Hands Aren’t Just for Mashing Keyboards – A Case for Picking Up a New Hobby

As a full-service marketing agency, HCK2 is filled with knowledge workers. We communicate news and information in a variety of ways, whether through press releases, brochures, or websites, we thrive on developing creative ways to convey that information. However, this idea is intangible, and at times there can be a feeling of disconnect between the creator and the product, especially when the product only exists in a digital space. As an avid hobbyist, I want to make the case for building something tangible, with your hands, as a way to balance your creativity and hopefully lead you to a happier life.

Let’s face it, we spend most of our days typing, clicking and looking at the results being displayed on a screen. I’m doing it right now, as I write this blog post. I could open up Illustrator and design a logo, or a text editor and write code that creates one of our many wonderful websites, but the fact remains that this will exist as zeroes and ones in my computer’s hard drive. Even if I printed something out, I didn’t physically make it, the printer did, and there is still very little interaction with the result. I feel like there is something to be said about physically making items, and this is where having a hobby can help scratch that itch.

Making something with your hands can exercise a different part of your brain, as well as become a great stress reliever. Instead of forcing your mind to think about a solution to the problem, you can let your hands do the work and your mind gets to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Mistakes will be made, and that’s okay! That can be part of the fun. This is your hobby that you get to enjoy in whatever manner you see fit. You could get a knife and start making wooden spoons from found branches and be completely satisfied in how uneven they all come out, because you made them, and can hold and use them.  Or, get a small potted plant and do your best to keep it alive and healthy, keep it trimmed, get dirt on your hands when it needs to be repotted and enjoy seeing it grow over time. There are a myriad of activities that you can choose from, and they all have merit.

Unfortunately, choosing a hobby can be the hardest part of it all. Looking to your friends and co-workers, maybe even clients, can be a great place to start. Ask what kinds of activities they enjoy and they will without a doubt tell you everything you need to know and how to get started. You can join them in their activity and it will be a great way to strengthen that relationship on top of experiencing that hobby. There are also many available ideas and projects online, with plenty of step-by-step tutorials. Make Magazine and Instructables are both good places to start. If something catches your eye, YouTube searches can help formulate ideas or connect you to a community that shares your interest.

So get out there and start making! You never know, it could be very rewarding, because isn’t everyone’s goal in life to be happy? When we are happy, all facets of our life get better. At HCK2, we push for work/life balance, and I believe having a hobby can tip the scales, help achieve that balance and lead you towards a fulfilling life.