Day 2783 - Do you have a hobby?
Aging Positively Business family Weekend Work from homeWhat is a hobby?
According to the dictionary a hobby is "an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure".
This is where I get confused as to whether or not I actually have any hobbies. Or if perhaps my life is one big hobby!
Back in the old days when I trundled off to work everyday at the Department of Agriculture it would be easy for me to define my hobbies and my leisure time. A hobby would be anything I was doing that brought me joy outside of those clearly defined work hours. Technically speaking the family stuff doesn't count. Being with your kids is called being a parent, not a hobby. So back then I would have listed stuff like reading, doing crosswords and creating photo albums of our adventures as my hobbies.
These days it's harder. There are no clear lines between my "work" and my "pleasure". Time all rolls into one. Everything I do is usually because I enjoy it.
For the purposes of the tax department, my consultancy business is loosely defined by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science as a hobby based business. Which basically means it's small and something I do for my own personal enjoyment and satisfaction, I don't earn big wads of money from it and I do it in my own time and only when people contact me. I don't race out there looking for clients. A hobby ✅
When it comes to my children's book series I guess that is much more than a hobby. I have invested a great deal of time, money and energy into Cheer Chick Charlie. I do the taxes and there's a profit and loss trail. While I love it, according to the Government it's a business. Not a hobby ❎
As for blogging I would definitely define that as a hobby. I do it regularly in my "leisure time" and the only reason I write most days is because I love it. I choose not to make money from my blogging. A hobby ✅
When it comes to my volunteer work, do I class that as a hobby? Hmmm. It's what I do to ensure I'm actively involved with my community. I do it to give back. While I do it regularly it's not necessarily done in my "leisure time". In fact, it eats into my leisure time. But it does bring me satisfaction. Not a hobby ❎
Yesterday I took the day off from being an adult. Other than a few household chores, helping kids with homework and a quick walk, I bummed around the house all day in my Ugg boots. It would have been the perfect time to indulge in a hobby.
That's when I realised I don't have any traditional hobbies.
I don't like to garden.
I don't cook for pleasure.
I don't knit.
I don't sew.
I don't play chess.
I don't go dancing,
I'm not much of a bush walker.
I don't watch birds.
I don't play guitar.
I don't colour.
I read and I write and I communicate with people. Then when it's all done I watch TV and hang with my family. That's what I do.
Could it be that my life is one big hobby?
Or don't I have any hobbies at all?
At what point do hobbies stop being hobbies and just become "life"?
According to the dictionary a hobby is "an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure".
This is where I get confused as to whether or not I actually have any hobbies. Or if perhaps my life is one big hobby!
Back in the old days when I trundled off to work everyday at the Department of Agriculture it would be easy for me to define my hobbies and my leisure time. A hobby would be anything I was doing that brought me joy outside of those clearly defined work hours. Technically speaking the family stuff doesn't count. Being with your kids is called being a parent, not a hobby. So back then I would have listed stuff like reading, doing crosswords and creating photo albums of our adventures as my hobbies.
These days it's harder. There are no clear lines between my "work" and my "pleasure". Time all rolls into one. Everything I do is usually because I enjoy it.
For the purposes of the tax department, my consultancy business is loosely defined by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science as a hobby based business. Which basically means it's small and something I do for my own personal enjoyment and satisfaction, I don't earn big wads of money from it and I do it in my own time and only when people contact me. I don't race out there looking for clients. A hobby ✅
When it comes to my children's book series I guess that is much more than a hobby. I have invested a great deal of time, money and energy into Cheer Chick Charlie. I do the taxes and there's a profit and loss trail. While I love it, according to the Government it's a business. Not a hobby ❎
As for blogging I would definitely define that as a hobby. I do it regularly in my "leisure time" and the only reason I write most days is because I love it. I choose not to make money from my blogging. A hobby ✅
When it comes to my volunteer work, do I class that as a hobby? Hmmm. It's what I do to ensure I'm actively involved with my community. I do it to give back. While I do it regularly it's not necessarily done in my "leisure time". In fact, it eats into my leisure time. But it does bring me satisfaction. Not a hobby ❎
Yesterday I took the day off from being an adult. Other than a few household chores, helping kids with homework and a quick walk, I bummed around the house all day in my Ugg boots. It would have been the perfect time to indulge in a hobby.
That's when I realised I don't have any traditional hobbies.
I don't like to garden.
I don't cook for pleasure.
I don't knit.
I don't sew.
I don't play chess.
I don't go dancing,
I'm not much of a bush walker.
I don't watch birds.
I don't play guitar.
I don't colour.
I read and I write and I communicate with people. Then when it's all done I watch TV and hang with my family. That's what I do.
Could it be that my life is one big hobby?
Or don't I have any hobbies at all?
At what point do hobbies stop being hobbies and just become "life"?
