I have a very packed schedule, but i feel like there's something substancial lacking since i don't really pursue a hobby passionatedly. I'm afraid it will consime too much energy, time and money and will upset my carefully balanced life. Am i being an avoidant bitch, searching for excuses?
Bump with pic of strange hobbie
>>17230425
Do you actually want to pursue a hobby passionately, or do you just feel like you're supposed to? It's okay to just do a hobby casually if that's all you want.
But if you honestly feel like you're not getting enough recreational time, you need to start making plans to get that time for yourself - if not now, then soon. All work and no play leads to burnout, and burnout is extremely hard to recover from.
Are you working? Going to school? Any kids?
>>17230731
I do have a lot of interests, but they all get burried under responsibilities. I do wish i had more time to get lost in an avtivitie i do "just because". But i feel like that would fuck me over big time since i need every moment to stay ahead with stuff.
Yes, i have a kid who's 5, i work, i have a household to do all on my own, i try to squeeze in exercise and social interactions (started dating again half a year ago and i'm very much a family person, i feel like i don't see my family nearly enough, and then there are also friends i desperately want/need to catch up with). I'm preparing to move atm and i plan to go back to school. It's a lot. But it works. If i don't also take time out "just for me". But i feel like that's a disaster waiting to happen. I just don't know what of those things i could cut down on. It's all important af...
>>17230753
Yeah you do have a lot on your plate. My apologies if you've already thought of this, but: how many of your friends and relatives live within close driving distance? How much are you enlisting help from them? Is there any way you could do more of that? (i.e. swap off on watching each other's kids, exercising with a friend to combine fitness time and social time)
Honestly you sound like you're run so ragged already that you're having trouble prioritizing. It sounds like you're perpetually in rush mode, which makes it really hard to think beyond "oh god I have to do this and this and this." Of course all these things are important, but you need to start considering them in terms of
>importance - kid comes first, job would be a very close second
>why they are important to you
>how much time they take - e.g. as your kid gets older they'll be able to help w/ chores more
>how long they will be a factor - e.g. the move should be over with soon
Take half an hour here and there over the next couple weeks and work on that. Write it down too, list all the stuff in your life and make notes by each thing so you can look at it and think about it in a different perspective.
I don't know what the best solution is for you, but I can tell you from experience that no situation will stay stable, no matter what you do. If you are already spinning the maximum number of plates you can handle, then as soon as anything goes awry in your life - you get sick, your employer lays everybody off, whatever - one or more of those plates is going to fall. And it will happen. So start figuring out now which of those plates would cause the least problems if it fell, and either eliminate it completely or stop worrying about whether it falls or not. Then use those resources for a hobby instead. You might actually find it easier balancing the other things if you have more relaxation time.
Hope this helps, I am not a parent but I know what it's like to be overscheduled. Burnout is bad mkay.
Start going to yoga classes. Might go to one today. That or get drunk soon.
>>17230879
Samefagging briefly so I can add:
>So start figuring out now which of those plates would cause the least problems if it fell, and either eliminate it completely or stop worrying about whether it falls or not.
This is hard as hell if you have a highly-developed sense of responsibility. It does suck and there's always the worry that you'll lose something important. But the idea of doing it sucks more than actually doing it. Usually once you've done it you just feel relief. Maybe a twinge of regret, but mostly relief.
