In our productivity-obsessed culture, you might feel pressure to turn your hobby into a side project or hustle. But what happens when we monetize the things we love? New Yorkbased writer Nichole Perkins, host of the podcast This Is Good for You, which explores peoples passions, shares how she found a hobby thats just for her.(Related:The Life Changing Power of Hobbies)“Im a pop-culture writer, so Im always watching television or streaming services, reading romance novels and listening to musicall things I love. But I realized I was constantly thinking, Can I make this into an article? Is this something I could pitch? Everything I enjoy doing had become work. Last spring, in lockdown, I remembered an old hobby my mom taught me when I was little: cross-stitching. So Ive gotten back into it. The process is soothing for me: Ill put on a murder mystery show in the background, but Im focused on counting out the stitches and following the pattern. Doing this repetitive hand motion helps clear my mind. And I know its not something Ill try to sell; I do it for myself on my own time and at my own pace, to decorate my apartment or to gift as little love tokens for my family and friendsif I even get to a point where I finish something and it looks good enough to share with others, but I dont feel obligated to.One of the reasons I started This Is Good for You is I want people to sit in their pleasure, whatever that may be. Weve gotten to this point in mental health awareness where we say it’s okay not to be okay and you can sit with your sadness, but I think you can also sit with your happiness. Get a hobby so you can learn to feel good and stay feeling good, because there’s so much going on. We don’t need to constantly be grindingits leading to so much anxiety and burnout. You can have a job and earn your living, and you can also have this really fun thing you just do for yourself.”Still thinking about it? Some things to consider before monetizing your hobby.(Related:How to Find a Hobby as an Adult)
It might change your feelings about it
Leisure expert Colleen Deyell Hood notes that turning a hobby into a money-maker can shift the feelings you have about it from freedom to obligation. There is research that suggests adding an external reward like money to an internally motivated activity may dilute the pleasure, she says.
Think about your bandwidth
If youre considering turning the hobby you pick up a couple times a week into a side hustle, make sure you have the capacity, especially on top of a full-time job. Examine your lifestyle to see if you have time for it to escalate into something bigger and handle things like customer service and keeping up with orders, says Perkins.
You can stop at any point
If you try it and its not working, theres no harm in making it strictly for yourself again. Ultimately, the enjoyment and pleasure you get from your hobby should be your top priority.Next, this is why vacation doesn’t solve employee burnout.
The post Why Your Hobby Doesn’t Need to Become a Side Hustle appeared first on Best Health Magazine Canada.
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