My Favorite Hobby as a Mother
my favorite hobby again after having a kid
I knew before my kid was born that I would get less sleep and have less free time after having a baby. I didn't realize how hard it would be to lose my creativity for a while. It felt like losing a piece of my soul. During what we've since dubbed the Era of No Sleep, I was exhausted. What energy I had went almost entirely towards caring for my family. I connected with friends and took breaks, but I did not drum, dance, or engage in any of the myriad of crafts I've always loved dabbling in.
At some point, things began to get a wee bit easier. I realized that while I wasn't "ready," I still had to find a way to show up again for my creative self to stay sane. So when the kiddo was about six months old, I finally started going to drum circles again and playing my drum at home.
Returning to my beloved drum felt like a huge effort at first, but overall the effort gave me more energy than it consumed. And the more I got used to doing it, the less energy it took to get started. Is it easy to make a little time for my drumming? Nope. But is it worthwhile? For me, absolutely. Do you know in your heart that it's time (or past time) to start reclaiming the hobby that lights up your heart the way drumming lights up mine? Here are the lessons I've learned on how to mix hobbies and busy lives sustainably.
Start with just one activity
Adding even a little more time for hobbies might mean a lot of changes to your life. Start those changes gently with just one activity at a time so that you can learn how to best shift other things to make space as you go.
Get out
Making time for hobbies is toughest when you are at home where distractions abound, so create a regular time to enjoy your hobby elsewhere. Stepping away for a while will free you to fully focus on what you are doing, and you will be able to draw upon that feeling of focus when you are doing your hobby at home. Planning time away, preferably at the same time every week
I knew before my kid was born that I would get less sleep and have less free time after having a baby. I didn't realize how hard it would be to lose my creativity for a while. It felt like losing a piece of my soul. During what we've since dubbed the Era of No Sleep, I was exhausted. What energy I had went almost entirely towards caring for my family. I connected with friends and took breaks, but I did not drum, dance, or engage in any of the myriad of crafts I've always loved dabbling in.
At some point, things began to get a wee bit easier. I realized that while I wasn't "ready," I still had to find a way to show up again for my creative self to stay sane. So when the kiddo was about six months old, I finally started going to drum circles again and playing my drum at home.
Returning to my beloved drum felt like a huge effort at first, but overall the effort gave me more energy than it consumed. And the more I got used to doing it, the less energy it took to get started. Is it easy to make a little time for my drumming? Nope. But is it worthwhile? For me, absolutely. Do you know in your heart that it's time (or past time) to start reclaiming the hobby that lights up your heart the way drumming lights up mine? Here are the lessons I've learned on how to mix hobbies and busy lives sustainably.
Start with just one activity
Adding even a little more time for hobbies might mean a lot of changes to your life. Start those changes gently with just one activity at a time so that you can learn how to best shift other things to make space as you go.
Get out
Making time for hobbies is toughest when you are at home where distractions abound, so create a regular time to enjoy your hobby elsewhere. Stepping away for a while will free you to fully focus on what you are doing, and you will be able to draw upon that feeling of focus when you are doing your hobby at home. Planning time away, preferably at the same time every week