2y ago

What are your hobbies?

Hey folks,

I have been trying to find some new hobbies to keep my anxiety/depression at bay. It seems, however, that my mind is not creative enough to find interesting things to do. So, I come to you to ask: What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?

Here are the things I've tried:

Going to the gym (This is more of a habit than a hobby nowadays)
Gaming (I've been getting less and less out of it as I get older)
Bouldering (It's fun, but not without a group of friends)
TTRPG (I can't seem to find a steady group or one online, but otherwise, it's very enjoyable)
Learning a new instrument (I started playing the guitar and I love it)
Philosophy (Is that a hobby? I enjoy reading and reflecting on it)

So, folks, what are your favorite pastimes?

Thanks :)

37 comments

I’ve taken up cycling recently, it’s a great time to think about absolutely nothing and clear my head, while also getting fresh air and exercise.

Solo boardgaming: tons of cooperative games can be played solo. At the moment, my main games are Marvel Champions and Arkham Horror LCG.
Cross-stitching: maybe the easiest kind of embroidery, perfect for pixel art patterns and you don't need expensive stuff to get in.

Sim racing. There's an initial expense to buy the wheel and pedals, but it's a really fun hobby and if you find the right people a great community. I recommend starting with a Assetto Corsa which is an older game with an amazing mods. Avoid the temptation to get into iRacing until you're sure you like the hobby.
- I had a co-worker who was super into sim racing. He had this insane setup in his living room with a chair, pedals and so on. What wheels and pedals do you recommend to get started? 🤔
  
  Most people start out with a Logitech wheel and pedal set. The G923 is a great option for buying new, but you can also find the G29 or G27 for cheap used.
  Once you have the wheel and pedals, there's tons of games you can use them with. I also love American Truck Simulator and Dirt Rally 2. There's lots of people streaming those games as well as Assetto Corsa so you can see on Twitch or YouTube what they're about. Also, if you go on Steam and type in sim racing you'll find tons more games, but these three titles are more than enough to get you started. I have hundreds of hours just in these three games.

I've gotten into writing with fountain pens lately. It's been pretty fun!

Reading, knitting, crochet. Also journaling! I like gaming sometimes too.

playing with Lego bricks
reading graphic novels
listening to fictional podcasts (audio dramas)
kick boxing :)

Okay...
Well, Programming - Except I am doing it.. slowly. A lot of the days I just.. feel stuck. Depressed. Buuut, I keep trying. I mainly use Common Lisp, and I try to make small games, or.. things that will help me do something (e.g scrape some text and put together a epub?)
Reading books - This one, I can do a lot. Simply, a pleasure. I tend to do this with an approach of spray n pray, aka: Read few minutes of a book -> Move to next for few minutes, and I keep doing that few times a day, or more, and more often than not, It sticks, and I get actual big times out of that. (The result is, I am reading 5 books at once lmao)
Learning Japanese - This one, I am combining with my previous hobby, and I am simply aiming to read at the very least ~1 hour per day of reading in Japanese. Is fun.
There was also pixelart at some point, but I haven't been doing that in a while. Maybe I should try again? Could be fun, again.. perhaps..
Obviously, also, games. You know, some TF2 there and there, Hunt:Showdown, with friends.
Still thinking, if there are any other things I could try, and.. wide out hobbies.

skateboarding, smoking weed, weed edibles, ketamollycaine, nitrous oxide, eating food, watching tv, video games, dubstep, hot tub, snowboarding, disc golf, music festivals
- Too bad weed is not legal here. I reckon that'd help with the anxiety.

TTRPGS, especially pathfinder 2e: A fun way to stay in touch with distant friends
Gaming, though I find it less interesting as time goes on
Programming: I can always find something I meed automated, and I just simply like writing in Rust
Homelabbing: i got some cheap servers on ebay and I like tinkering with them. The more enterprise-y and difficult to set up, the more rewarding it, even if I nuke that setup in a few days. Also, my home network is really capable now.
Cybersecurity: hacking labs, CTFs, reading papers, and malware analysis are just simply fun and interesting to me, and it has the bonus of being practical experience
Coffee and Espresso: Good coffee and a peaceful activity is fucking wonderful. Highly recommend if you already drink coffee. I started off with an aeropress for $30. Then I got a decent espresso-capable hand grinder for around $60. I got started with espresso for around $100, and that was easily one of my best purchases in the last year.

I have a few; the main one right now are mechanical wristwatches - learning about them, acquiring them, wearing them, taking them apart, trying to put them together again, modifying them, all of it.
- That sounds really cool. I think I'd never be able to do it with my clumsy hands. How did you get into it?

Cooking is one of my favourite hobbies. I can get lost in creating a new dish and playing around with all the ingredients. I sometimes feel like a painter when creating food. It's super relaxing for me.

I love pickleball. Social, active, easy on the body, and loads of fun.

Programming. I love making small command line programs in python or automating something. Someday I want to make a music desktop app that syncs songs to my phone.
Hot swappable mechanical keyboards. It can be pricey but there's hot swappable keyboards on amazon for cheap, and you can get your own keycaps and switches to create a keyboard that you are really happy with. I love being able to tinker around with my keyboards and swap things out if I don't like them.
Making a "second brain" or personal wiki. I love taking lots of notes (recipes I like, about what I learned, how to fix a software problem, etc) so I can find things easier in the future. I use Obsidian for this, it's really fun.
Lock picking. I got into this for a bit, bought some lock picks and bad padlocks. I watched a lot of LockPickingLawyer's videos and thought it looked fun so I tried it. I was bad at it, it's a lot of feeling when the pins move and stop. It takes a lot of patience but it's really fun.
Making edits to Open Street Map. If you see something wrong, you can go edit it if you make an account and use a map editor.
Raspberry Pi self hosting. I think they are hard to find right now, but it's cool to have a small computer running Raspberry Pi OS (linux) where you can install pretty much anything on it. I run Pi-Hole on mine and it blocks so many ad and tracker domains it's insane.
Making a game. I'm slowly trying to learn blender and unreal engine to make a game. I think it will be fun but also a nightmare.

Something I have recently been trying to get into is sewing. I am still working on making it a daily routine, but I have enjoyed it so far. It is rewarding, relaxing, and a great way to get off the phone.

Playing games. I like games because they catch my attention for a long time. I enjoy card games, action games, driving simulators, RPG, platformers, arcade. I'm starting to get interested in TTRPG and I found a community you like that talks about playing them solo: !solorpg!solorpg@lemm.ee or you could go for !solorpg@lemmy.ml I also read, do crossword puzzles, and do puzzle games on the computer. I think gaming, doing puzzles, and reading are good because they keep my mind working. I also like to doodle. I have a book about keeping a doodle journal that I like called Doodle Art and Lettering with Joanne Sharpe: Inspiration and Techniques for Personal Expression I like doodling and lettering because it's a nice way to get my thoughts out of my brain and into some other space. I also like walking and hiking, which combine well with reading.

Oof, I don't know if I want to recommend anything I'm interested in as it cost lots of money to really enjoy these hobbies.
I guess at the base of it, my biggest hobby is generally upgrading every aspect of my day to day life.
Building PC's
I've got 3 gaming PC's in the house (wife's, mine, and another for the tv with steam-big-picture) and also an Unraid server for media.
Desk Setups
I have 2 separate desk I put together. One for work and one for gaming. Both desk are wood countertops bolted onto sit-and-stand desk frames.
Work desk has a 34inch ultrawide. I also have a Herman Miller Logitech Embody which has helped my back immensely.
Gaming desk has a 38inch ultrawide which is awesome for gaming. And I have a Herman Miller non-logitech Embody. There are some subtle differences in how they feel and I need 2 chairs because I sit a little differently if I'm working or gaming.
Audio
I fell into the audio trap for my gaming and work desk partially thanks to r/headphones.
Headphones wise I have:
Sennheiser 599SE - At my gaming desk
AKG K713Pro - These were for my gaming desk, but I don't like them as much as the others. My ears touch the driver which doesn't feel good.
Drop 6xx - At my work desk because I listen to the most music while working.
 
Amp/Dac/Mixer:
JDS Atom Amp - work desk
Schiit stack (Modi 3+ / Magni Heresy) - gaming desk; I just got these so I'm testing things out.
Mackie 8 channel mixer - at gaming desk because I like using physical sliders to adjust gaming, music, discord instead of software.
RE320 dynamic microphone
 
Everything above has been collected over the last 4-5 years or so.
Oh also OP if you made it this far down, check out twitch streams for a "board game" called Blood on the Clocktower. It's a social deduction game you can play in person, but the community built a pretty comprehensive web-based tool to play online. My wife and I watch the streams every week it's a lot of fun. She plays in some of the games too, I mostly just like to watch.

I write music! I originally used the free program Finale Notepad where you can write sheet music with digital instruments "performing" it. I switched to Musescore which is also free but has better-sounding instruments and more versatility for things you can do within a composition

training my dogs
fostering dogs
walking other people's dogs
camping
cycling
tarot
in the colder months, i enjoy yarn crafts (crochet and knitting).

Walking my dog - Better awareness of my neighborhood/getting to know my neighbors. Fresh air, sunshine, and time to work through my thoughts helps me stay clear headed. Cardio is good for you.
Fencing - both physically and mentally challenging. It is basically violently enforced meditation. Hella fun and is great stress relief. Cons - can be expensive and relatively few adults.
Reading fiction - I enjoy getting lost in other worlds. Helps to disconnect from the internet from time to time
Yoga - reduces random aches and pains from sitting all day at work/high impact activities. It just generally feels good afterwards.
Curling - team sport I do with my spouse. Throwing shit and drinking/eating afterwards is nice. Good community to socialize with.
Watching movies/tv/YouTube - Lots of great stuff out there. Easy to do too much of this one, especially youtube.
- Oooh... How... how expensive can be fencing? Because, kinda.. sounds fun?
  
  It can depend on where you're located and how deep you get into the sport. For beginner classes, in my area, they are ~$100 for 6 weeks. It gets more expensive once you need your own gear and if you choose to compete and/or take private lessons.
  I think the most comparable comparison in costs are probably club hockey and club soccer.

Needlepoint. Even if you're following a pattern, it's creative, takes time, and is quite meditative once you get going. Materials are cheap and accessible. Just need good lighting, a comfortable seat with space to move around. Be aware that you're holding sharp object and there will be loose threads, so no small children or animals nearby.

Astronomy (mostly visual, though I've done a bit of astrophotography)
woodworking
3d printing (and modeling for it)
programming (though I do it less for fun these days)
gaming

Bouldering sounds fun! I'd love to try that at some point. But first, I'm gonna try to rope some of my friends into starting off with indoor climbing.
My hobbies are drawing, reading, and learning a language! Haven't done a lot lately though. My main 'hobby' right now is studying. For school. (☍◡⁰)
I love drawing since it's relaxing. I might doodle whatever comes to mind or accidentally create something pretty lol. I read webcomics as a replacement to bingeing shows. Not always a good thing but it can serve as a good distraction. Then there's learning languages... I was studying German a while back and fell off. But opening yourself to a whole new culture is thrilling, especially once you get past basic level. Definitely hoping to travel abroad to Germany someday.
One more thing. Maybe volunteering? You meet different types of people and they all tend to be friendly and laid-back. I joined a volunteer club last year and it's been pretty fun, even when I had some depressing or anxious days. Plus it can be a nice way to socialize.

3D modelling, digital painting, photography, cycling, and knitting although it's been a while since I did the latter. Need to get back into it.

Reading
Gaming
VR Gamedev and weird videos about it (link to gfycat of me, uh, helicoptering a vive controller years ago)
Weird "video lectures" where I apply hard mathematics/computer science to fandoms/shipping/LGBT things.

If you like TTRPG have you tried Warhammer? Where I live there are Warhammer stores in most large towns which regularly host games and events with other people. It can get very expensive I must admit but you can buy 2nd hand miniatures from eBay for much cheaper.

Oof, there's a long list and I wish I had time to do them all properly ... my advice would be to find out what's happening close to you that includes a social element and go try that. That's how I got into archery and I'm really enjoying it because when I go to the club there's always some friendly chatty people there :-)

I have nine planted aquariums in my living room.
I'm also into gaming, when I have a few minutes.
I'm full-time carer to a 73-year-old man and two autistic offspring who are in their 20s. So besides that and the aquariums, I'm lucky I have time to breathe.

I have a wife and a three year old, so I don't have a tremendous amount of free time these days. Still, I fill what I can with PC gaming (wife and I are playing Valheim together currently), reading fiction, and occasionally writing. Occasionally.

My new hobby is watching Asian drama series over the internet. The cliches and conventions are new to me and I like how the series are longer so they can do more than is typical in shorter UK and European ones. They also tend to cover a much broader range of the emotional spectrum and with greater depth. A lot of drama addicts tend to go racing on to the next one but when I stumble into one which puts me in a better head space, I'll let it linger. So from that, my second current hobby is learning the words (in Mandarin, Korean or Thai) to some of the theme songs. My different approach leaves me feeling like a bit of an outsider in the fan circles but it's what's working best for me.
This has been a gey dreich not-summer for gardening here so that feels like more of a albatross than a hobby right now. I listen to opera, traditional musics from around the world and try to read a fair bit too, but just getting through the day takes up so much of my energy it doesn't happen as much as I'd like. I used to do a lot more things and be a lot more interesting. I miss that.
Good luck with all of yours :)
- There's a Korean reality TV/game show that I really enjoy, called "The Genius". Sadly, it's no longer airing, but I think it's one of my favorite shows that has ever aired. I used to be into Chinese dramas back when I was living there, but nowadays my Chinese is very rusty, and I don't get the same satisfaction from watching them.

37 comments