I’ve been stuck in the work, recharge, repeat cycle for about a decade now. I’m looking to get back into hobbies and activities to enjoy my free time and possibly meet other folks.

I’ve heard you should have 3 types of hobbies: something to keep you fit, something to keep you creative, and something that can make some money. I’ve considered gym/triathlon (fitness) and woodworking (creative/income).

What are your hobbies? Anything you recommend I try out?

  • RBWells@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    7 days ago

    I do:

    Yoga

    Gardening

    Baking (sourdough)

    Do occasionally draw or paint too.

    I think you have to find something you actually enjoy. If you are good at swimming, triathlon is a great idea but the long distance ones do take a lot of training time.

    I don’t try to monetize hobbies anymore, it’s a drag.

  • Lexam@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    6 days ago

    3d printing and role-playing. I print miniatures that my friends and I paint. Then we use them in our games.

  • runner_g@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    7 days ago

    If you work with your hands, rest with your mind. If you work with your mind, rest with your hands.

    There’s a lot of crossover here but off the top of the dome:

    Hand-based hobbies -playing music -cooking -woodworking -lifting weights, running, climbing -building dioramas/models -art (needle craft, drawing/painting, sculpting) -**casual video games **

    Mind-based hobbies -puzzles -fast paced video games -programming -learn a new language

    Those in bold are what I do. Also starting to learn art. It’s one of the lowest barrier to entry hobbies. All you need is paper and a pencil.

  • citrusface@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    42
    ·
    edit-2
    8 days ago

    Hobbies are not for making money. That’s what a job is for. Hobbies are where you sink the money you have left from your job and all the other expenses are paid.

    That said.

    Hobbies for me include:

    Hiking (lots of good trails nearby)

    Making sounds on my Synth (I’m building a case right now)

    TTRPGS (when you can wrangle enough folks)

    Skirmish Games (mainly Gaslands)

    Video games (slay the spire, and casual WoW)

    • BougieBirdie@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 days ago

      A lot of people have a hobby that they can either recoup some costs of the hobby, or earn some beer money. Arts and crafts may have the occasional fair or flea market, or even an online store or ko-fi.

      In my experience though, once you try to turn a hobby into a primary source of income, that becomes a job and is no longer as fun as it was as a hobby.

      • citrusface@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        16
        ·
        8 days ago

        IMO as soon as a hobby produces any sort of money, it becomes a side gig. Maybe not a profitable side gig, but a side gig none the less.

  • finestnothing@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    23
    ·
    8 days ago

    Warning - do not make your creative/fun hobby the one that also makes you money. I’ve met several people who were into woodworking as a hobby, started doing it on commission for family, friends, referrals, etc, and it quickly became a job rather than a fun hobby. The timelines and demands that come with doing commissions killed it for them, they still occasionally do woodworking as gifts/favors, but very explicitly just for family and close friends without timelines, and only charge for materials

    • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      8 days ago

      I am strongly considering hanging a shingle as a furniture maker. A few stars have to align first but it’ll probably happen in 2025.

      Your warning is valid. I was a project manager for a custom building/rapid prototyping shop before the pandemic, I’m used to customers, deadlines and budgets. Compared to what I’m doing now, I think I’d rather be in command of a workshop again.

  • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    edit-2
    8 days ago

    Electronics projects mostly.

    Mostly smart home PCBs and interconnect boards and 3D modelled housings. Examples:

    • esp32-C3 dumb doorbell (just a doorbell that sends an MQTT message and sleeps the rest of the time). It works fatastic except that my Proximus ISP modem/router completely fucked up and so the network is no longer usable and I had to set it in bridge mode to a router it can’t reach. I want to release it, but haven’t had the time to water - resistance test it or make assembly instructions
    • esp32-S3 voice assistant satellite attached to an IR blaster, I2S mic, and PCM5102 to control and send audio to my old Yamaha RX-496RDS to control it via IR and can play audio (local or Spotify) via music assistant. Pretty much an Alexa echo attached to my speaker system. PCB link which I am planning on releasing.
    • My unfinished Flight Stick with custom electronics, fully custom 3D printable housing, etc… It is almost done, but needs like 2 more small iterations, but we moved and started doing a full-strip renovation, so my 3D printer is no longer set up because it is too dusty inside, and I don’t want to spend another $100 doing a PCB test iteration to use a better ADC with less components. Eventually as firmware practice, I want to rewrite the firmware in Rust or something. I also just looked at the Repo and the quick logo I drew up has been modified somehow without any commit. I know for a fact it was correct before. Very weird.

    I also have tons of new project ideas that I don’t have time for.

    My other hobbies

    • weightlifting, again completely dropped off due to every free moment renovating

    • Running a home server with replacement services for everything I need

    • Running (my motivation has been 0 recently…)

    • cooking. I try to do a few new recipes per month

    • gardening. With the renovation, I just grew a few courgettes, tomatoes, and squash this year

    • video games (more of a de-stresser nowadays than a hobby, most recently casual rocket league with friends is fun, hadn’t played since 2018 or so)

  • TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 days ago

    Fishing has been great for me. Gives ya a chance to learn what’s around you by researching local waterways and what fish live in em. Then connect with them by studying their habits throughout the year and their diet. You plan your tackle box and rod set up around that and test your studies by trying to catch the dang things. And in the process of that you get some lovely, peaceful scenery and maybe a hike.

    It’s fairly cheap, too. The fishing gear on Ali Express is damn good for the price and while I can see arguments on spending on a quality rod and reel, I’ll tell ya I prefer my $65 Pflueger President spinning reel, but I wouldn’t have paid that much if I had used the $12 one I got on Ali Express first. You’ll be replacing line, lures and hooks somewhat often when you start anyway so no reason to break the bank.

    In the winter months, I do more model building and painting indoors. Gunpla don’t have to be expensive and you can go all out on learning new techniques to erase mold lines and seamlessly join parts and that kinda technique learning keeps me engaged. Plus, when you’re done, you have something you can put on display. I also give completed kits away to younger relatives when I get tired of it or I wanna try the kit again with new techniques.

    As far as fitness, it’s not quite a hobby, but I hop on a stationary bike and watch star trek. I fucking love Star Trek!

    • Today@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      8 days ago

      I crochet and I recently bought a 3d printer. My husband does woodworking and gardening and i help with those sometimes.

  • MY_ANUS_IS_BLEEDING@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    edit-2
    7 days ago

    I do woodworking as a hobby. It doesn’t make money unless you invest in a full workshop and scale up production to the point where it would basically be a second job. Often the material costs alone are as much as it would cost to buy a completed item.

    I’d still recommend it as a creative outlet though. There’s something satisfying about seeing that coffee table in the lounge and thinking “yeah I made that!”

  • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    8 days ago

    I’m an electronics hobbyist. I have a whole big tacklebox full of components, wires, microcontrollers etc, I’m an amateur radio operator, I build gaming PCs, etc. Kind of difficult to make money with this hobby, but it’s often a good mind exercise and you can be creative building things. I also save myself money by fixing things around the house with my tools.

    I’m a woodworker. I built a cutting board this weekend, a walnut/maple brick pattern. Turned out pretty good. Keeping a woodworking hobby from devolving into tool collecting can be a trick.

    I’m a guitarist, have been since I was 11. Can be a fairly cheap way to burn some time, get an inexpensive guitar, a few picks, etc. Occasionally get to show off at a bonfire when someone breaks out an acoustic.

    I grow a small vegetable garden, and I can some of what I produce. Pizza sauce and jelly mostly. Mint jelly is surprisingly nice to have around the house and it’s not that difficult to make. And mint plants are eternal. The biggest struggle to growing mint is to keep it from escaping containment.

    • IMALlama@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      8 days ago

      Keeping a woodworking hobby from devolving into tool collecting can be a trick.

      This can be true of most hobbies, lol. Amusingly, three others of yours fall into that pattern.

      Electronics? If only I had a bigger power supply, higher speed/more channel scope, hot air station, logic analyzer, etc. Guitars? I have friends and coworkers who play. No one only owns one guitar, pedal, amp combo. Gardening? I have quite the setup in my basement to get seeds going, but I live in zone 6 and need to compensate some for the short growing season. Cooking can also be it’s own equipment rabbit hole.

      Beyond that: Cameras? Choosing which brand of body to use, sensor size, lens collection, tripods/flash/accessories. If you play a tabletop game do you really play a tabletop game or are you looking for an excuse to make and paint minis? 3D printers can be just as much about messing with the printer as actually printing things.

      I think it’s important to recognize the pattern so you can consciously decide if you want to fall into it or avoid it. For some people, the collecting around the hobby is even better than doing the hobby.

      • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        7 days ago

        With electronics, that is only the tip of the iceburg before you get into trinocular microscopes which the absolute cheapest are almost 300€ nowadays 😉 then assembled PCB prototypes where every iteration can be 200-500€ depending on size. Or you could get into spending hundreds on hotplates and reflow ovens to do it yourself.

        But wouldn’t it be faster and cheaper in the long run to be able to fabricate the simple PCBs yourself? There goes 1000€ on a small CNC 😂 rabbit hole goes deeeeep.

  • Libb@jlai.lu
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    8 days ago

    I don’t care about making money with my hobbies, I do them to help me feel better and have some good time. As a whole we’re all already way too focused on making money, at least that’s what I think.

    • Long walks. Daily. This is the (second) best change I ever made into my life. I would encourage anyone, even more anyone that is like I was (in a very bad physical and mental shape) to give steady walks a go. Start small but don’t give up even though It’s hard to begin with, and slowly increase the distance you walk and your steadiness. It’s so much worth it. I was a potato couch but nowadays I could not not go out for a few miles walk at least once a day (as much as possible I’ll go everywhere I can by walking instead of using any mean of transportation). It also helps in the head, immensely as far as I’m concerned.
    • Writing &
    • Reading. Reading and writing should never go without the other as far as I’m concerned. Read (like you write) widely, don’t be afraid to read stuff you don’t normally read, or stuff/author you don’t like (there is a lot to be learned when confronting your own thought to those of people you don’t agree with), or read unpopular stuff.
    • Sketching/painting. I’m not an artist, I don’t care I just enjoy doing it. I try to do more of that outdoor, while I’m out walking)
    • DIY, making stuff with my hands (book binding, woodworking,… those come and go along the years) & also
    • Fixing stuff. Reducing the amount of waste we create by making our stuff last a little longer.
    • I had to quit model making, but I liked that a lot.
    • Music.
    • QuarterSwede@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      8 days ago

      Great advice.

      And in the walking vein, good shoes are essential. If you can’t afford new shoes then good insoles are the next best thing and almost as good. Any aftermarket insoles are better than what comes with any shoe (and I mean any, that’s the thing they all cheap out on). You can buy what fits your foot (flat, medium, high arch) and they make walking painless.

      • Libb@jlai.lu
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        8 days ago

        And in the walking vein, good shoes are essential. If you can’t afford new shoes then good insoles are the next best thing

        100%. And I should have mentioned it as, back when I started to walk daily, I almost gave up because of the shit shoes I was using. They were hurting my feet and my back and they were reducing my endurance, like really. Investing in decent shoes (and orthopaedic insoles made for my feet) changed everything. I probably would never have started walking as much as I do without those. Money very well spend, in both case.

  • nocturne@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 days ago

    I own an LGS, so my hobbies have become part of my job. Before i opened i built and painted miniatures, and played a lot of miniature games. I also played RPGs and MTG quite a bit.

    Now, i guess my hobbies would be my old job, audio engineering.

          • nocturne@sopuli.xyz
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            6
            ·
            8 days ago

            A local game shop is a shop where you can go and purchase games, typically board games, card games (tcg, or trading card games, lcg, or living card games), miniature games, role-playing games (Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Vampire the Masquerade, and many many others) in which you assume the role of a character you create and roll dice to help randomize the successes and failures of your character. To go with the RPGs and miniature games I also sell dice.

            Magic the Gathering is the first, largest, and oldest of the Trading Card Games (TCGs) where you buy packs of randomized cards and use those cards to build a deck to compete against other players. Other games in the genre as Pokémon TCG, YuGiOh!, Lorcana, Flesh and Blood, Weiß Schwarz, and Star Wars Unlimited.

    • mysticpickle@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      8 days ago

      Aren’t they usually called FLGS (Friendly local game store)? Or is yours just decidedly unfriendly? :>

      • nocturne@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        8 days ago

        Both are used. The F is a recent addition and seems to throw a lot of people do most of the shops I know just use LGS. That said I am a grumpy old neurodivergent, so the F can be questionable (this is a joke, I mask for almost all customers).

  • MSids@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    edit-2
    8 days ago

    I am a filthy hobby hopper and I spend most of my disposable income on these.

    • Tinkering with retro game handhelds and sometimes playing them
    • Tinkering with bikes and sometimes riding them
    • Tinkering with DIY watches and sometimes using them to tell time
    • Also bird photography
    • waz@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      7 days ago

      I was with you up until big thighs. …though I will say I don’t mind them, I wouldn’t call it a hobby.

      Toats down with brewing, baking and 3d printing fo sho though.