My minimalist approach to hobbies

The 7 hobbies that have ACTUALLY stuck in 2024

Hello, I’m Molly, a fulltime creator based in the Scottish Highlands. Subscribers can enjoy weekly posts around the themes of slow living, thriving in a creative career, books & nature. Members get access to ALL my content, including video tea times, slow scrolls of all my favourites and seasonal book reviews.

Curious? We’d love to have you for a cuppa…

We all know that having hobbies is good for us. Extensive research has demonstrated that having hobbies leads to better health and higher life satisfaction. Its even been linked with lowering the risk of depression.

As a child, having hobbies was instinctive and not something I really thought about. It was just how I enjoyed spending my down time, whether it be reading a book, sketching some flowers or taking the dogs out for long rambles.

But entering adulthood changed all this.

I was caught up in the hustle culture, striving to progress in my career, with all my free time being taken up with socialising, with little energy left over to pursue any of the hobbies I used to enjoy.

Any downtime was spent in front of Netflix or scrolling on my phone. Passive activities where I didn’t need to think.

Things started to change once I hit my late 20’s. I started to recognise that my life was lacking balance and looking around for something to change this.

This is when I discovered minimalism and was instantly hooked. This was the tool I needed to give my life focus. This would leave me feeling more satisfied.

And it worked. Until it didn’t.

My dilemma - minimalism vs hobbies

I can honestly say that minimalism changed my life. By streamlining my possessions and curbing my spending, we were able to downsize to live in a tiny home, giving me the freedom to go full time with my creative career.

Yet, I still felt unbalanced.

Now I was self-employed, I finally had the free time I was craving, but I had no idea what to do with it.

When I researched hobbies, I was put off by the idea of all the stuff that came with them. I’d worked so hard and undergone countless declutters, so was reluctant to fill my home up again.

Then I flipped my mindset.

Curating hobbies as a minimalist

Rather than viewing minimalism as a restriction, I instead used it as a tool to curate hobbies that would actually work for me.

Assess their value

When considering what hobbies I would like to incorporate into my life, I’ve been careful to choose those that I’m genuinely interested in and that would add value, rather than be influenced by what other’s are doing online.

Less is more

Rather than throwing myself into new activities, I’ve taken a slower approach. I’ve added one hobby at a time and, rather than spending hours on a new activity, I prefer to schedule in time little and often, fitting it around my existing commitments.

This has meant that I’ve avoided becoming overwhelmed and feeling like hobbies are just something else on my to-do list.

Avoid clutter

Living in a tiny home means I’ve had to be realistic about what hobbies I can take on. Although I love the idea of making pottery, squeezing a potter’s wheel in here just isn’t realistic!

Intentional purchases

I’ve been careful when its come to purchasing materials for my hobbies. I use the same criteria that I consider with any purchase, asking myself questions like do I need this item right now or is there a cheaper alternative?

Dual purpose

Rather than hobbies always being a separate part of my life, I’ve learn to accept that some overlap with more ‘productive activities’ e.g., hiking with Skye benefits me but also exercises her. It doesn’t make them less enjoyable.

Declutter regularly

Its ok to let some hobbies go, even if just temporarily. Life is always changing so your interests and capacity will change along with it.

Staying mindful of this means that I get far more joy out of the hobbies that do align with my life right now, rather than regretting those that don’t.

---

Interested in living a slower, simpler life? Subscribe to read more of my slow stories or upgrade to join our slow community of kindred spirits…

---

My current hobbies

If your interested, these are the current hobbies that fit with my minimalist lifestyle -

• Walking in nature

• Reading (read how I’ve created a minimalist library HERE)

• Cooking/baking

• Exercising/yoga

• Creative writing (e.g., my nature diary, which you can learn more about HERE)

• Creative journaling (learn more about this HERE)

• Gardening

I don’t do all of these to the same extent e.g., I walk and read every day, whereas gardening is more of a transient activity, but they add up to mean that I have a choice of nourishing activities that I can indulge in that don’t directly relate to work.

Final thoughts

I chose ‘joy’ as my word for 2024 and allowing myself space for hobbies has been a fundamental part of living in line with this sentiment and its something I hope to continue for years to come.

I’d love to know what hobbies you currently enjoy, or those you would like to try out, so please do leave them in the comments!

Until next time,

Molly xx

---

Interested in simple living? Then dive right in…

The person I’ve become since I left social media

How living frugally has changed my life

Am I boring?