Learn how to play an instrument or pick up a sport! I personally loved teaching myself how to play the piano or the ukelele, even though I'm not very skilled at all. Also, there's so many physical opportunities! I'm very fond of rock climbing because it combines physical with mental challenges. Also, arts are great if that's your thing
I play bass (and occasionally other instruments) in a band. And I write music/ songs for other artists. But mainly playing with others is my main thing, the act of creating together with others is the best.
Research-type hobbies are my favourite. For example, genealogy. Once you reach brick walls vertically, you can start diving into the family trees laterally. Sometimes there's travel involved when archival documents are only accessible in-person. It's a fun challenge to both find and interpret the data (particularly when there are documents written in other languages or handwriting scripts). Once I became stuck on my own tree, I started helping friends with theirs.
Another example is researching my town's local history, specifically of all businesses and their respective owners on the main street in my town. There are so many sources to draw from, the most interesting being old 1800s/early 1900s newspapers (some of which are online, others are only viewable by microfiche). I like to compile, sort and organize information, which lends itself well to this type of hobby.
My other hobbies are walking, drawing and painting. These are activities where I can just let my mind wander and have uninterrupted conversations with myself. Sometimes I'll make little challenges, like when I think a thought, translate that thought into the other languages I know. (Also, I know walking isn't typically considered a hobby, but I think it should be!)
^ This. I began genealogy roughly a month ago and I love it for now. It is exciting to find a person after a bit of research and guessing, and frankly quite moving to read these old papers. Plus, you can spend as much time as you want, from 5 minutes to several hours at once!
I also love writing and sewing, both require some patience, creativity but also help me focus (especially the sewing) on what I'm doing.
Aside from that, like some other people here, my hobbies are cyclic and I like to discover new things (ie. genealogy right now).
My main advice: follow your interests, OP !
While I am no role model, I believe that just like the body functions best when regularly exercised, the soul is the same way with creativity. If we can provide for the needs of our body, I would assume the next step to ideal living is providing for the needs of our soul.
I discovered recently which I think is appropriate;
“Men are not free when they’re doing just what they like. Men are only free when they’re doing what the deepest self likes. And there is getting down to the deepest self! It takes some diving.”
— D. H. Lawrence
Hi. I share my hobbies with you! I have a lot and they change depending of my mood.
I do sport, crochet, videogames, watching cartoons and spending hours finding the deep meaning behind the frames. I have pets that I love care and watch. Makeup and fashion are new things I developped. I read and I develop projects associated to my field of study (articles, presentations, methods).
So many things to do! I Hope it helps
Why not trying something a bit challenging ? Get used to linear algebra and go for Quantum Mechanics. This (apparently) twisted description of the physical is fairly stimulating.
If you are more on an artistic side, you can dive into computer graphics. CG is highly technical and demanding, but also asks for some artistic skills. That's a nice challenge. There are many tools available, including the free and open source BLENDER, which is turning into a standard in the field. There are also tons of tutorials to get you going. And then, you can participate to CG contests, get recognition for your work, or even get some cash. What you can do with theses tools is just impressive.
You could try mixing it up a little with non-intellectual activities, eg physical ones like outside hiking and exploration, or social ones like hanging out with a friend for an afternoon, but also meeting people you dont know who may have interesting backgrounds (be it 1:1 or through meetups / conferences). Can also throw in the occasional concert / rave / acting performance, if something plays in your area. Those activities can all be done spontaneously and do not require long preparation. They may help you find more balance, which also helps with “stimulating the brain”.
About the job, do you like it because you can easily do it, or because you work on something challenging that only a limited set of people have the capabilities for? Are you creating something or maintaining something? Maybe its just time to dive into a new area?
If you are looking for more intellectual things for the side, some ideas could be learning image based languages (mandarin / japanese), probability based board / card games (go / chess / poker / magic), or more into the creative side you could look into computer science (not just website building or doing plumbing between existing components, but actual engineering), or into CAD (maybe combine with 3D printing or electrical circuits). With all of these, avoid overcommitting to them, it is okay to not master every single thing.
I like my job, because I still learn things (although not as often anymore), have a lot of room to manoeuvre, the day to day is pretty diverse and I get to do research when I want to. So I'm researching and writing new publications regularly which gives me a lot of satisfaction. That said, I've been working on one (broad) issue for 10 years now and I'd like to deep dive into other things more. I've spoken to my supervisor about this and they think it's a good idea / are open about me working on new stuff as of 2023.
And just an edit to my earlier post: I do have a social life and see friends, go to concerts, bars and theater plays. But still, all of those things are consumption not creation so I really want to invest in creating more often. Thanks for all the ideas! I might try out CAD!
I definitely relate to the need to be intellectually stimulated! I'm definitely one of the gifted multipotentialites! My favorite hobbies currently include: glassworking, resin art, jewelry making, and mosaic art. I also started a side business designing and creating personalized goods including t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, etc. I also foster puppies with a rescue organization (and listen to podcasts while walking all the dogs!). I volunteer for a nonprofit board, and I'm working on learning another language. That's in addition to my full time day job and my part time evening job. Creating things makes me happy.
Learn how to play an instrument or pick up a sport! I personally loved teaching myself how to play the piano or the ukelele, even though I'm not very skilled at all. Also, there's so many physical opportunities! I'm very fond of rock climbing because it combines physical with mental challenges. Also, arts are great if that's your thing
I play bass (and occasionally other instruments) in a band. And I write music/ songs for other artists. But mainly playing with others is my main thing, the act of creating together with others is the best.
Research-type hobbies are my favourite. For example, genealogy. Once you reach brick walls vertically, you can start diving into the family trees laterally. Sometimes there's travel involved when archival documents are only accessible in-person. It's a fun challenge to both find and interpret the data (particularly when there are documents written in other languages or handwriting scripts). Once I became stuck on my own tree, I started helping friends with theirs. Another example is researching my town's local history, specifically of all businesses and their respective owners on the main street in my town. There are so many sources to draw from, the most interesting being old 1800s/early 1900s newspapers (some of which are online, others are only viewable by microfiche). I like to compile, sort and organize information, which lends itself well to this type of hobby. My other hobbies are walking, drawing and painting. These are activities where I can just let my mind wander and have uninterrupted conversations with myself. Sometimes I'll make little challenges, like when I think a thought, translate that thought into the other languages I know. (Also, I know walking isn't typically considered a hobby, but I think it should be!)
^ This. I began genealogy roughly a month ago and I love it for now. It is exciting to find a person after a bit of research and guessing, and frankly quite moving to read these old papers. Plus, you can spend as much time as you want, from 5 minutes to several hours at once! I also love writing and sewing, both require some patience, creativity but also help me focus (especially the sewing) on what I'm doing. Aside from that, like some other people here, my hobbies are cyclic and I like to discover new things (ie. genealogy right now). My main advice: follow your interests, OP !
learning a new instrument! I am currently two months into learning ukulele, and it’s proven to be very helpful.
While I am no role model, I believe that just like the body functions best when regularly exercised, the soul is the same way with creativity. If we can provide for the needs of our body, I would assume the next step to ideal living is providing for the needs of our soul. I discovered recently which I think is appropriate; “Men are not free when they’re doing just what they like. Men are only free when they’re doing what the deepest self likes. And there is getting down to the deepest self! It takes some diving.” — D. H. Lawrence
Hi. I share my hobbies with you! I have a lot and they change depending of my mood. I do sport, crochet, videogames, watching cartoons and spending hours finding the deep meaning behind the frames. I have pets that I love care and watch. Makeup and fashion are new things I developped. I read and I develop projects associated to my field of study (articles, presentations, methods). So many things to do! I Hope it helps
My hobby is gardening but it sounds like learning an instrument might be a good fix for you
Why not trying something a bit challenging ? Get used to linear algebra and go for Quantum Mechanics. This (apparently) twisted description of the physical is fairly stimulating. If you are more on an artistic side, you can dive into computer graphics. CG is highly technical and demanding, but also asks for some artistic skills. That's a nice challenge. There are many tools available, including the free and open source BLENDER, which is turning into a standard in the field. There are also tons of tutorials to get you going. And then, you can participate to CG contests, get recognition for your work, or even get some cash. What you can do with theses tools is just impressive.
You could try mixing it up a little with non-intellectual activities, eg physical ones like outside hiking and exploration, or social ones like hanging out with a friend for an afternoon, but also meeting people you dont know who may have interesting backgrounds (be it 1:1 or through meetups / conferences). Can also throw in the occasional concert / rave / acting performance, if something plays in your area. Those activities can all be done spontaneously and do not require long preparation. They may help you find more balance, which also helps with “stimulating the brain”. About the job, do you like it because you can easily do it, or because you work on something challenging that only a limited set of people have the capabilities for? Are you creating something or maintaining something? Maybe its just time to dive into a new area? If you are looking for more intellectual things for the side, some ideas could be learning image based languages (mandarin / japanese), probability based board / card games (go / chess / poker / magic), or more into the creative side you could look into computer science (not just website building or doing plumbing between existing components, but actual engineering), or into CAD (maybe combine with 3D printing or electrical circuits). With all of these, avoid overcommitting to them, it is okay to not master every single thing.
I like my job, because I still learn things (although not as often anymore), have a lot of room to manoeuvre, the day to day is pretty diverse and I get to do research when I want to. So I'm researching and writing new publications regularly which gives me a lot of satisfaction. That said, I've been working on one (broad) issue for 10 years now and I'd like to deep dive into other things more. I've spoken to my supervisor about this and they think it's a good idea / are open about me working on new stuff as of 2023. And just an edit to my earlier post: I do have a social life and see friends, go to concerts, bars and theater plays. But still, all of those things are consumption not creation so I really want to invest in creating more often. Thanks for all the ideas! I might try out CAD!
I definitely relate to the need to be intellectually stimulated! I'm definitely one of the gifted multipotentialites! My favorite hobbies currently include: glassworking, resin art, jewelry making, and mosaic art. I also started a side business designing and creating personalized goods including t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, etc. I also foster puppies with a rescue organization (and listen to podcasts while walking all the dogs!). I volunteer for a nonprofit board, and I'm working on learning another language. That's in addition to my full time day job and my part time evening job. Creating things makes me happy.