It may not always be the first question you think to ask yourself when you want to turbo charge your productivity, but bare with me. Let’s take a look at what happens when you divert your attention from work and try something new and exciting every now and again…
A Change is as Good as a Rest
The thing about these old adages is that they all have an element of truth in them. By taking a rest from your work you give your brain a chance to rest and the ideas you’re formulating get some much needed processing time in your subconscious. This all helps you achieve those Eureka! moments when a great idea seems to pop into your head as if by magic.
Loads of us end up watching Netflix or playing on our phones when we need a rest, but these kinds of activities are fairly passive and don’t really give your brain what it needs to be at its best tomorrow. A new hobby might just give your mind the change it needs…
Think Outside the Box
Your hobby doesn’t have to be something related to work; it doesn’t even have to have any vague association with it. In fact, picking something completely unrelated is a great way to leave the stresses and strains of work behind by getting your brain to think in a completely different way. The main thing to remember here is that your hobby should be fun and you should enjoy it first and foremost. From that everything else will follow.
Choosing Your New Hobby
This section is a little tricky to write because we’re all different. Perhaps you have a sporting event that you’ve always wanted to enter, maybe you want to learn a language, or play an instrument. You know yourself better than anyone and there’s no right or wrong answer here folks. Pick something that you realistically have the time to do at least a couple of times a week, and ease yourself into it gradually.
If you dive in with both feet and dedicate every moment of your free time to your new pastime then the chances are you’ll soon view it as another task on your to-do list and start to grow tired of it. Build up slowly and enjoy it for what it is.
How to View Your Hobby
We all know those people at work who will tell you that you have to work every waking moment if you want to be successful. If you fall into that camp yourself then the chances are you’re going to disregard a lot of what you’ve read here, but think about this:
You can view your hobby as a form of cross-training. This is a term used in sports where athletes participate in a different sport a couple times a week to use their muscles in a different way. Your hobby could be the perfect way to cross-train for success in the world of work.
Sounds like food for thought doesn’t it?