In Defense of Hobbies over Side Hustles - All the Health & Wellbeing Benefits

Have you ever noticed that a lot of C-suite folks and entrepreneurs also happen to do weirdly involved physical sports?

Marathons, ironmans, triathalons, sailing…

No? Just me?!

When I first launched my coaching business back in 2021, it was after a year of becoming a first-time parent (during a global pandemic), and I had taken up running - for the 6th time. My boo-thang had run multiple half-marathons that I cheered from the sidelines in Coney Island eating hot dogs.

I had asked him to help me start running. In the movies, the books, the leaders around me - it seemed like this hidden, secret, beautiful thing. Waking up on a slow weekend, grabbing your shoes - hitting the pavement. They assured me it was meditative - a moment to think outside of your thoughts.

In reality? It was my brain swirling down a drain while my chest screamed in discomfort, my blood pounding loudly in my ears, and those pilates-class legs were exhausted. Every few steps my whole being kept shouting at me, “What the hell are you running from?!”

I would give up on running every time.

But something changed in 2021.

I was a new mom and understood that patience was a wildly helpful trait.

I had a business and realized time away from a screen gave me space to noodle on the bigger questions and find inspiration.

I was in the middle of a pandemic in NYC - no one cared how fast I was going or if I was walking.

My entire approach shifted around it. As a type-A-adjacent human with some perfectionism traits, I was SO frustrated that I couldn’t go from couch-to-marathon in one session. My ego had been massive - and in my way from making moves.

Once I realized:

• Patient continued progress created continued progress

• A run still counts even if there’s walking

• No one is keeping track

It opened all the way up. Suddenly I was running - very slowly, and not always all at once - and I was enjoying being terrible at something - and, working through the emotions of what it was like to not be instantly good at something. And is a 12 minute mile terrible? Or is it still a mile who the fuck cares?! (Shout out Slow Girl Run Club who fully gets it)

Enter Angela Duckworth’s book Grit and her One Hard Thing.

Grit is all about discovering that it’s less about talent, more about tenacity. And, one of the BEST ways to do that is to having something you’re doing on the side!

Duckworth makes her kiddos choose One Hard Thing - and a timeline. Something that they don’t know how to do, something that might be tricky to them - and to commit to the discomfort for a period of time.

Having a One Hard Thing is amazing:

• It’s a place to make safe mistakes - who cares if that ceramic pot busted in the kiln? Your KPIs aren’t tied to it!

• It’s an area to see progress without an aggressive timeline - who cares if you walked some of your 5K? You made it to 5K! It doesn’t matter when, how, or where it occurred?

• It’s an opportunity to nurture candid curiosity - why does the subjunctive exist in Spanish? And how do we use it

• It creates a-ha moments - while your body is learning those complicated dance moves, your brain is thinking about that new business pitch

And I’ll take it a step further.

Swap One Hard Thing - that already is exhausting you - and flip it to HAVING A HOBBY.

In a word where we’re optimizing hobbies into side hustles, it’s almost revolutionary to have a little hobby.

I’m here to press upon all of us:

There’s massive benefit in having hobbies that are just for FUN

• They’re a space to stay challenged

• To sit in the discomfort of not being good at something

• Of moving forward and backward in progress

• Of taking risks that don’t feel so terrifying

• Or celebrating the moments where you feel like you figured something out

And all of this helps train your brain to navigate discomfort in work. Suddenly that new business pitch isn’t the end of your career - it’s an opportunity to thoughtfully try something, and discover what works. Messing up on the improv stage helps work through anxiety of failing an interview - which makes it easier to do your next interview!

In work, so often we don’t have super clear results, distinct timelines, paths to progress.

And in hobbies - sometimes they can show us progression, and, they can also show us that progression isn’t the only thing to measure yourself on.

The data agrees HOBBIES ARE AWESOME:

• Having a hobby leads to better wellbeing & greater happiness - via a Harvard article on a 2023 study

• Enjoying leisure activities means better mental health - and better physical health - in a 2010 Pittsburgh study

• You might live longer - from National Geographic

So like… If you’re reading this and saying, HOLY SHIT RIKKI WHEN DO YOU THINK I HAVE TIME FOR A HOBBY?!

I have two quick activities for you:

Back to School Activity

Step 1: Think about your favorite activities as a kid; soccer, painting, dance?

Step 2: Research potential classes to sign up for - your local studio, high school, community college or town rec center has one - I promise

Step 3: Put them in your calendar - don’t forget to block off your travel time - realize that this helps you actually leave work at a resonable hour!

Retirement-Ready Activity

Step 1: Consider what you would do all day if you were retired; reading, drawing, working on your memoir?

Step 2: Open up your phone and check your screen time. How much of your time are you spending on reddit? Tell the truth. What if only 10% of that time was shifted towards something that you value more?! Download a tool to stop your screentime: I use ScreenZen, or maybe you like Brick? Or just go analog and leave your phone in another room?

Step 3: Do your writing, volunteering, etc instead of your screen time

Oh! And a secret hot tip about taking classes for your hobbies? It makes it EASIER to set boundaries with your work schedule, family and friends - it’s not, “oh I need reading time” - it’s oh! I’m taking a fiction-writing class!

You’ll maybe make some new friends, screw something up and learn something new!

FYI: Most of my clients DO take up a One Hard Thing while they’re working with me. Trying to jockey for that promotion? Prepare that pitch deck for investors? Apply for yet another role? It helps to have something else going on in your life that let’s you stay focused. They’ve done jiu-jitsui, sailing, ukelele, ceramics, learning a new language, writing classes, volunteering, painting, the art of dorodango, and more.

What hobby are you picking up?

Remember - all the hobby has to do is like… be fun for you. That’s IT! NO KPIs NECESSARY.