One of the hardest parts about starting a new hobby is sticking with it long enough to become good enough to produce something you can be proud to show to friends, family, or the Internet community. While hobby hopping is fine with some, if you want to become a pro in a particular hobby, this is how.
Choose a hobby
While choosing a hobby is a personal process, there are 2 guidelines that are key to choosing a hobby you can stick with:
1. Choose a hobby related to something that you already enjoy
It might seem like common sense but choosing a hobby that naturally stems from something you already know you enjoy is a way to ensure you find a satisfying hobby without all the trial and error. For example, if you love eating food, a natural hobby progression is taking up cooking. On the flip side, if you don’t have the patience for long and repetitive projects, then knitting is probably not for you.
2. Choose a hobby you think you can grow in
As tempting as it is to pick a hobby you can master in a week, one of the keys to sticking to a hobby long term is challenge and growth. Choose a hobby you think will challenge you to learn new techniques and challenge you to get better.
Ultimately, it is up to you to do your research and choose a hobby that suits your interests, time commitments, and budget. If you have a limited budget, start by checking out this list of easy and cheap hobbies.
Start small and set goals
It’s tempting to try and reproduce a big project that you see online, but like anything, you need to start small by learning the basics. Youtube is a good source for free tutorials and beginner tips, although if you are willing to pay for tutorials, Skillshare and Udemy have entire courses dedicated to almost anything. I like to start with projects related to my interests. For example, I’m learning to draw by sketching characters from my favourite games and series.
To push yourself to continue learning, set goals for yourself. They don’t have to be big, but they should be SMART. Even if it’s as simple as spending 15 minutes every other day learning to play a song you love on the guitar until you can play the whole song through, small victories encourage you to aim higher and learn more.
Acknowledge that it's not going to be perfect
It’s easy to get discouraged when you look at your work and see how much better others are. Of course your work isn’t going to be a masterpiece, you’re just starting out! Acknowledge that you’re still learning and that your projects aren’t going to be perfect. What’s most important is that you learn from the other people that are better by seeing their processes and their techniques and implement them into your own work.
Overall, aim for finished, not perfect. Skill will come with time and practice.
Set new, higher goals
The key to sticking with a hobby is to never stop learning. When you reach your small goal, aim for something higher or more challenging next. If you finished learning to play your favorite song on the guitar, challenge yourself with a more difficult song or new techniques. Don’t forget to make sure your goals are SMART!
Sticking with a new hobby is hard, and it can be discouraging when you don’t see yourself progressing. It’s especially hard when you compare yourself to others. Remember that even though there will always be someone better than you, that’s perfectly fine. Everyone has their own process and goes at their own pace. If you feel discouraged, look back at where you started and more often than not, you will find that you have progressed in leaps and bounds from where you took your first step. Never stop learning!
If you'd like to share your journey with me, you can find me on Instagram or Twitter @thenerDIYblog. If you'd like your crafting questions answered live, I stream on Twitch at twitch.tv/finding_doro.