I've been having a problem with this in my life. I currently have way too many hobbies and just recently got into the idea of wargaming. I have been just painting my first army and haven't been doing my other hobbies. There is not enough time in the day for so many different hobbies but so far I'm really enjoying my hour a night I've spent on painting.
My problem is that, at least for me, wargaming is really three hobbies...playing the games themselves, painting the minis, and making terrain. Sometimes I get so excited about one aspect that the others suffer. Sometimes I get so excited about terrain that I stop painting my armies for a few weeks, then maybe I'll play a game and then get back to painting minis. Often I don't spend nearly any time actually playing games as I do all the hobby stuff getting the table ready for the game...
It really is multiples~ I've always only had one hobby that I put my main focus on for decades. Competitive PC Gaming since the 90's. Until recently the tech and the games released kept me busy constantly upgrading and learning new titles to compete with but Now with no real advancement in tech the last couple years as well as the fact no good games are pending/announced it leaves me with most likely a year or two of time to split up my game time with something new, like miniatures! As I enter this niche, I'm not just learning to build models, but also relearning painting again (Which I haven't done since Art school two decades ago- which was a useless profitless degree!) and the thing I have yet to even begin - actually playing the games! For me the triad is just that: Building Models / Painting Models / Playing Wargames/tablegames. I have yet to even bother thinking about terrain stuff yet. Building models so far is pretty self explanatory, and painting is nothing new to me - just have to tweak my style for the size change, but playing table games is new to me as I haven't played a table game since monopoly is my teens. I find that to be separate to the crafting as it included so much to learn on its own, and involves forcing me to find people to play with locally.
I hop between tabletop rpgs, SCA, reading, dancing, painting/drawing, crochet, and birding. I watch some TV shows too, but I mostly do binge-watching during times when I'm just too darn tired to actively work on something and its way too hot/bright to go outside and enjoy nature, so that doesn't actually take much time away from hobbies. That "multi-potentialite" thing sounds exactly right both for my hobbies and my career. Such is the unfortunate way of things when you run an entire museum by yourself while trying to also develop your research career. I'm pretty happy that my artsy hobbies like mini-painting have turned out to be directly applicable to building exhibits for my job. I've accepted that I'll be master-of-none for my hobbies, though. I'm okay with only reaching above average but not phenomenal skill levels if it means experiencing a wider array of fun things. Plus it means that if one thing isn't working for stress relief (happens more often than I like), I have more options to try.
This exactly describes my problem. In too many things I am interested, so I feel that I ended up with none hobby, unfortunately. Mostly, I am focusing on one/two things and after a year or two, I am switching to the other things and so on.
Same here, but even worse. I am so paralyzed by the indecision of so many interests that i barely do anything at all. Certainly nowhere near enough to call anything a hobby.
@@christianap.7791 huh, well I’m still not really doing much. Nowadays more because of lack of time, energy, and motivation since I’ve (mostly) been able to narrow down my primary interests (still have several of those though). Living kind of vicariously through watching those content creators doing way more in the hobbies I enjoy than I will ever do is mostly how I spend my free time and spare brain cells, you know? But I am getting through a very long lasting mental health crisis (which I may be over the hump of the worst of now), and I’ve actually started to vaguely get the slight urge to actually DO something again from time to time. So that might be going in the right direction now, hopefully. Thanks for checking in, and making me re-examine my state. Hope you can figure out your primary interests too, and get to hobbying at some point like I hope to as well!
@@bharl7226 Yep I relate a lot to what you've said, I have many interests and while I do have some hobbies, I'm not organized with them and I also want to do much more. Just like you, I do not have much energy or motivation to actually carry out the tasks a lot of the time. Or I start, then don't feel like continuing. "Living kind of vicariously through watching these content creators doing way more in the hobbies I enjoy..." I felt this in my soul💀😭 yep social media has helped on one hand cause we get access to people who can teach us all these things but on the other you can feel like "I'll never be as good/do as much" but I think it's important to just do stuff your way you know. Who cares if it isn't as good or as aesthetic or anything, as long as you're improving on your pace. I'm glad to hear that you're getting better mentally, honestly that's the most important thing and I'm proud of you for getting through it. Putting our wellbeing first is crucial, it's okay if you don't get anything done as long as you're taking care of yourself. Also, using hobbies as an outlet can be therapeutic so if you like you can pour what you're feeling/going through into something you're working on. I find that when I do that not only is it therapeutic but there's usually a flow to it, everything just comes out. Thankyou, I hope you continue getting better and that you'll be able to find your way of doing what you love.
It helps if your hobbies overlap - photography or video filming are hobbies which will overlap into virtually any other hobby, photographing or filming the other hobby. Photograph your stamp collection, for example. Also some hobbies are seasonal. If you dress-up and re-enact then that is a spring/summer/autumn hobby. A lot of re-enactors will wargame in the darker winter months as they cannot go out and do it for real. Skiing is clearly a winter hobby, surfing is more of a summer hobby. The trick is to make sure that you enjoy what you choose to do and to make sure that your most important hobby does NOT become 'time management' - juggling thousands of things and going all OCD with a clock just because you now have too many hobbies! :) A good subject and well presented! Barry
Struggled with this for years. My inherent laziness/inabilitt to focus combined with the sheer number of things I'm interested in - playing piano and guitar, woodworking, reading, movies, gaming, photography, fitness, etc - means I constantly feel guilty and frustrated at neglecting certain hobbies or failing to progress on others. I feel like my lifestyle means I should easily be able to support about four proper hobbies but I'm not there yet.
I forced myself into not getting more hobbies, I get obsessed with so many things which I stops me from getting laser focused in music(my favorite hobby)
My hobbies are: -Playing instruments(electric guitar, ukulele) -caring for plants - caring for animals -collecting stuff -drawing -gaming (on my switch) (Is that too much?)
this is a lot like my hobbies! here’s the list of mine: - drawing - composing music - playing instruments (piano, guitar, bass guitar) - learning languages (japanese, chinese, french) - watching anime adding onto what ryan said, i think that combining hobbies does kinda work. guitar, ukulele and electric bass do have kind of similar skill sets. i use my playing instrument skills when composing music and i also use good anime drawings as references sometimes. it just feels like there’s not enough time in the day to do all these things tho, i haven’t played electric bass in months and i draw so much less than i used to. i think there’s a way to learn all these things though. do a small amount of a hobby every other day (like 30 mins bass every other day) and spend more time on hobbies that may relate to work or is a dream you have (composing music is related to school for me). lol sorry i just kinda spouted all my planning onto here
That's a big problem for me too. And it's damn hard to just give up on something, to think of the opportunities you will be missing, of all the equipment that'll be sadly collecting dust around the house... Perhaps doing like you say is just the mature thing to do. I have way too many interests, but as the years go by and I find myself always scratching the surface and never getting actually good at something, the dissatisfaction begins to grow bigger and bigger
Really needed to hear this. I've been getting quite frustrated as of late trying to fit all i wnat to do around the kids and work etc...I think really I knew that I needed to cut down or focus on a single or maybe 2 hobbies but watching this has really made it hit home. Thanks :)
Ran into a problem with this last night. d&d, 40k, shadowrun, work, sleep, shooting sports and family obligations.... need to narrow down my scope a bit...
Zandos Dwarf-King kinda hard to tone down past two hours a night. only see family once a week for a hour maybe... just going to have to drop a couple other things....
watching this video, and seeing that it was released 4 years ago. But for me, on this day, more relevant than ever and found the advice that i needed. Thank you for a timeless video!
Ugh, I’ve been dreading watching this because it’s so true. I’m guilty of having way too many interests and wanting to do it all and then reality hits me in the face every time.
For me it is also 2 + interests. I did notice, however, that when my hubby was away for work for an extended period, I could easily up that to 3 hobbies. I actually have three hobbies (miniatures, needlepoint & videogames), but I only spend time on two of them for any period...and that period could be years.
One thing not brought up is seasonal stuff. I LOVE to Golf, but of course, winter on the East Coast precludes me from getting out even to practice. It is certainly a hobby in the Summer, and since I love to be outdoors, things like painting and Wargaming take a back seat. I am also a musician first and foremost hobby wise. That I can do anytime though and I've been doing it so long, it is almost automatic and I can pick up my guitar and mess around anytime. Nice vid as always! Thanks!
"A jack of all trades is sometimes better than a master of one" is the original quote. Also a jack of all trades does not necessarily mean that one cannot learn mastery of anything either! Some food for thought
Great vid as usual. I have too many hobbies. Tabletop wargaming, computers (linux, sys admin, coding etc.), firearms (that's a lot of cleaning and upkeep), videogaming (I try to stick to certain 5 or so games instead of play the next newest flavour of the month), reading, drawing, and masturbating. Eventually some become neglected and money is wasted on them or over time they become boring. I find it better to pick minimal things in life and become good at them instead of being a jack of all trades. Everybody can go from beginner to intermediate but then it's really interesting learning the slight nuances and climbing that steeper learning curve from intermediate to expert not many people dare to tread. On second thought I don't think you can have too many hobbies unless like you said you lack free times that's for sure. it's really all subjective and up to you if you want to bounce around from thing to thing or stick with something and git gud. I tend to have more respect for the latter though.
I realized watching this that I kind of cycle between all my hobbies which I have quite a few. Since I mostly focus on east asian movies and have to wait a year or two for the new movies to be available, I end up having maybe a month or two every year when I watch a crazy amount of movies, write little reviews and go back to them to study them. Cinematography, soundtracks and general visual storytelling. My music hobby is always in the backround, sometimes more active on that, sometimes less. I have many months when I focus largely on video games and music making/listening and then some months when I focus almost exclusively on wargaming stuff. Painting, watching videos and so on. I think that cycling them works very well. Can't focus and enjoy everything at once so I guess my little brain noticed that I have to just put some hobbies on hold while others take over at times. So during some months I wont shut about the latest shoegaze releases, the next I wont shut up about the Tau battlesuits I painted. I guess it also makes the conversations with my friends a bit more interesting when its not always about one thing. I gotta stop rambling. Interesting video as always! Definitely some good tips to keep in mind.
im the same. wargaming mostly in the cooler month's. still some in the summer but less painting and crafting. in warmer months motorcycles and fishing.
I haven't watched your video yet and can emphatically declare, YES. I have dozens of board games that I want to play but haven't in years, 100+ models I promise to paint, I have 2 Warmachine armies, a Hordes army, Imperial fists army, Ranger Batallion and Panzergrenadiers for Flames of War. I actively 90s card games like Jyhad and Mythos, Star Wars Armada and X-wing. And I play video games. Also, I have a 4 year old and an infant, so the amount of time I actually get to play anything is limited to about 2 or 3 hours per week. The rub is that, I want to play all of it, all the time. I can't just sell a game because I don't have time to play because they all mean something to me. My collection includes games I got as Christmas presents over 20 years ago (Hero Quest). Each game has memories attached to them.
This video, like many on this channel, is very helpful and relevant to my current situation. So, I’m consolidating my hobbies. One, toys. Specifically, Transformers, and I’ve started to sell off all the ones I have in boxes in me basement. I’ll never open them and they don’t really interest me any longer. They take up a ton of space in a house and if and when I display them I often need shelving which adds to the hobby expense. I also like to collect watches, ride motorcycles and read comics. Something has to give. I can’t do it all and I don’t want to anymore.
This right here is what I needed. I'm a multi hobby guy and have been for years. I have outdoor hobbies as well as indoor hobbies. Also photography here as well. I also have 2 RUclips Channels as well. This really helped put things into perspective of how to handle everything while working a 65+ hour work week. During the week I don't really have the time to do much if anything with the crafting, but with it being summer, I can get some stuff done on the outdoor side of things. Crafting usually takes place on the weekends where I can just slow down and relax at the table and just build what comes to mind. On the crafting side of things I do displays, not dioramas, and recently got into wargaming. And this is a certain thing unto it's self, toss in the outdoor hobbies (Which I had first for some time) and things get mottled. But what all this brings me too is figuring out how to utilize my time for both sides of the spectrum. I could go on and on, but I don't think you want to read a book LOL.
Sage advice in this episode. Anybody who wants to excel at something, work related or not, has to isolate and focus their energy into that thing. No other way around it.
I really liked the distinction between hobbies (things you want to get better at) and interests (things you simply enjoy). This really helped me weed out what hobbies I should demote to interests so I could dedicate more time on the hobbies.
I don’t know why I keep having more hobbies, interests or skills like I’m suddenly interested in doing things such as art, reading (I started doing art in April) dancing, photography, rollerblading, video editing and reading during my free time. I just wish I could have all the time in the world to do these things because whenever I do them, I get so happy and try to put it in my schedule everyday for myself but it’s too full lol. 😂
My hobby is learning! So I will just go around and pick up random hobbies, enjoy learning the basics, then jump onto another one. I will never master any, but I'm not interested in doing so. Never wanted to make money or prove myself... just relax :-) Language learning, painting and sculpting minis, D&D, Starfinder, knitting, crochet, drawing comics, playing videogames, puzzles, DM'ing, reading, writing... I just decide on a project and go ahead! Especially if they are related (drawing -> sculpting -> painting minis -> DM'ing Starfinder!).
For me it's difficult to stick to one hobby, really. They come and go, and then come back in waves. It's always one thing at a time, and usually it's very intensive. For example now it's Warhammer: I binge watch your channel, finished painting one set of primaris intercessors and got some more minis to paint, reading lore, and trying to get as much info about the game itself as possible... It's going to pass, I'm going to lose interest and I know that and there's nothing I can do about it. I will jump to a next big thing, or come back to either electronics, aviation, airsoft, or medieval history. After two or three years I will be back, and the cycle will continue.
great video, I have been thinking the same thing for quite a while! I am interested in far too many things so improvement in one can be difficult. I think I'll get writing that list! Thanks for the help 👍
Thank you for this video, Atom. This has finally made me think about my hobbies and what I can cut back on, dedicate more time to, start dedicating time to, and how I'm going to approach my hobbies. The list idea was a great one, thanks!
Some hobbies are less time-intensive than others. For instance, re-enacting is intense occasionally, but not in general. Maybe a weekend a month over the summer. If you're going as a group then there's not much you can do to make it eat up more time. My overly-large list of hobbies is as follows: 1: Piano. Ranges from a few hours a week to a few hours a day.2: Re-enacting, specifically 1812. A couple days a month in summer, half a day a month outside of that. 3: Wargaming. I could spend more time painting if I wanted to, but because there are no good shops near me, I mostly do this when my friends/family organise something. 4: Video Gaming. Can eat up as much time as I want. The same available time is spent on #5. 5: Anime/RUclips. Again, can eat as much time as I want. Uses the same time as #4. I will eventually run low on stuff, but that'll take many more years. 6: Fencing. Unless there's something else going on with it, I spend exactly 2 hours a week on it. Still getting better faster than the people who spend 4 hours on it.
I'd like to make 40k a replacement hobby for MTG because I don't like the direction the game is going in, and instead have MTG as a interest in which I occasionally come back into it (which I kinda already do, especially with Covid stopping in store play). I understand 40k is pricey but it seems to me there's a lot of one time investments and if you're smart you don't end up with a bunch of junk, with 6 years into MTG I have so many bulk cards from opening packs I almost want to throw them away just so I have more space. I also have a lot of the tools needed to get started like dice and a tape measure as well as a set of brushes I had from when I took a painting class in college. If there's another shutdown in my state and I end up out of work for awhile painting miniatures seems like a nice way to pass the time and try something new. Your channel has been really helpful in answering some of the questions I have as someone who's only experience with this hobby is lore videos and looking at GW products at my LGS.
the growing part is very important. I noticed I stopped 'growing' in my hobby... (I love doll custom/collecting). I need to narrow it down and focus on the quality rather than quantity ;) Your video is very helpful, thank you!
Great chat, thanks uncle Atom! I have multiple hobbies and interests and have a hard time getting any progress done in any of them. Besides wargaming and videogaming, I'm studying Spanish and Esperanto (and dabbling in half a dozen other languages), I'm trying to get into running for fitness, and I spend a lot of time thinking about electronics, computer science and programming. I play the piano, but really want to learn to play the double bass, and would also like to practice singing. I also want to get into spinning thread and weaving fabric and sewing clothes. Oh and it would be cool to start writing. I'm not asking for any particular advice here, I just wanted to share my situation haha. I'll try to divide these activities into hobbies and interests, and maybe put them on a rotating schedule.
Thank you for this video, I was searching for other peoples experiences with too many hobbies and yours helped me a lot. I knew I can't focus on every interest I have but I struggled with that for some time, because every interest seemed so important to me. Now I realized that some interests might be important from a logical perspective like health, sports etc. But it's actually not my focus right now and that's okay. I will focus on that when the time is right, because I already live pretty healthy and there's no force to do it. Hobbies should be fun and that's what I am keeping in mind from now on. Also I can still be interested in many things and don't have to cut them out of my life. I can still read books from time to time when I like to even though it's not my focus interest/hobby that I wanna get better on.
I play two card games, collect figures, play rhythm and fighting games, watch anime, and decided to pick up the bass...I need to get myself under control tbh
I draw, play guitar and go to the gym, I haven't drawn or played guitar in a while but I've done both for to long to give them up, but I just struggle so hard with discipline and practice both alone with working and going to the gym
i too take the jack of all trades approach, i mix them up and often some hobbies are more seasonal. I play a lot of Computer games, but in between rounds i have my bits box and craft mat to work on models. during the summer i do more H.E.M.A, hiking and cycling. winter is more computer games, i mix in my love for media production with any hobby. i also work in areas relating computer games and tabletop games and film production so hobbies and work over lap. also i'll sometimes sacrifice some work in order to commit to a hobby. some times i do have blow out from burning the fuse at both ends, but i wouldn't have it any other way. if i dont keep busy in the past i've just festered and done nothing.
I personally find that 2 at one time is my limit too, and I have never thought of making videos for my channel as a separate hobby to wargaming tbh! :) Great video!
I have 9 hobbies: Mini wargaming -(7 different systems), Mountain Biking, Bonsai, Scale modeling, Movies, TV, Reading novels (been reading the first Gates of Antares novel this week)which I do Every day, Art (about to start a dog portrait) and My yard/gardens. And my Wife HATES me gaming, or anything to do with gaming. I game 5 times a month. Should I add watching Tabletop Minions? Great Show Uncle Atom, keep it up.
Hi Atom, Another fantastic concept video we if not all can relate to. I myself have two/three hobbies (tabletop wargaming , model railways and Airfix/Revell kits) plus demanding job and family obligations. So in past week as you had rightly pointed out/advised .. had to think what was more practical approach. So I have decided to drop two of them to be able to achieve healthy balance. To be honest it was difficult and I really didn't want to but it's about doing the most constructive thing. Besides I can always go back to others at later stage/time .. when more free time permits. Thank you Atom .. absolutely a Guru and A Legend 😎👍 Always look forward to your new videos and topics. Hope you have a Great weekend. Dan 🙂👍
whenever i had a hobby i ended up getting bored with it. Have lots of interests and then when you get time pick what takes your fancy and chillout doing that. Then you can shelf it until next time.
Thank you very much for this video. Somehow that really takes pressure of my back a a selfemployed father, tabletop wargammer, video game player, IT tinkerer.... this list could go on....
I sat down and wrote a list. I have at least a DOZEN different hobbies I try and participate in at least a few times a year, from kayaking to model trains, hiking and HiFi audio, to cycling and disc golf! My problem is I stumble into random hobbies, then get fully sucked into that one hobby for about two or three months almost full-time. After said period, it gets recycled to the back of the line in my long list of other interests. I'm on like constant rotation of hobbies/interests at this point that I can never fully carry out my desire to do just one thing to the fullest potential. When I was younger I had one hobby and one hobby only that was my life, cycling, but now I've just acquired over a dozen various things that have sucked my time and interest up. I'm honestly not even sure where to go from here...
This video said exactly what I needed to hear. I have lots of interests which I have hard time balancing which interest to give my time to. You refreshed why I enjoyed tabletop war gaming as an interest not a full time hobby. forcing myself to spend all my time reading codex's, rules, and lore started to create a resentment in me towards 40k. I forgot to have fun with it as I did when it was just a once and awhile thing. Thanks you.
You have the ultimate voice for radio, you should make a hobby of that too! :D I love this channel simply for the quality of the work you do and the topics you pick.
2 is my limit. Bicycling and Board Games/War Games. But when you are going to school grad school, life only lets you have 1 (sometimes 0) and that's for damn sure.
I have too many, but I am always creating so it's challenging not to ignore those ideas. Wargaming, Comic book creation (writing/drawing), writing (I wrote a book and am working on short stories/episodic verse for I also write and draw for a literotica), creating my own table top war game (rules and lore), I used to do a vlog on YT, but got burned out. I also write and draw for a text based video game simulation style game, and just draw in general.
Family, blacksmithing, woodworking, boating, fishing, shooting, warhammer, x wing, modeling, writing, reading, making music, designing knives, gardening, hiking, camping, mountain biking, snowboarding, record collecting and a few more. Is that too many? I don't think so. My focus switches around but I enjoy doing a lot of different things. Following your ideas and adventures is where its at. Atom is always very thoughtful and makes great points but I guess we are renaissance people with restless genes.
The Wonderful world of chaos my hobbies include: -.Watching and collecting films, saving film images. -.Playing and collecting video games, saving video game images, creating video game content. (Fallout, Borderlands, Mass Effect, and Resident Evil.. could all be considered a hobby on their own as well.) -.Watching wrestling, interacting on wrestling twitter, wrestling theme songs, wrestling images, wrestling figures, wrestling trading cards and games. -.Marvel: Games movies comics. -.Star Wars culture. -.Watching the daily uploads from various channels on RUclips. -.PC Building and tech. -.Shopping for deals pertaining to the above hobbies -.Rap music, both listening and creating. -.Religion research. -.Conspiracy theories. -.Starting to get into cyberpunk stuff. -.Sometimes enjoying podcasts and prank calls such as ownage pranks. Narrowed it down into a list 1. Film 2. Collecting 3. Video Game culture 4. Wrestling Culture 5. Marvel Culture 6. Star Wars Culture 7. PC and Tech 8. Rap Culture 9. Cyberpunk 10. Prank Calls Now to analyze and find what I really want to do with my life.
Amazin video, my main hobby is toy collecting I always discuss with othher hobbistics the need to focus on one line, motto or topic in your collection in order to do it correctly due the appropiate manage of your resources, as u said money, time, space, etc.
I think I'm at about a dozen hobbies so far, but then I have a lot of time. I tend to binge in my hobbies, I'll spend a month obsessed with one hobby then the next month I'll switch to another.
Some hobbies are time hogs to get the full enjoyment out of them. Others you can get enjoyment out of without eating up all your time. I try to balance and remember it's all for my enjoyment and it's a win any time I do something I enjoy.
For me I realized this maybe 18 months ago and had to drop graffiti writing which saddens me to this day because I have two legal walls within walking distance and multiple art supply stores. It will take me yeas to get back to the level I was when I stopped so it will probably never happen. Oh well at least I'm building, painting and playing a lot of wargames.
My problems: too many hobbies, plus what I refer to as a "hobby pendulum". The pendulum swings and I engage ONLY in that hobby (often for years)...then it swings back and I only indulge in THAT hobby, etc. Problem then becomes "what I miss out on" when the pendulum isn't in that 'zone'. Many times I'll try to play 'catch up' but, let's face it...most cool hobby stuff ends up being somewhat limited in when it's available. Frustration builds. I also buy stuff for the hobby...then the pendulum swings and the stuff just sits there...again, often for years. I've managed now to cut down to two main hobbies but, alas, they are also the two most expensive of my hobbies. :/
Miniatures have taken time away from my previous hobbies. But I squeeze them all in: When a new video game comes out it takes precedence for a few weeks. Comics always get Wednesday or Thursday, depending on when I go to the comics shop. I find I've reduced Movie and TV time the most.
I think 2-4 not including your job is ideal. As you said, it also depends on how much free time you have and how much money you have to spend on your hobbies. One of my hobbies, writing, is free. Another of my hobbies, coin collecting, can be very expensive. I spend a lot of my money on coins but I don't regret anything.
Oh my God, I came here looking for help with time management and am very happy with your love of quadcopters. I am a pilot and you don't see many people interested in racing drones!
My hobbies - drawing - playing my ukulele - learning Spanish and Korean - watching movies - R E A D I N G These are all time consuming ksvsksgsk school really isn't helping and life just be like do them all on the weekends, take it or leave it 👁👁
Great Video and Topic. My list of hobbies are: 1/ Gaming 2/ Drawing 3/ Getting into learning and making music For point 1 & 2 I do this through my RUclips channel which you could say is another hobby but for me its two birds one stone. My new hobby is trying to learn and get into music mostly beat making and playing the piano. I'm wanting to do all this whilst running my own company doing Architectural Design from my home office and soon to be a father!. Most months I have no time as priority comes 1st for paying the bills and taken care of my family. For me it is a struggle to find time to do the three things I love to do. BUT when I am free man do I have a blast doing what I love!
I've recently had to do a lot of thinking about this myself. Between wargaming, D&D, crafting, my band, learning Italian, studying my masters, and going to the gym, I don't seem to have enough time to eat :-p
Oh, there is no question that I have too many hobbies. I am starting to find balance in them, which fortunately some are seasonal (eg gardening, which in Alberta is very much a limmitted amount of the year). I have started to get into semi passive hobbies, eg mead making, which takes spurts of time, and then waiting. I do try to combine hobbies, to varrious effect. Camping and shooting on crown land works great, gardening and wargaming less so, though it is fun to think about having bonsai trees on the tabletop. However pregnant wife indicates I am going to have to give some up soon.
I tend to have many hobbies that I periodically rotate through, usually obsessing about one at a time. I was raised in a family of people with multiple, passionate hobbies so I guess it's hardly surprising. I've come to terms with my nature, though, and I really don't mind my shifting obsessions. I've learned to avoid hobbies that involve teams or other commitments to people, though, as it sucks to force yourself through something you aren't feeling or to let friends down.
Can you elaborate on the multi talented family? I'm curious to know... And also on how they mastered to keep multiple things going. My problem then is how to find the emotional courage to cut something from the list...
Great video Adam. I thought that I was the only one struggling with these concept. I am a musician/teacher. Practicing instruments and composing take most of my time. On top of that, I recently started my masters in Caribbean history. Now I am reading, writing and doing research for my thesis. So that takes even more of my hobby time. I also read comics and books. I no longer read fiction per say. When I paint, I put an audio book and that's how I can kill two birds with one stone so to speak. I decided to quit video games and stick with wargaming. I found out that time is extremely limited and wargaming is definitely more rewarding than playing video games.
Cool, thanks for sharing. And first time I hear such a thing as Caribbean History :-) I'm fascinated by pirates and Latin America in general (recent but growing thing) so I was curious to hear your words about this. I also decided I want to become good and grow into Music, so I was curious to hear to you if you have anything to tell also on this :-)
I find my hobbies come in phases. For a while I'll be really into MTG or other card games, then cool off on them and focus on Wargaming, then I switch to Writing or Board Games before finding myself back at card games. I do try to keep up with news or related things in hobbies that are currently on hiatus though. So when I am into card games I might make sure I have a Black Library novel to read before bed every night, or when I am Wargaming a lot I will write some fiction about my armies to keep the writing skills sharp .Video games are probably the only hobby that stays pretty much constant.
Great video! I am trying to narrow my focus down to miniatures and personal programming projects. But, as you astutely discussed in another video, it is hard not to get sucked in by the easier "interests" such as video games after a long day at work/responsibilities. Thanks for sharing your hobbies! Appreciate it!
You can have multiple hobbies, you just don't have to do them all at the same time. I have multiple, I just switch between them - essentially, hobby rotation. Stops any one of them getting "Stale" or you getting burnout on any one of them.
I watch your channel a lot. I'm not particularly inclined to painting or spending lots of money, so I never really got into 40k. I do enjoy listening to your channel for the meta insights.
Easy, yes you can. I struggle to divide my time between the following. Electronics, specifically making synthesisers. Making music, electronic and non electronic. Mini painting. Board games. Software engineering. Gardening. Science. I was fortunate enough to get a job doing 2 of those things so time management has been easier for me. Board games is something me and the wife do together, making music i just dabble in if i have a spare evening, electronics snd software engineering is my job and my main hobby i do at home. Mini painting is what i do between electronics projects before i decide whats next.
Great video. As others have said, you probably put light on exactly what I needed to say, simple but presented well. Also reading all the comments was very useful. But my dilemma might be "how to find the emotional courage to cut minor hobbies and interests in order to be able to feed properly the main Hobbies?" 😥😥😥
Great episode, Uncle Atom! Even in this one hobby, I frequently feel that there's never enough time to get done all the things I want to do! I take comissions, so volume is part of the equation, but I definitely felt your message today. ^_^ ~ Wolfbrother Methos
Mine appear to be 1)sleeping, and 2)imagining I'm affluent (aka - daydreaming). And I got to say I'm dang good at sleeping!!!! Bordering on genius level there.
As of late, this has been something that has been gnawing at me, and when it gets to hobbies, it's really easy-at least for me-to think to myself that I can squeeze it.But, as you said, there are only 24 hours in a day. I think a lot of this goes with the "Hobby Hoarding" bit that you've done. "I can't play, but I can buy!"
So, I would really love to get more into photography but I also dabble in music production, making beats etc I want to excel in both but I know they are both vast areas too huge to explore both at once - I also have to consider work, family, social life etc.. I just don't know what to do :( Is it possible to balance the two????
Completely agree with this. My main hobbies are video games/and the hobby side of wargaming/miniatures (don't care for playing unless it's Blood Bowl). Things like graphic novels I relegated to an interest by choosing to read certain titles when they get released as paperbacks. I make lists of shows I want to watch and then choose a day to binge a certain show etc
My biggest problems come from my personality. i honestly cant do a casual hobby, i need to go all in. Right now it's: D&D (recently with painting) Knives Photography VideoGaming meanwhile i have a law degree to acquire and i always have a shortage of time
Great, thought provoking video segment. I've been struggling with this for a while now. I think this video will spur me to take a harder look at streamlining things down to 2. Thanks!
I remember times where I consciously decided to quit some hobbies for a while to refocus my time for other hobbies. I quit 40k right before college to eventually get into LARP and used the crafty skills I learned to make props. I also got more into MtG during college, but quit when I finished my degree to get back into wargaming.
I focus on 2 hobbies. Music and Mini war gaming. I have an interest in comics and related tv and movies. I've had to cut out some of the comics and conventions due to costs and time. Music has been a focus again the last 4 years, actually its a small business again after about 5 years in hobby status. Mini war gaming has been on the back burner for the last few years. I have occasionally made time to paint a squad or finish painting some terrain or buildings. I have collected quite a few games and miniatures in that time. I have a life time of projects. After finishing the record I'm working on , I want to finish my ADEPTUS SORORITAS army for 40K. I just finished building and priming a RUNEWARS core set I want to speed paint over the next week or so.
Came across this video and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. I have a bunch of stuff I enjoy doing but my main hobbies are probably videogames, paintball and grilling/smoking.
I have a lot of hobbies. I switch to another hobby when I really really want to do that hobby. I try to stay in the hobby I did before as long as I can, but when the pressure gets high enough I switch. I have hobbies that have been in a sleeping state for years. Suddenly one of these come alive and I switch to that one. I have to reread about it to get in to it again. But the most important part is to have fun, I think. Some hobbies is near each other others is totally different. For example I see programming in one language as one hobby and programming in another language as another hobby. I play tabletop rpgs and that are hobbies that are different from the programming hobbies.
I think my hobby is collecting hobbies.
I say the exact same thing!
That's my hobby, too.
i thought i was the only one who thought that
same lol
IndyGamerMike I love this 😂😂😂
Honestly I feel no matter what you do, no matter the amount of hobbies or lack of them, there is never enough god damn time in the day.
…..until retirement
@@kelly8431 lol
I've been having a problem with this in my life. I currently have way too many hobbies and just recently got into the idea of wargaming. I have been just painting my first army and haven't been doing my other hobbies. There is not enough time in the day for so many different hobbies but so far I'm really enjoying my hour a night I've spent on painting.
I find that my building and painting time is almost meditative and helps me relieve stress. That’s why I enjoy it so much. Thanks for watching!
Tabletop Minions thanks for replying!
My problem is that, at least for me, wargaming is really three hobbies...playing the games themselves, painting the minis, and making terrain. Sometimes I get so excited about one aspect that the others suffer. Sometimes I get so excited about terrain that I stop painting my armies for a few weeks, then maybe I'll play a game and then get back to painting minis. Often I don't spend nearly any time actually playing games as I do all the hobby stuff getting the table ready for the game...
It really is multiples~ I've always only had one hobby that I put my main focus on for decades. Competitive PC Gaming since the 90's. Until recently the tech and the games released kept me busy constantly upgrading and learning new titles to compete with but Now with no real advancement in tech the last couple years as well as the fact no good games are pending/announced it leaves me with most likely a year or two of time to split up my game time with something new, like miniatures! As I enter this niche, I'm not just learning to build models, but also relearning painting again (Which I haven't done since Art school two decades ago- which was a useless profitless degree!) and the thing I have yet to even begin - actually playing the games! For me the triad is just that: Building Models / Painting Models / Playing Wargames/tablegames. I have yet to even bother thinking about terrain stuff yet.
Building models so far is pretty self explanatory, and painting is nothing new to me - just have to tweak my style for the size change, but playing table games is new to me as I haven't played a table game since monopoly is my teens. I find that to be separate to the crafting as it included so much to learn on its own, and involves forcing me to find people to play with locally.
I'll add to that reading lore books
I hop between tabletop rpgs, SCA, reading, dancing, painting/drawing, crochet, and birding. I watch some TV shows too, but I mostly do binge-watching during times when I'm just too darn tired to actively work on something and its way too hot/bright to go outside and enjoy nature, so that doesn't actually take much time away from hobbies.
That "multi-potentialite" thing sounds exactly right both for my hobbies and my career. Such is the unfortunate way of things when you run an entire museum by yourself while trying to also develop your research career. I'm pretty happy that my artsy hobbies like mini-painting have turned out to be directly applicable to building exhibits for my job. I've accepted that I'll be master-of-none for my hobbies, though. I'm okay with only reaching above average but not phenomenal skill levels if it means experiencing a wider array of fun things. Plus it means that if one thing isn't working for stress relief (happens more often than I like), I have more options to try.
Aritê what kingdom you from ?
You made a key point: Enjoying a wide array of things. That's a great way to look at it.
@@bmp112 Not sure why I didn't see this sooner, but I'm in the Midrealm now.
Aritê nice, I’m in Ælthelmearc
The quote goes like this:
A jack of all trades
A master of none
But better than one
😋 but yes... great vid!
This exactly describes my problem. In too many things I am interested, so I feel that I ended up with none hobby, unfortunately. Mostly, I am focusing on one/two things and after a year or two, I am switching to the other things and so on.
You're lucky you last a year or two. I seem to chop and change every few weeks, if that! :D
Same here, but even worse. I am so paralyzed by the indecision of so many interests that i barely do anything at all. Certainly nowhere near enough to call anything a hobby.
@@bharl7226 it's been 3 years but just checking, hows it going now? I've the same issue and I'm here to try to figure out how to balance it all😂
@@christianap.7791 huh, well I’m still not really doing much. Nowadays more because of lack of time, energy, and motivation since I’ve (mostly) been able to narrow down my primary interests (still have several of those though). Living kind of vicariously through watching those content creators doing way more in the hobbies I enjoy than I will ever do is mostly how I spend my free time and spare brain cells, you know?
But I am getting through a very long lasting mental health crisis (which I may be over the hump of the worst of now), and I’ve actually started to vaguely get the slight urge to actually DO something again from time to time. So that might be going in the right direction now, hopefully.
Thanks for checking in, and making me re-examine my state. Hope you can figure out your primary interests too, and get to hobbying at some point like I hope to as well!
@@bharl7226 Yep I relate a lot to what you've said, I have many interests and while I do have some hobbies, I'm not organized with them and I also want to do much more. Just like you, I do not have much energy or motivation to actually carry out the tasks a lot of the time. Or I start, then don't feel like continuing.
"Living kind of vicariously through watching these content creators doing way more in the hobbies I enjoy..."
I felt this in my soul💀😭 yep social media has helped on one hand cause we get access to people who can teach us all these things but on the other you can feel like "I'll never be as good/do as much" but I think it's important to just do stuff your way you know. Who cares if it isn't as good or as aesthetic or anything, as long as you're improving on your pace.
I'm glad to hear that you're getting better mentally, honestly that's the most important thing and I'm proud of you for getting through it. Putting our wellbeing first is crucial, it's okay if you don't get anything done as long as you're taking care of yourself.
Also, using hobbies as an outlet can be therapeutic so if you like you can pour what you're feeling/going through into something you're working on. I find that when I do that not only is it therapeutic but there's usually a flow to it, everything just comes out.
Thankyou, I hope you continue getting better and that you'll be able to find your way of doing what you love.
It helps if your hobbies overlap - photography or video filming are hobbies which will overlap into virtually any other hobby, photographing or filming the other hobby. Photograph your stamp collection, for example.
Also some hobbies are seasonal. If you dress-up and re-enact then that is a spring/summer/autumn hobby. A lot of re-enactors will wargame in the darker winter months as they cannot go out and do it for real.
Skiing is clearly a winter hobby, surfing is more of a summer hobby.
The trick is to make sure that you enjoy what you choose to do and to make sure that your most important hobby does NOT become 'time management' - juggling thousands of things and going all OCD with a clock just because you now have too many hobbies! :)
A good subject and well presented!
Barry
Struggled with this for years. My inherent laziness/inabilitt to focus combined with the sheer number of things I'm interested in - playing piano and guitar, woodworking, reading, movies, gaming, photography, fitness, etc - means I constantly feel guilty and frustrated at neglecting certain hobbies or failing to progress on others. I feel like my lifestyle means I should easily be able to support about four proper hobbies but I'm not there yet.
I forced myself into not getting more hobbies, I get obsessed with so many things which I stops me from getting laser focused in music(my favorite hobby)
My hobbies are:
-Playing instruments(electric guitar, ukulele)
-caring for plants
- caring for animals
-collecting stuff
-drawing
-gaming (on my switch)
(Is that too much?)
No, go for all of them. If you want more than that, go for them. What's wrong with that. Enjoy your life. It's short!
@@ryanbright7496 yess!! i like your energy
this is a lot like my hobbies! here’s the list of mine:
- drawing
- composing music
- playing instruments (piano, guitar, bass guitar)
- learning languages (japanese, chinese, french)
- watching anime
adding onto what ryan said, i think that combining hobbies does kinda work. guitar, ukulele and electric bass do have kind of similar skill sets. i use my playing instrument skills when composing music and i also use good anime drawings as references sometimes.
it just feels like there’s not enough time in the day to do all these things tho, i haven’t played electric bass in months and i draw so much less than i used to. i think there’s a way to learn all these things though.
do a small amount of a hobby every other day (like 30 mins bass every other day) and spend more time on hobbies that may relate to work or is a dream you have (composing music is related to school for me).
lol sorry i just kinda spouted all my planning onto here
That's a big problem for me too. And it's damn hard to just give up on something, to think of the opportunities you will be missing, of all the equipment that'll be sadly collecting dust around the house... Perhaps doing like you say is just the mature thing to do. I have way too many interests, but as the years go by and I find myself always scratching the surface and never getting actually good at something, the dissatisfaction begins to grow bigger and bigger
Really needed to hear this. I've been getting quite frustrated as of late trying to fit all i wnat to do around the kids and work etc...I think really I knew that I needed to cut down or focus on a single or maybe 2 hobbies but watching this has really made it hit home. Thanks :)
+jediellis78 I'm glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
Ran into a problem with this last night. d&d, 40k, shadowrun, work, sleep, shooting sports and family obligations.... need to narrow down my scope a bit...
tone down on family and sleep
Zandos Dwarf-King kinda hard to tone down past two hours a night. only see family once a week for a hour maybe... just going to have to drop a couple other things....
Ryan Coleman Family's a big deal mate.
or be okay with doing each hobby once a week
watching this video, and seeing that it was released 4 years ago. But for me, on this day, more relevant than ever and found the advice that i needed. Thank you for a timeless video!
Ugh, I’ve been dreading watching this because it’s so true. I’m guilty of having way too many interests and wanting to do it all and then reality hits me in the face every time.
For me it is also 2 + interests. I did notice, however, that when my hubby was away for work for an extended period, I could easily up that to 3 hobbies. I actually have three hobbies (miniatures, needlepoint & videogames), but I only spend time on two of them for any period...and that period could be years.
One thing not brought up is seasonal stuff. I LOVE to Golf, but of course, winter on the East Coast precludes me from getting out even to practice. It is certainly a hobby in the Summer, and since I love to be outdoors, things like painting and Wargaming take a back seat. I am also a musician first and foremost hobby wise. That I can do anytime though and I've been doing it so long, it is almost automatic and I can pick up my guitar and mess around anytime.
Nice vid as always! Thanks!
"A jack of all trades is sometimes better than a master of one" is the original quote. Also a jack of all trades does not necessarily mean that one cannot learn mastery of anything either! Some food for thought
Great vid as usual. I have too many hobbies. Tabletop wargaming, computers (linux, sys admin, coding etc.), firearms (that's a lot of cleaning and upkeep), videogaming (I try to stick to certain 5 or so games instead of play the next newest flavour of the month), reading, drawing, and masturbating. Eventually some become neglected and money is wasted on them or over time they become boring. I find it better to pick minimal things in life and become good at them instead of being a jack of all trades. Everybody can go from beginner to intermediate but then it's really interesting learning the slight nuances and climbing that steeper learning curve from intermediate to expert not many people dare to tread.
On second thought I don't think you can have too many hobbies unless like you said you lack free times that's for sure. it's really all subjective and up to you if you want to bounce around from thing to thing or stick with something and git gud. I tend to have more respect for the latter though.
I'm in between my final exams and leaving for University so I've got 24hrs of free time a day, still can't get every thing I want done.
I realized watching this that I kind of cycle between all my hobbies which I have quite a few. Since I mostly focus on east asian movies and have to wait a year or two for the new movies to be available, I end up having maybe a month or two every year when I watch a crazy amount of movies, write little reviews and go back to them to study them. Cinematography, soundtracks and general visual storytelling. My music hobby is always in the backround, sometimes more active on that, sometimes less.
I have many months when I focus largely on video games and music making/listening and then some months when I focus almost exclusively on wargaming stuff. Painting, watching videos and so on.
I think that cycling them works very well. Can't focus and enjoy everything at once so I guess my little brain noticed that I have to just put some hobbies on hold while others take over at times.
So during some months I wont shut about the latest shoegaze releases, the next I wont shut up about the Tau battlesuits I painted.
I guess it also makes the conversations with my friends a bit more interesting when its not always about one thing.
I gotta stop rambling. Interesting video as always! Definitely some good tips to keep in mind.
ProjectiluvOP Yeah that is exactly like me as well.
im the same. wargaming mostly in the cooler month's. still some in the summer but less painting and crafting. in warmer months motorcycles and fishing.
I haven't watched your video yet and can emphatically declare, YES. I have dozens of board games that I want to play but haven't in years, 100+ models I promise to paint, I have 2 Warmachine armies, a Hordes army, Imperial fists army, Ranger Batallion and Panzergrenadiers for Flames of War. I actively 90s card games like Jyhad and Mythos, Star Wars Armada and X-wing. And I play video games.
Also, I have a 4 year old and an infant, so the amount of time I actually get to play anything is limited to about 2 or 3 hours per week.
The rub is that, I want to play all of it, all the time. I can't just sell a game because I don't have time to play because they all mean something to me. My collection includes games I got as Christmas presents over 20 years ago (Hero Quest). Each game has memories attached to them.
This video, like many on this channel, is very helpful and relevant to my current situation. So, I’m consolidating my hobbies. One, toys. Specifically, Transformers, and I’ve started to sell off all the ones I have in boxes in me basement. I’ll never open them and they don’t really interest me any longer. They take up a ton of space in a house and if and when I display them I often need shelving which adds to the hobby expense. I also like to collect watches, ride motorcycles and read comics. Something has to give. I can’t do it all and I don’t want to anymore.
This right here is what I needed. I'm a multi hobby guy and have been for years. I have outdoor hobbies as well as indoor hobbies. Also photography here as well. I also have 2 RUclips Channels as well. This really helped put things into perspective of how to handle everything while working a 65+ hour work week. During the week I don't really have the time to do much if anything with the crafting, but with it being summer, I can get some stuff done on the outdoor side of things. Crafting usually takes place on the weekends where I can just slow down and relax at the table and just build what comes to mind.
On the crafting side of things I do displays, not dioramas, and recently got into wargaming. And this is a certain thing unto it's self, toss in the outdoor hobbies (Which I had first for some time) and things get mottled. But what all this brings me too is figuring out how to utilize my time for both sides of the spectrum. I could go on and on, but I don't think you want to read a book LOL.
Sage advice in this episode. Anybody who wants to excel at something, work related or not, has to isolate and focus their energy into that thing. No other way around it.
Good point differentiating hobbies from interests - something I needed clarity on.
I really liked the distinction between hobbies (things you want to get better at) and interests (things you simply enjoy). This really helped me weed out what hobbies I should demote to interests so I could dedicate more time on the hobbies.
I don’t know why I keep having more hobbies, interests or skills like I’m suddenly interested in doing things such as art, reading (I started doing art in April) dancing, photography, rollerblading, video editing and reading during my free time. I just wish I could have all the time in the world to do these things because whenever I do them, I get so happy and try to put it in my schedule everyday for myself but it’s too full lol. 😂
My hobby is learning! So I will just go around and pick up random hobbies, enjoy learning the basics, then jump onto another one. I will never master any, but I'm not interested in doing so. Never wanted to make money or prove myself... just relax :-)
Language learning, painting and sculpting minis, D&D, Starfinder, knitting, crochet, drawing comics, playing videogames, puzzles, DM'ing, reading, writing... I just decide on a project and go ahead! Especially if they are related (drawing -> sculpting -> painting minis -> DM'ing Starfinder!).
For me it's difficult to stick to one hobby, really. They come and go, and then come back in waves. It's always one thing at a time, and usually it's very intensive. For example now it's Warhammer: I binge watch your channel, finished painting one set of primaris intercessors and got some more minis to paint, reading lore, and trying to get as much info about the game itself as possible... It's going to pass, I'm going to lose interest and I know that and there's nothing I can do about it. I will jump to a next big thing, or come back to either electronics, aviation, airsoft, or medieval history. After two or three years I will be back, and the cycle will continue.
great video, I have been thinking the same thing for quite a while! I am interested in far too many things so improvement in one can be difficult. I think I'll get writing that list! Thanks for the help 👍
Thank you for this video, Atom. This has finally made me think about my hobbies and what I can cut back on, dedicate more time to, start dedicating time to, and how I'm going to approach my hobbies. The list idea was a great one, thanks!
Some hobbies are less time-intensive than others. For instance, re-enacting is intense occasionally, but not in general. Maybe a weekend a month over the summer. If you're going as a group then there's not much you can do to make it eat up more time.
My overly-large list of hobbies is as follows:
1: Piano. Ranges from a few hours a week to a few hours a day.2: Re-enacting, specifically 1812. A couple days a month in summer, half a day a month outside of that.
3: Wargaming. I could spend more time painting if I wanted to, but because there are no good shops near me, I mostly do this when my friends/family organise something.
4: Video Gaming. Can eat up as much time as I want. The same available time is spent on #5.
5: Anime/RUclips. Again, can eat as much time as I want. Uses the same time as #4. I will eventually run low on stuff, but that'll take many more years.
6: Fencing. Unless there's something else going on with it, I spend exactly 2 hours a week on it. Still getting better faster than the people who spend 4 hours on it.
I'd like to make 40k a replacement hobby for MTG because I don't like the direction the game is going in, and instead have MTG as a interest in which I occasionally come back into it (which I kinda already do, especially with Covid stopping in store play). I understand 40k is pricey but it seems to me there's a lot of one time investments and if you're smart you don't end up with a bunch of junk, with 6 years into MTG I have so many bulk cards from opening packs I almost want to throw them away just so I have more space. I also have a lot of the tools needed to get started like dice and a tape measure as well as a set of brushes I had from when I took a painting class in college. If there's another shutdown in my state and I end up out of work for awhile painting miniatures seems like a nice way to pass the time and try something new. Your channel has been really helpful in answering some of the questions I have as someone who's only experience with this hobby is lore videos and looking at GW products at my LGS.
the growing part is very important. I noticed I stopped 'growing' in my hobby... (I love doll custom/collecting). I need to narrow it down and focus on the quality rather than quantity ;) Your video is very helpful, thank you!
Great chat, thanks uncle Atom! I have multiple hobbies and interests and have a hard time getting any progress done in any of them. Besides wargaming and videogaming, I'm studying Spanish and Esperanto (and dabbling in half a dozen other languages), I'm trying to get into running for fitness, and I spend a lot of time thinking about electronics, computer science and programming. I play the piano, but really want to learn to play the double bass, and would also like to practice singing. I also want to get into spinning thread and weaving fabric and sewing clothes. Oh and it would be cool to start writing. I'm not asking for any particular advice here, I just wanted to share my situation haha. I'll try to divide these activities into hobbies and interests, and maybe put them on a rotating schedule.
Thank you for this video, I was searching for other peoples experiences with too many hobbies and yours helped me a lot. I knew I can't focus on every interest I have but I struggled with that for some time, because every interest seemed so important to me. Now I realized that some interests might be important from a logical perspective like health, sports etc. But it's actually not my focus right now and that's okay. I will focus on that when the time is right, because I already live pretty healthy and there's no force to do it. Hobbies should be fun and that's what I am keeping in mind from now on. Also I can still be interested in many things and don't have to cut them out of my life. I can still read books from time to time when I like to even though it's not my focus interest/hobby that I wanna get better on.
I love all sort of art, music, golf in the summer, ice skating and skiing in the winter, gaming and computers.
I have so many hobbies and interests... I just enjoy everything so much!! 😭 its a great problem to have though compared to other problems
I play two card games, collect figures, play rhythm and fighting games, watch anime, and decided to pick up the bass...I need to get myself under control tbh
I draw, play guitar and go to the gym, I haven't drawn or played guitar in a while but I've done both for to long to give them up, but I just struggle so hard with discipline and practice both alone with working and going to the gym
i too take the jack of all trades approach, i mix them up and often some hobbies are more seasonal.
I play a lot of Computer games, but in between rounds i have my bits box and craft mat to work on models. during the summer i do more H.E.M.A, hiking and cycling. winter is more computer games, i mix in my love for media production with any hobby. i also work in areas relating computer games and tabletop games and film production so hobbies and work over lap. also i'll sometimes sacrifice some work in order to commit to a hobby.
some times i do have blow out from burning the fuse at both ends, but i wouldn't have it any other way. if i dont keep busy in the past i've just festered and done nothing.
I personally find that 2 at one time is my limit too, and I have never thought of making videos for my channel as a separate hobby to wargaming tbh! :) Great video!
I have 9 hobbies: Mini wargaming -(7 different systems), Mountain Biking, Bonsai, Scale modeling, Movies, TV, Reading novels (been reading the first Gates of Antares novel this week)which I do Every day, Art (about to start a dog portrait) and My yard/gardens. And my Wife HATES me gaming, or anything to do with gaming. I game 5 times a month. Should I add watching Tabletop Minions? Great Show Uncle Atom, keep it up.
Hi Atom, Another fantastic concept video we if not all can relate to. I myself have two/three hobbies (tabletop wargaming , model railways and Airfix/Revell kits) plus demanding job and family obligations. So in past week as you had rightly pointed out/advised .. had to think what was more practical approach. So I have decided to drop two of them to be able to achieve healthy balance.
To be honest it was difficult and I really didn't want to but it's about doing the most constructive thing. Besides I can always go back to others at later stage/time .. when more free time permits.
Thank you Atom .. absolutely a Guru and A Legend 😎👍
Always look forward to your new videos and topics.
Hope you have a Great weekend. Dan 🙂👍
How did you find the emotional courage to decide what to cut? That's my problem
March 2019 just put my drones on the shelf to make room to paint miniatures. Spring is coming so here's hoping I have enough time for the two.
whenever i had a hobby i ended up getting bored with it. Have lots of interests and then when you get time pick what takes your fancy and chillout doing that. Then you can shelf it until next time.
Thank you very much for this video. Somehow that really takes pressure of my back a a selfemployed father, tabletop wargammer, video game player, IT tinkerer.... this list could go on....
Not in this particular hobby, but the video helped me quite a lot. Thank you!
I sat down and wrote a list. I have at least a DOZEN different hobbies I try and participate in at least a few times a year, from kayaking to model trains, hiking and HiFi audio, to cycling and disc golf! My problem is I stumble into random hobbies, then get fully sucked into that one hobby for about two or three months almost full-time. After said period, it gets recycled to the back of the line in my long list of other interests. I'm on like constant rotation of hobbies/interests at this point that I can never fully carry out my desire to do just one thing to the fullest potential. When I was younger I had one hobby and one hobby only that was my life, cycling, but now I've just acquired over a dozen various things that have sucked my time and interest up.
I'm honestly not even sure where to go from here...
I just watched a couple of videos similar to this and you really said what I needed to hear so thank you 😊
This video said exactly what I needed to hear. I have lots of interests which I have hard time balancing which interest to give my time to. You refreshed why I enjoyed tabletop war gaming as an interest not a full time hobby. forcing myself to spend all my time reading codex's, rules, and lore started to create a resentment in me towards 40k. I forgot to have fun with it as I did when it was just a once and awhile thing. Thanks you.
You have the ultimate voice for radio, you should make a hobby of that too! :D I love this channel simply for the quality of the work you do and the topics you pick.
Garth Ivers I agree with you on how his voice sounds like one you hear on a radio. It made me feel relaxed 😌
2 is my limit. Bicycling and Board Games/War Games. But when you are going to school grad school, life only lets you have 1 (sometimes 0) and that's for damn sure.
I have too many, but I am always creating so it's challenging not to ignore those ideas.
Wargaming, Comic book creation (writing/drawing), writing (I wrote a book and am working on short stories/episodic verse for I also write and draw for a literotica), creating my own table top war game (rules and lore), I used to do a vlog on YT, but got burned out. I also write and draw for a text based video game simulation style game, and just draw in general.
Family, blacksmithing, woodworking, boating, fishing, shooting, warhammer, x wing, modeling, writing, reading, making music, designing knives, gardening, hiking, camping, mountain biking, snowboarding, record collecting and a few more. Is that too many? I don't think so. My focus switches around but I enjoy doing a lot of different things. Following your ideas and adventures is where its at. Atom is always very thoughtful and makes great points but I guess we are renaissance people with restless genes.
The Wonderful world of chaos my hobbies include:
-.Watching and collecting films, saving film images.
-.Playing and collecting video games, saving video game images, creating video game content. (Fallout, Borderlands, Mass Effect, and Resident Evil.. could all be considered a hobby on their own as well.)
-.Watching wrestling, interacting on wrestling twitter, wrestling theme songs, wrestling images, wrestling figures, wrestling trading cards and games.
-.Marvel: Games movies comics.
-.Star Wars culture.
-.Watching the daily uploads from various channels on RUclips.
-.PC Building and tech.
-.Shopping for deals pertaining to the above hobbies
-.Rap music, both listening and creating.
-.Religion research.
-.Conspiracy theories.
-.Starting to get into cyberpunk stuff.
-.Sometimes enjoying podcasts and prank calls such as ownage pranks.
Narrowed it down into a list
1. Film
2. Collecting
3. Video Game culture
4. Wrestling Culture
5. Marvel Culture
6. Star Wars Culture
7. PC and Tech
8. Rap Culture
9. Cyberpunk
10. Prank Calls
Now to analyze and find what I really want to do with my life.
My life is also similar to yours
Amazin video, my main hobby is toy collecting I always discuss with othher hobbistics the need to focus on one line, motto or topic in your collection in order to do it correctly due the appropiate manage of your resources, as u said money, time, space, etc.
I think I'm at about a dozen hobbies so far, but then I have a lot of time. I tend to binge in my hobbies, I'll spend a month obsessed with one hobby then the next month I'll switch to another.
Tabletop wargaming (mainly the painting aspect, like certain games), video games, and re-watching the office.
Some hobbies are time hogs to get the full enjoyment out of them. Others you can get enjoyment out of without eating up all your time. I try to balance and remember it's all for my enjoyment and it's a win any time I do something I enjoy.
For me I realized this maybe 18 months ago and had to drop graffiti writing which saddens me to this day because I have two legal walls within walking distance and multiple art supply stores. It will take me yeas to get back to the level I was when I stopped so it will probably never happen. Oh well at least I'm building, painting and playing a lot of wargames.
My problems: too many hobbies, plus what I refer to as a "hobby pendulum". The pendulum swings and I engage ONLY in that hobby (often for years)...then it swings back and I only indulge in THAT hobby, etc. Problem then becomes "what I miss out on" when the pendulum isn't in that 'zone'. Many times I'll try to play 'catch up' but, let's face it...most cool hobby stuff ends up being somewhat limited in when it's available. Frustration builds. I also buy stuff for the hobby...then the pendulum swings and the stuff just sits there...again, often for years. I've managed now to cut down to two main hobbies but, alas, they are also the two most expensive of my hobbies. :/
Miniatures have taken time away from my previous hobbies. But I squeeze them all in: When a new video game comes out it takes precedence for a few weeks. Comics always get Wednesday or Thursday, depending on when I go to the comics shop. I find I've reduced Movie and TV time the most.
I think 2-4 not including your job is ideal. As you said, it also depends on how much free time you have and how much money you have to spend on your hobbies. One of my hobbies, writing, is free. Another of my hobbies, coin collecting, can be very expensive. I spend a lot of my money on coins but I don't regret anything.
This harsh reality slapped me in the face a few years ago, happy to say I kept wargaming as my main hobby. Great Video Adam, keep it up!
Oh my God, I came here looking for help with time management and am very happy with your love of quadcopters. I am a pilot and you don't see many people interested in racing drones!
My hobbies
- drawing
- playing my ukulele
- learning Spanish and Korean
- watching movies
- R E A D I N G
These are all time consuming ksvsksgsk school really isn't helping and life just be like do them all on the weekends, take it or leave it 👁👁
So I do photography and wargaming. Am I going to turn into you?
+Benjamin Powers Well, maybe. It depends if you start a RUclips channel or not. Thanks for watching!
+Benjamin Powers
Only if you three times in a row say "pachow!" :-)
Great Video and Topic. My list of hobbies are:
1/ Gaming
2/ Drawing
3/ Getting into learning and making music
For point 1 & 2 I do this through my RUclips channel which you could say is another hobby but for me its two birds one stone.
My new hobby is trying to learn and get into music mostly beat making and playing the piano.
I'm wanting to do all this whilst running my own company doing Architectural Design from my home office and soon to be a father!. Most months I have no time as priority comes 1st for paying the bills and taken care of my family.
For me it is a struggle to find time to do the three things I love to do. BUT when I am free man do I have a blast doing what I love!
drone racing is fun, just starting that hobby too!
I've recently had to do a lot of thinking about this myself.
Between wargaming, D&D, crafting, my band, learning Italian, studying my masters, and going to the gym, I don't seem to have enough time to eat :-p
Man, this hit home. Thanks!!
Oh, there is no question that I have too many hobbies. I am starting to find balance in them, which fortunately some are seasonal (eg gardening, which in Alberta is very much a limmitted amount of the year). I have started to get into semi passive hobbies, eg mead making, which takes spurts of time, and then waiting. I do try to combine hobbies, to varrious effect. Camping and shooting on crown land works great, gardening and wargaming less so, though it is fun to think about having bonsai trees on the tabletop. However pregnant wife indicates I am going to have to give some up soon.
Thank you. I really needed this talk.
I don't know if all of the things I try to do count as hobbies, but I'm trying to balance everything I want to do at this age
I tend to have many hobbies that I periodically rotate through, usually obsessing about one at a time. I was raised in a family of people with multiple, passionate hobbies so I guess it's hardly surprising. I've come to terms with my nature, though, and I really don't mind my shifting obsessions. I've learned to avoid hobbies that involve teams or other commitments to people, though, as it sucks to force yourself through something you aren't feeling or to let friends down.
Can you elaborate on the multi talented family? I'm curious to know... And also on how they mastered to keep multiple things going. My problem then is how to find the emotional courage to cut something from the list...
Great video Adam. I thought that I was the only one struggling with these concept. I am a musician/teacher. Practicing instruments and composing take most of my time.
On top of that, I recently started my masters in Caribbean history. Now I am reading, writing and doing research for my thesis. So that takes even more of my hobby time. I also read comics and books.
I no longer read fiction per say. When I paint, I put an audio book and that's how I can kill two birds with one stone so to speak.
I decided to quit video games and stick with wargaming. I found out that time is extremely limited and wargaming is definitely more rewarding than playing video games.
Cool, thanks for sharing. And first time I hear such a thing as Caribbean History :-) I'm fascinated by pirates and Latin America in general (recent but growing thing) so I was curious to hear your words about this. I also decided I want to become good and grow into Music, so I was curious to hear to you if you have anything to tell also on this :-)
I find my hobbies come in phases. For a while I'll be really into MTG or other card games, then cool off on them and focus on Wargaming, then I switch to Writing or Board Games before finding myself back at card games. I do try to keep up with news or related things in hobbies that are currently on hiatus though. So when I am into card games I might make sure I have a Black Library novel to read before bed every night, or when I am Wargaming a lot I will write some fiction about my armies to keep the writing skills sharp .Video games are probably the only hobby that stays pretty much constant.
Interesting the writing part on your armies to conjugate your hobbies... Thanks for sharing!
Great video! I am trying to narrow my focus down to miniatures and personal programming projects. But, as you astutely discussed in another video, it is hard not to get sucked in by the easier "interests" such as video games after a long day at work/responsibilities.
Thanks for sharing your hobbies! Appreciate it!
You can have multiple hobbies, you just don't have to do them all at the same time.
I have multiple, I just switch between them - essentially, hobby rotation. Stops any one of them getting "Stale" or you getting burnout on any one of them.
My Hobbies - Sketching, Acting, Boxing, Cinematography, Script-Writing, Story- Writing, Direction, Architecture ...
I watch your channel a lot. I'm not particularly inclined to painting or spending lots of money, so I never really got into 40k. I do enjoy listening to your channel for the meta insights.
I have only 1 hobby- AoS.
Then, there are RPGs, but its not hobby. Its much, much more, a life long passion.
I mainly play video games, but now I'm getting the urge to build and paint miniatures. o.O
Easy, yes you can. I struggle to divide my time between the following. Electronics, specifically making synthesisers. Making music, electronic and non electronic. Mini painting. Board games. Software engineering. Gardening. Science. I was fortunate enough to get a job doing 2 of those things so time management has been easier for me. Board games is something me and the wife do together, making music i just dabble in if i have a spare evening, electronics snd software engineering is my job and my main hobby i do at home. Mini painting is what i do between electronics projects before i decide whats next.
Cool, thanks for sharing! How does making synth work?
Great video. As others have said, you probably put light on exactly what I needed to say, simple but presented well. Also reading all the comments was very useful. But my dilemma might be
"how to find the emotional courage to cut minor hobbies and interests in order to be able to feed properly the main Hobbies?" 😥😥😥
Great episode, Uncle Atom! Even in this one hobby, I frequently feel that there's never enough time to get done all the things I want to do! I take comissions, so volume is part of the equation, but I definitely felt your message today. ^_^
~ Wolfbrother Methos
I'm trying to figure out a blance between gaming on my computer, Magic the Gathering, and now Warhammer 40k. My problem is money.
Dude i have the EXACT same problem
If they overlap that's good, model making, designing, painting and gaming
Mine appear to be 1)sleeping, and 2)imagining I'm affluent (aka - daydreaming). And I got to say I'm dang good at sleeping!!!! Bordering on genius level there.
As of late, this has been something that has been gnawing at me, and when it gets to hobbies, it's really easy-at least for me-to think to myself that I can squeeze it.But, as you said, there are only 24 hours in a day. I think a lot of this goes with the "Hobby Hoarding" bit that you've done. "I can't play, but I can buy!"
So, I would really love to get more into photography but I also dabble in music production, making beats etc I want to excel in both but I know they are both vast areas too huge to explore both at once - I also have to consider work, family, social life etc.. I just don't know what to do :( Is it possible to balance the two????
Completely agree with this. My main hobbies are video games/and the hobby side of wargaming/miniatures (don't care for playing unless it's Blood Bowl).
Things like graphic novels I relegated to an interest by choosing to read certain titles when they get released as paperbacks. I make lists of shows I want to watch and then choose a day to binge a certain show etc
My biggest problems come from my personality. i honestly cant do a casual hobby, i need to go all in.
Right now it's:
D&D (recently with painting)
Knives
Photography
VideoGaming
meanwhile i have a law degree to acquire and i always have a shortage of time
Great, thought provoking video segment. I've been struggling with this for a while now. I think this video will spur me to take a harder look at streamlining things down to 2. Thanks!
I remember times where I consciously decided to quit some hobbies for a while to refocus my time for other hobbies. I quit 40k right before college to eventually get into LARP and used the crafty skills I learned to make props. I also got more into MtG during college, but quit when I finished my degree to get back into wargaming.
I focus on 2 hobbies. Music and Mini war gaming. I have an interest in comics and related tv and movies. I've had to cut out some of the comics and conventions due to costs and time. Music has been a focus again the last 4 years, actually its a small business again after about 5 years in hobby status. Mini war gaming has been on the back burner for the last few years. I have occasionally made time to paint a squad or finish painting some terrain or buildings. I have collected quite a few games and miniatures in that time. I have a life time of projects. After finishing the record I'm working on , I want to finish my ADEPTUS SORORITAS army for 40K. I just finished building and priming a RUNEWARS core set I want to speed paint over the next week or so.
Came across this video and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. I have a bunch of stuff I enjoy doing but my main hobbies are probably videogames, paintball and grilling/smoking.
I have a lot of hobbies. I switch to another hobby when I really really want to do that hobby. I try to stay in the hobby I did before as long as I can, but when the pressure gets high enough I switch. I have hobbies that have been in a sleeping state for years. Suddenly one of these come alive and I switch to that one. I have to reread about it to get in to it again. But the most important part is to have fun, I think. Some hobbies is near each other others is totally different. For example I see programming in one language as one hobby and programming in another language as another hobby. I play tabletop rpgs and that are hobbies that are different from the programming hobbies.