Hobby? What is that? Who has time and money for hobby? I assume this the first thought that came into your mind when you first saw the title. Seriously, nowadays all of us are unbearable busy. Engulfed in a tornado of incoming e-mails, professional liabilities, home maintenance, growing children and so many more, it is difficult to spare some time for something creative and enjoyable. Right?

      But it wasn’t always like that…….. If we go back in time we will see that in the near past we had free time and we spend it in a pleasant way. What then happened and how this has changed? The truth is that it hasn’t changed so much. Even today we have free time, but we waste it thinking that we are busy with something.  Facebook, social media, email, TV zapping, just pick your own ΄΄poison΄΄. Most probably when you wake up in the morning you don’t plan to spend such a valuable time of your day in social media or TV but it usually………happens.

      Actually this is the time which you best use doing something productive for yourself. I am ΄΄too busy΄΄ or I am ΄΄on the run΄΄ is something like an emblem of honor in modern times, like being a proof of virtue and importance.

      We have done everything needed to convince ourselves how super busy we are and that is a perfectly normal situation! Don’t fall in. You do have time for a hobby or maybe two, and you need them immediately. Here is why:

      Hobbies help organize time

      According to Parkinson’s  law, ΄΄work time extends as needed in order to fill the time necessary for its completion΄΄. In simple words every kind of work tends to take away all the available time you have. But if you have planed that in the afternoon you have to complete the servo installation of your new pride and joy, then most probably you will end your day΄s work in time.       

      Hobbies promote time flow

      Maybe the easy way for our free time is something static such as Internet or TV, but nevertheless action is what revives us. If for moment you have been drown away by a sport, a work of art or some other kind of activity, then you have experienced the ΄΄flow΄΄. Time passes by fast, the personality goes to the background and you find yourself totally immersed in the activity. Hobbies and especially the ones that sharpen our abilities, promote the euphoric state of our existence.

      New social contacts are favored

      Some hobbies are for lonely people, but most of them (like aeromodelling) help us socialize. We meet totally unknown people, with whom we immediately communicate, because we share the same interests. Countless researches have proved that social contacts are the basic element of happiness and of a purposeful life.   

      Fight the stress

      Imagine one of this ΄΄bad΄΄ days in office where everything went wrong despite your efforts. If returning back home TV is your only option, don’t expect to lift you morale! Imagine now after the end of such a working day to deal with your favorite model. It would make much of a difference wouldn’t it?    

      Improve your self–esteem

      Following the previous example, imagine how much more pleasantly you would spend your free time dealing with your hobby after work hours, with your identity not limited to an employee who has just been reproached. The impact to your personality will not be so severe.

      Benefits are ΄΄transmitted΄΄ to all aspects of your life.

      Dedicate an amount of hours every week to a hobby that inspires and revives you, and you will be amazed to realize that a part of your enthusiasm and good mood will be transmitted to professional, family and social life. It is more than certain! So what are you going to choose as a hobby? All answers accepted, except ΄΄ maybe sometime when children will grow up, or when I will be pensioner΄΄…….