When everyday is the same old day and you cannot get yourself to do anything outside of your routine, it is easy to fall into a slum. A good way to break out of this is to try something new and initiate an activity that you have never tried before and make it a habit. Of course, for many hobbies you would have to get some supplies which could not be possible financially for everyone, but there are also many things you can put in your day that don’t take long but still make you feel much better about yourself.
Start small
I am the kind of person who starts a lot of hobbies, and then I abandon those hobbies when my interested in them has faded while I first was very excited to practice this hobby. The reason for this is usually that I personally am thinking too big. With that, I mean that I want to achieve too much in a short amount of time. That doesn’t work when there’s also other, maybe more urgent, responsibilities that you have to do because you will feel like there is never enough time to practice your newfound hobby. So, start small! I started sewing a few weeks ago and I have a lot of ambitions but I am taking my time. I am starting with small sewing projects that I can be done with in an hour or so. This way I’m still practicing, still achieving to make something, and still gain the motivation to keep on practicing this hobby! Say, you want to start drawing or writing more, start with doing it for 5 to 10 minutes a day and see what you can create in that time. Maybe it will spark more inspiration for the future!
Remind yourself
The second fact about me that I wish to share with you is that I tend to be a bit forgetful, or sometimes I maybe choose to be forgetful when I would rather do different things. If you’re like me this trick might work! I have recently started to get notifications on anything I want to get done that day. This also means I have added my hobbies! Before I would only get notifications for study or work related matters, but when you always plan in your 10 minute hobby time, it will eventually start to become just as much of a habit as thinking about your school work! After a while the habit will become a part of your routine and you won’t even need the notifications anymore. That’s the end goal, to have it be part of your daily routine and that’s also the hardest part. You have to learn to give up some of the time you used to spend doing something else.
It’s supposed to be fun
But please do remember that these habits are supposed to enrich your life. Of course there will be times you won’t feel like practicing your habit, but make sure your habit is something you’re passionate to keep in your life. When you do find joy in your new habit, it will be much easier to keep going, of course. It is important that it stays fun. Really, in covid times, you should fill up your free time with something you enjoy doing, something that makes you happy and helps you get through the endless days of quarantine. There will be days it is harder to get motivation to do anything than others, but you must not lose hope! Start with 5 minutes per day and eventually it will grow out to an hour a day! Even if it doesn’t, that’s okay, as long as you get something good out of practicing your habit.
