though

Meathlass

I find the old adage about giving a busy person the work to do generally rings true.

You have to schedule in your hobbies during the day. You say you've no time and don't watch tv but unless you're working 18 hours a day what are you doing outside work?

ClovenHoof

I have several hobbies and past times. I get around to enjoying them all.

Here is why.

A) I do not have a TV - you would be amazed how much of your life it steals.

I am also not devoted to a British Soccer Club corporation hundreds and hundreds of miles from here hanging on to their every result game and update. Barstooling is not a hobby.

bodice ripper

My hobby is my job. I devote all of my time to it.

AnonoBoy

I just made work my hobby now I have 50+ hours a week for my hobby and I get paid for it!*




























*This only works if your hobby is mindlessly filing papers in an office that has all the atmosphere of a funeral home presided over by a boss whose idea of 'staff party' consists of one swiss roll and a 2 litre bottle of Fanta on Dec 21st.

Irishcrx

It gets more difficult the older you get I think , I find I have to have a schedule of doing thing's to get anything done. Work and family obviously come first , the weekend I make time on a Saturday to play football and to train during the week so that's my one thing I make sure of. Friends as well , almost seems I try and make time for the one's I haven't seen the longest and rotate it.

As for anything else , well it's more a case that when the TV is free or the baby is asleep I hop on and cram a game or two of COD in and that's it..

In Lonesome Dove

Meathlass wrote: »

I find the old adage about giving a busy person the work to do generally rings true.

You have to schedule in your hobbies to do day. You say you've no time and don't watch tv but unless you're working 18 hours a day what are you doing outside work?

Ha ha! I work from 8 in the morning. Years ago I used to finish at about 6 or 6.30. Now, I'm lucky if I finish by 8pm/9pm.

There's been some Fridays where I wouldn't finish until well past midnight. That sh1t leads into exhaustion.

In Lonesome Dove

ClovenHoof wrote: »

I have several hobbies and past times. I get around to enjoying them all.

Here is why.

A) I do not have a TV - you would be amazed how much of your life it steals.

I am also not devoted to a British Soccer Club corporation hundreds and hundreds of miles from here hanging on to their every result game and update. Barstooling is not a hobby.

When I was renting away, I didn't own a TV and I loved it that way very much.

In Lonesome Dove

bodice ripper wrote: »

My hobby is my job. I devote all of my time to it.

I wish I could turn one of my hobbies into a job. Maybe my knitting hobby.

Meathlass

In Lonesome Dove wrote: »

Ha ha! I work from 8 in the morning. Years ago I used to finish at about 6 or 6.30. Now, I'm lucky if I finish by 8pm/9pm.

There's been some Fridays where I wouldn't finish until well past midnight. That sh1t leads into exhaustion.

Well, of course you've no time for hobbies - you're working a 60 hour week!

Shenshen

I chnged my work schedule not too long ago to make sure I'll have time for my hobbies when I get home.

I start at 7, finish around 4.30. So by the time I get home in summer, I can easily go for an hour's swim or cycle (if the tide's out) and still will be back home before my husband finishes work.

I read in the evenings - I usually get through 1 or 2 books a week. Hubby's watching TV and we're jsut snuggled up on the sofa.

I paint on the weekends. I need daylight for that.

Fortunately, my other hobby is cooking and baking and I get to do that nearly every day anway

kowloon

Whatever you do, don't be that person whose hobby is telling everyone about your job, how important it is and how much you suffer. Make the time to meet up with friends, don't belittle them by telling them you need to fit them into your schedule.

Drakares

In Lonesome Dove wrote: »

I have many hobbies and interests that I enjoy. Unfortunately, I'm finding less and less time to enjoy them. Last night was the first night in months that I worked on any sort of a hobby or interest. I picked up a pair of my knitting needles and went knitting for a bit and it was so good.

I work long hours from morning til night (no joke) and sometimes even weekends. I despise the TV when I am free.

Do other people have hobbies and interests and how do you find time for them?

If you do not at least enjoy your job and you're spending so much time on it, then you're doing it wrong.

In any case, it's obvious a large amount of people do not work every waking hour like you claim to do. This is common knowledge so I'm guessing the thread is a thinly veiled "I'm working so much cos my job is so important" thread.

Super-Rush

ClovenHoof wrote: »

I have several hobbies and past times. I get around to enjoying them all.

Here is why.

A) I do not have a TV - you would be amazed how much of your life it steals.

I am also not devoted to a British Soccer Club corporation hundreds and hundreds of miles from here hanging on to their every result game and update. Barstooling is not a hobby.

I have several hobbies that i get to enjoy every weekend and i own a tv and support a football team.

The tv is rarely turned on before 6 during the week and my team only plays on average one game a week.

I catch up on any team news on my phone once or twice a day for a few minutes. TV only steals peoples lives if they let it.

chrissb8

In Lonesome Dove wrote: »

Ha ha! I work from 8 in the morning. Years ago I used to finish at about 6 or 6.30. Now, I'm lucky if I finish by 8pm/9pm.

There's been some Fridays where I wouldn't finish until well past midnight. That sh1t leads into exhaustion.

That ain't working for a living. That's living to work. Hope it's not like this all the time.

I think that I am lucky in that a lot of my hobbies feed into "real life". I love cooking. And growing fruit and vegetables. And DIY projects. So a lot of the things I do - tend to feed into things that need to be done anyway.

But I have hobbies like Capoeira - BJJ - Meditation. How do I find time for this? I guess I have chosen a job where I have slightly less hours - and much more flexible hours - than I would if I chose a job where I would get paid around what I would normally be paid for by my line of work and level in it. I chose to make that sacrifice to finances - to keep that benefit for time and flexibility.

How people with 8 or more hour days - with 1 or more hour commutes in each direction - find time to live a life of their own - I do not know. Well done to them!

Duck's hoop

I work full time and train for sport 10 times a week. I recently bought a tv after 4 years of not having one and I'm loving it!

So much quality entertainment. It's not on before 8 pm and off before 10 mostly. But it's excellent way to wind down.

etoughguy

I find I rarely struggle to find time for my favorite hobby of drinking

Beasty

40+ hours a week working, it probably averages another 10 following sports, and 5-10 cycling, a couple of hours a day on Boards, 5 or 6 hours a week ferrying the kids around, a few hours here and there sorting out stuff for the sports club I am an officer of. Still leaves 90 or so hours for eating, drinking, sleeping, commuting etc. I'm a bit stuffed now I'm a Celebrity's on mind ....

Graces7

Being over 70, disabled and with no family is great for having time for eg knitting, gardening.. Realised as I started this that it might sound negative but it is far from it. These are my golden years when I can do what I want to do which is raise needed money for others and to do this means I design, knit, meet others at craft fairs.. Long may this last for me.. today knitting little owl toy that the kids love

Ditched TV years ago and catch the occasional film on youtube etc. But knit as I watch

kowloon

kowloon wrote: »

Whatever you do, don't be that person whose hobby is telling everyone about your job, how important it is and how much you suffer. Make the time to meet up with friends, don't belittle them by telling them you need to fit them into your schedule.

I have a sort-of boss who makes a point of telling me, whenever he hears me chatting about anything unrelated to work, that he doesn't have time to even form an opinion about A, B or C, because he's got important things to think about (implying unlike the rest of us).

He thinks this makes him look very important and dedicated, it just makes him look like a tool. He's a very tedious human.

catallus

I think you're talking about chronophobia, OP!

Shakespeare knew what you're talking about

"Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back,
Wherein he puts alms for oblivion....."

Boskowski

Make sure you work to live not the other way around.
Don't sit down to watch 'some' tv, be selective, watch what interests you. Don't watch tv for the sake of watching tv.
Don't get sucked into spending hours in front of mind numbing Facebook, games etc.

In Lonesome Dove

Boskowski wrote: »

Make sure you work to live not the other way around.
Don't sit down to watch 'some' tv, be selective, watch what interests you. Don't watch tv for the sake of watching tv.
Don't get sucked into spending hours in front of mind numbing Facebook, games etc.

I know what you mean. My mam is like this with the TV. Me, not very much. There isn't much on TV that interests me. Sometimes a documentery or catching one of many favourite musical artists doing an interview.

Cantona's Collars

My work schedule means I can get in my hobbies during the day.Bit of golf,a spin on the bike or anything else I fancy.Circumstances dictate on other interests but I fit them in when I can.

I have a workmate who kinda begrudges me this with remarks of "well for some,I don't know how you find the time". He feels a day is wasted unless you are doing some kind of work,even before you actually walk in the door of our job.Even at weekends,he's at the behest of his missus so no time for himself then either.A very sad way to live imo.If you put your mind to it,you can always find a bit of time for yourself.

Shiraz 4.99

All parents will know what the OP means all too well.
It's the price you pay & as all hobbies are sidelined until the kids can be trusted on their own.

Golf clubs loose a huge proportion of their member in their 30's who they don't see back until their mid 40's in many cases.

aaakev

I Work 8.30-5 with a half hour travel each way, 2 kids of 7 and 10 and missus at home but I get to the gym 4 or 5 times a week for about 2 hours and I get out hunting the odd morning too. Works out grand for us! I spend some time with the kids after work then when its their bed time I go gym and herself watches her soaps and we chill out for an hour together before bed!

Days im not in the gym I usually do stuff around the house or bring the kids to the skate park or the likes!

Mesrine65

My hobbies are restoring, customizing or tinkering with motorcycles & brewing beer.
I finish work at 20.00 every night after a 9 hour day & make a bee-line to my man cave & will gladly tinker away, with oily hands, for a couple of hours whilst sampling an ale.

lazybones32

In Lonesome Dove wrote: »

I have many hobbies and interests that I enjoy. Unfortunately, I'm finding less and less time to enjoy them. Last night was the first night in months that I worked on any sort of a hobby or interest. I picked up a pair of my knitting needles and went knitting for a bit and it was so good.

I work long hours from morning til night (no joke) and sometimes even weekends. I despise the TV when I am free.

Do other people have hobbies and interests and how do you find time for them?

I make time for hobbies.
You are wasting time elsewhere or you are devoting too much time to things that aren't important.

Get your pencil and paper and make a list.

ghogie91

Im the same the last year. Working long hours, being absolutely shattered when I get home. Soccer, PC repairs and cycling are basically all non existent now.

Weekends are basically being used to recharge for Monday at this stage, Im finding myself not going out on a Saturday for fear id be wrecked for monday haha