Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.

I’m in this weird space in life, and I wonder, is anyone else?

Surely someone out there is struggling with whether or not they should pursue their hobbies at the cost of time.

Let me start from the beginning…

I’m 22 years old and recently quit my job to move back in with my parents to pursue my dream of writing.

In the hustle and bustle of a Big Life Transition, I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how I want to spend my time. And I’m feeling very conflicted.

One side of me wants to throw 100% of my waking hours into writing, editing, publishing, content creation, etc.

The other side of me knows how important it is to develop hobbies and how it impacts your mental health and social relationships.

I mean, no one wants to be a Kevin who only talks about work and has no interests or hobbies apart from being an accountant.

Even further, I know deep down that if I were to commit 100% of my time to writing, then after a while…I’d probably hate it. The part of me that wants to foster hobbies wants me to do so, so I don’t end up in that position.

WebMD defines a hobby as “an activity you frequently do for pleasure during your leisure time.”

But, if I’m to pursue writing full-time and make a career out of it, should I even have any leisure time? Or is leisure time strictly reserved for when I’ve ‘made it’?

I mean, do you think Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos focused their time on developing hobbies alongside building spaceships and cars, Microsoft, and the world’s biggest online store?

I’d have to bet not.

I’m not trying to be Elon-level successful. But I am trying to be successful.

So the question is, how do I have hobbies (if I want to) while still feeling like I’m making progress toward success?

Overcoming The Internal Battle

In order to overcome the internal battle I had with the use and value of hobbies in my life, I decided to build a structure in which my hobbies would exist, giving them purpose and direction, thus making me feel successful in fostering them.

The conclusion that I’ve come to, for myself, is that if I have a hobby that does not fit into one of these categories, then I should probably ditch it for this period of my life.

Additionally, I can only have one hobby in each category, minimizing the number of hobbies I have, thus the time it takes to invest in them.

I came up with five categories that I feel ensured my hobbies were contributing to my life and not just taking away my time from building my writing career.

#1 A Hobby to Develop Your Mindset

I value the continual development and molding of one’s mindset, which is why I often say I’m in Constant Contemplation.

The hobby I chose to fit into this category is reading. I love reading all types of books and usually read one fiction book and one self-help or learning-focused book per month.

I usually shoot for about 30 minutes of reading per day, and when I’m reading a book that’s contributing to my mindset or perspective, it never feels like a waste of time.

#2 A Hobby to Make You Money

I really enjoy learning about and practicing investing. Beyond the fact that it makes me money, it gives me financial confidence and freedom, which is invaluable.

When starting to write full-time, I really contemplated giving up listening to my real estate podcasts, reading my investment books, and watching my educational YouTube videos.

I realized, though, that giving up this part of me would make me more sad than it would make me happy, which might lead to resenting the thing that made me give it up: writing.

Just in the past few months of beginning my investment journey, my mindset about money has changed, my confidence about my personal finances has shifted, and my knowledge in this area has grown tenfold.

I know that this hobby contributes to much more than making me money. And because it does so, listening to podcasts, reading investment books, and watching education YouTube videos feels like a great investment of my time (pun intended).

#3 A Hobby to Keep You in Shape

This was the easiest hobby to identify because I already work out every day and value my physical health.

Every morning, I wake up and take a short 10-minute walk outside, followed by a 6-minute yoga flow afterward. In the evening, I usually go to the gym to do a cardio and strength training workout for about 40 minutes.

Once I created these categories, an activity that I already do every day now became considered a hobby.

I’d never thought of working out as a hobby before this, but reframing my mind allowed me to realize, “Hey! I already commit time to a hobby every day alongside making my writing dreams come true. Maybe this whole hobby thing isn’t a waste of time after all.”

#4 A Hobby to Keep You Creative

We’re going to double-dip with this one, which is why I really like the categories I’ve come up with.

My creative hobby is…writing, of course!

Writing, editing, and promoting my work is definitely my creative outlet.

Again, I’m taking an activity I do every day already and redefining it as one of my categorized hobbies, allowing me to spend time on the hobby without feeling like it's wasted time.

#5 A Hobby to Build Your Knowledge

Finally, a hobby to build my knowledge. Now, reading could fit into this as well, which means I get a two-for-one special and am able to hit all five categories with only four hobbies (what a time saver!)

But that’s not necessarily the goal here.

So, I decided to categorize my podcast enthusiasm as my hobby to build knowledge, and I think it’s a great choice. I mean, there are infinite podcasts to listen to, covering thousands of topics.

And, this is a great multitasking hobby. I can listen to podcasts while I work out, engaging in my hobby that keeps me in shape and my hobby that builds my knowledge.

What About Hobbies Outside These Categories?

Unfortunately, not all my hobbies fit nicely and neatly into these categories.

For example, I really love volunteering. It’s always been an essential part of who I am. The first club I joined in 4th grade was called ‘Kids Care Club’ and was centered around ways in which we could positively contribute to our community.

Another hobby would be photography, but I have already chosen writing to be my creative hobby, and I’m not allowing myself more than one hobby in each category.

For the hobbies I have that don’t fit into categories, I’m putting them on hold for the time being.

While I recognize the need for hobbies in my life, I can’t pursue every hobby I have at every stage in my life, especially when I’m in a stage of life where it’s vital that I grind and work really hard toward accomplishing my dreams.

Real Talk

There’s a time and a place to go ‘full send’ and delve into your hobbies.

But knowing whether or not this specific time in your life is that time is vital.

Maybe you’re working your way up the corporate ladder, trying to get that VP role. Perhaps you’re in a Big Life Transition, whether that be getting married, having a kid, quitting your job, moving back in with your parents, or pursuing a hobby full-time.

Whatever it is, now may not be the time to invest your precious minutes and hours every day into hobbies. And that’s okay.

Creating this system has allowed me to foster hobbies that I enjoy while giving them a purpose that directly links to my success in life.

Right now, in my life, I can’t fathom doing anything that doesn’t directly impact my success in life. Maybe one day I’ll be content with painting every day just because I want to, or learning to bake just because I want to eat desserts all the time.

But today is not that day. And that’s okay.