Practise Your Hobbies

When most people think of retirement, they probably imagine spending days immersed in their hobbies.

Some claim the happiest retirees juggle around four hobbies. Honestly, that seems too few to me. I have closer to a dozen, depending on what you count: mountain biking, brewing beer, DJing, tennis, reading, board games, Xbox, tramping, movies and TV, music, travel, cooking.

Knitting is not a hobby of mine

I think there’s something to be said for variety. Engaging in different types of hobbies in different buckets—entertainment, creativity, physical activities, outdoor adventures, food and drink—taps into different aspects of your personality and intellect, making you more well-rounded. Plus, switching between different tasks and mindsets keeps things fresh, so you’re less likely to get bored or burned out from doing just one thing.

What are your hobbies? What new things could you learn that you’ve put off because of a lack of time or energy? What old skills can you take to new heights? Now’s the hour.

If you’re unsure where to start, revisit your list of interests and values. Then, ask yourself:

1. What have you done in the past that you could do more of? Have you run a half marathon before? Maybe try a marathon. Already run a marathon, you overachiever, you? Try to improve your time or tackle an ultra.

2. What have you always been interested in but have yet to try? Surfing? Sailing? Drawing? Singing? Juggling? (Just remember, friends don’t let friends rollerblade.)

3. What toys do you have lying around, unused? I bought a squash racquet five years ago that I’ve never used. An ice cream machine that I’ve used once. I have cookbooks full of recipes that have never seen the light of my kitchen. Might be time to dust them off and set a challenge like Julie Powell, who cooked all 524 recipes in Julia Child's cookbook in a year.

4. What’s the next step forward in a current hobby? Time to design your own beer recipes instead of always brewing someone else’s? Or swap solo board gaming for a regular game night with friends? You could even (gasp) join a board game club. Nerd.

5. What gear upgrades would level up a current hobby? Can you convert your homebrew equipment into a distillery? Stop using a pizza stone and upgrade to an Ooni pizza oven? Be careful here though, or you may end up with a lot of stuff that you don’t use (I’m looking at you, squash racquet).

Finally, I think it’s best to focus mostly on active, rather than passive hobbies. Sure, it’s fun to listen to music or audiobooks, watch movies, etc, and you should do that, but if all you’re doing is passively consuming then you’re not going to get much of a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Because here’s the truth: in retirement, hobbies aren’t just pastimes—they become more like lifelines. Sure, they can go only so far to instil meaning into life, but they help keep the Horsemen at bay by offering a creative outlet, a sense of accomplishment, and, ultimately, a richer, happier life. Hobbies are more important than you might think.

P.S. I lied. I showed an early draft of this to my friend Catherine and she said “we should totally play squash!” And so we have, twice!

Here it is, still in it’s packaging until very recently