When does something become a hobby?*

I’m bored and I need something to do. I thought about this question while making tea and it’s something I’d like to answer.

A lot of people ask when a hobby becomes a career, habit, business, addiction, and obsession. I’m sure there are a lot of other terms that can be added to that but my question goes back to the very start and asks when an event or doing something becomes an actual hobby. I can say I do an awful lot of things but I am extremely reluctant to ever call them hobbies. The definition of a hobby is, “an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure.” So this basically means that if you read or draw on a regular basis say 3-7 days of out the week it is deemed a hobby. But could you call reading or drawing a hobby if you only do it now and again, say 2-3 times a month? I can say that writing is a hobby of mine because I write every single night before I go to sleep; a simple summary of how the day went and maybe a summary of the plans for the next day. On the other hand, I’m unsure about calling this a real hobby because I have no structure to it and no goals to it and therefore I’d be more inclined to call it a habit. I wouldn’t say that it gives me incredible joy and on the odd occasion it  feels like a chore but if I didn’t do it before I sleep I’d just lie there uncomfortable with a dialogue on the go.

When a hobby becomes a pain to do or you don’t feel the same way about it or you think of something you’d rather be doing instead of it, then a hobby becomes a chore and becomes a fight to get around to doing it. It isn’t a hobby anymore. But what if you turn it the other way? What if we enjoy hovering or cleaning (highly unlikely but there is a possibility), does that then become a hobby?

Something becomes a hobby when it is enjoyable and regular. Something that you can set goals; for example if you’re into coding on computers, you might set a goal of learning a new coding language, or if you’re into sport you would set the goal of going further or doing more reps the next time.  However, what if your so-called hobby isn’t that regular and you have to maybe push yourself to get around to doing it? Well, it isn’t a hobby then but it could be deemed an interest instead. In order to develop it into a hobby you’ll have to gain a certain amount of motivation to continue to make it regular such as immersing yourself in books about it, forums on the internet, talking to people who have the same interest in the hobby, local groups, and magazines. I’m sure there are other ways but these are the ones I can come up with at the moment. Some people might find that hard though to get fully into the hobby, maybe the hobby just isn’t for them or maybe that hobby isn’t really ‘in place’ with that area. I don’t know, maybe you’re interested in horses and show jumping but you live in a penthouse in NYC and everyone around you are business people who always have cocktails on Fridays and a Starbucks for lunch on Mondays. You just don’t have the right sort of people around you for the support. Whereas, if you’re this person who is interested in taking fashion a step further and makes clothes and design them, then NYC is probably an absolute prime place to be.

So to develop this ‘irregular hobby’ into a hobby hobby you need the right motivation and mind-set, right support, and possibly the right amount of money. One thing to look out for is not to invest too much money if you’re just starting out. You could find a second hand whatever before buying a pristine one. Investing all that money and finding out it isn’t right for you will make you lose that motivation and then you end up like me sitting on the internet doing nothing all day.

I’ve actually answered the question by now I hope and I’ve gone on a bit. As usual I answer the question in the first paragraph and then I keep on repeating myself.

It’s always easier said than done when putting the things I’ve said into practice. It’s always a difficult place to start when first getting into a hobby. I’m telling you all this stuff and yet I can’t even do it myself. I like to read but the only time I ever read is at night. I’m the sort of person who needs absolute silence before I open it up. These two things hinder me and could in affect be my goals for this hobby. Reading in noisier places and therefore reading during the day.  Because I read at night I tend to get tired and then I put it off. Therefore it isn’t a hobby anymore.  Also reading more enjoyable books could be helpful. I’m the type of person who if I start something, I have to finish it even if it’s a really bad book. It isn’t helpful and just puts me off reading. It becomes a chore just to get through the book and to get it over with. If the hobby isn’t for you, you have two options, just stop and forget about it, or continue on and overcome the first steps that with any hobby can be really boring or daunting. You have to start somewhere and you have to keep going if you want to be good at it. It’s the same with anything in life really. To keep going you need the support and energy and if you don’t it’ll soon be “something that you decided to try out that summer and wasn’t for you” before actually getting into the hobby and what it really is all about. It’s tough to keep it going sometimes but it’s worth it in the end.

*So, in summary, something before it becomes a hobby is called an ‘irregular hobby’ or simply an interest that peaks (in regularity) now and again.