Welcome to Happy on Purpose, a bestselling newsletter about happiness, habits, and midlife. Tap the ❤️ button to spread the joy!
Would you believe me if I told you there’s one happiness habit proven to help you make and deepen friendships, reduce stress, live longer, stave off dementia, and improve your health and overall life satisfaction?
There is: it's having a hobby.
A 2023 study of 93,000 people across 16 countries found that those with hobbies report better health, more happiness, fewer depression symptoms, and higher life satisfaction. The findings were consistent regardless of which hobby people chose, or where in the world they lived.
Scientists who study “flow state” have found that the absorption of a good hobby is one of the most reliable ways to crowd out stress and anxiety in real time—just six minutes of reading reduces stress by 68%.
Along with reading, dancing, gardening, and creative pursuits like painting and knitting have the strongest evidence for reducing stress, improving cognitive health, and cutting dementia risk: a Mayo Clinic study found that artistic hobbies alone reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment by 73%.
Tennis has been shown to extend life expectancy by nearly 10 years, more than any other sport studied, including swimming and jogging. Harvard researchers think it’s because tennis uniquely combines physical exertion, cognitive challenge, and social connection.
Many hobbies provide exactly the conditions that adult friendships need but rarely get—a structured setting, a recurring reason to show up, and often, something to do with your hands so conversation doesn’t feel forced! Research on friendship consistently finds that repeated, low-pressure contact is how closeness develops.
Marina Cooley, an Emory Business Professor and former management consultant who writes about nudging our culture away from overworking, overparenting, and overconsuming at her newsletter, Prof Off Duty, is a hobby evangelist who’s convinced that hobbies are the missing piece in reclaiming joy and building a life worth living.
Here’s Marina on how and why to make time for hobbies in an already full life…
All too often, I hear from my former students or community members that they’re experiencing burnout. They tell me that as soon as they find balance at work, they will get a hobby.
Unfortunately, balance doesn’t work like that. It’s not a shiny pebble you find on your way to work.
If you want balance, the secret is to get a hobby. You’ll naturally be forced to define your boundaries: as a worker, as a parent, and as an individual. Having a hobby gives you the third identity you need to buffer against the many curveballs life throws at us.
How to make time.
The average American spends 2 hours and 20 minutes on social media every day. Reduce scrolling (duh!).
If your household is comprised of two adults, trade off evening childcare duties with your partner. In my house, I have Monday tennis league; my husband has Tuesdays.
Cut back on beauty appointments (manicures, lashes, tans, etc.); dedicate those hours to hobbies instead.
Look for a hobby that is the opposite of your work.
You must find relief in your hobby so that your brain, heart, and soul disconnect from duty and responsibility. A few examples:
If your day revolves around metrics (revenue, productivity, follower counts), choose a hobby without rankings. Try: playing an instrument, sketching, journaling, photography, book club, or gardening.
If your work is digital, choose a hobby where you make something tangible. Try: knitting, woodworking, pottery, baking, puzzles, Lego, and home DIY.
If your work demands precision, choose a hobby where you’re forced to be imperfect. Try: beginner dance classes, learning a new language, improv, choir, or watercoloring.
Almost anything can be a hobby!
As a mother of two young kids, one of the most triggering questions in my life is, “What are we eating?” For me, anything in the kitchen is considered work. But for others, cooking and baking are hobbies!
Once I realized that one person’s work is another person’s hobby, I became much more flexible about what I considered a hobby. I almost always have a DIY project going, and I often take a 20-minute break to “hobby” in the middle of the workday. Making something with my hands is an amazing reset from the cognitively demanding tasks that comprise the bulk of my job.
Thank you, Marina, for your inspiring, practical advice! You can follow Marina on Instagram or subscribe to her newsletter, Prof Off Duty, here.
The best hobby is, of course, the one you’ll actually do. If you’re in search of a new hobby, here are 101 ideas, from A to Z!
A Acrylic painting, antiquing, astrology
B Baking, beekeeping, bicycling, birdwatching, blogging, boating, book club
C Cake decorating, calligraphy, ceramics, comedy, cooking, crocheting
D Dancing, decoupage, dog breeding/training, drawing
E Egg decorating, embroidery, enameling, equestrian
F Film photography, floral pressing, flower arranging, foraging
G Gardening, genealogy, golf, grilling
H Hiking, hockey, home brewing, horseback riding
I Ice sculpting, ice-skating, interior decorating
J Jewelry making, joke-telling, journaling
K Karaoke, kayaking, knitting
L Languages, linocutting/printing
M Macramé, magic, mahjong, meditation, music
N Nature photography, needlepoint
O Oil painting, origami
P Padel, photography, pickleball, pilates, platform tennis, podcasting, pottery
R Reading, recipe development, running
S Scrapbooking, sewing, singing, sketching, skiing, soccer, stand-up comedy, stand-up paddleboarding, swimming
T Tai chi, tennis, traveling, tubing
U Ukulele, upcycling furniture, urban sketching
V Video editing, video gaming, volleyball, volunteering
W Walking, watercoloring, waterskiing, wine tasting, writing
X Xeriscaping, xylophone
Y Yarn dyeing, yoga
Z Zentangle, zine-making, Zumba
🎾Here’s something fun for avid tennis players: what’s your tennis personality?!
It’s a 2-minute quiz that tells you if you’re a Strategist, Baseliner, Poacher, Returner, or Social Ace, and gives you reading suggestions and strategy ideas!
I’m a Poacher!😉
A very warm welcome to the 1,336 new readers who joined our warm, thoughtful crew over the last month: there are now 16,000 Happy on Purpose readers!
Congratulations to Erin G. who won last week’s very special giveaway in partnership with Wild Plum Books: 5 books, a gorgeous Liberty notebook, and a set of Japanese watercolors.
P.S.:🎾Tennis lovers: you may like my other free newsletter, Tennisette, for the stylish tennis player! Subscribe to receive every weekly issue.🏆
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