Achieving a healthy work-life balance is a goal for everyone; it leads to better physical and mental health. But what exactly is work-life balance? It is the ideal harmony between work, family, hobbies, and everything that is part of our daily lives. With work and family requiring a big part of our attention, hobbies are often forgotten and seen as an extravagance.

However, having a hobby has a lot of benefits. It is a way to reduce stress. A study, from 2015, “Real-Time Associations Between Engaging in Leisure and Daily Health and Well-Being Study” found out that people who were involved in leisure activities had a lower stress level. If stress levels are low, the risk of burnout is also lower.

Besides reducing stress, hobbies have other advantages. They can enhance social life and improve communication, given that a lot of activities involve meeting new people, some with the same interests, and decrease loneliness. Hobbies are also essential to reset and disconnect from work.

Hobbies boost creativity and improve knowledge. It allows us to develop new skills. It is a way to invest and improve ourselves through new challenges and experiences. All these aspects help and influence our work performance.

Even though we are aware of the positive effects and the obvious reasons why we should get a hobby, sometimes it is hard to find the time. But there are strategies to overcome this issue, such as scheduling a specific hour to spend on the hobby. It is a way to make it a habit and acknowledge its importance. Another strategy that can be helpful is sharing the habit with someone else. It can decrease loneliness and allows them to motivate each other, learn together and share their experience.

The hobby we choose to pursue can vary a lot, depending on factors such as our interests or even our talents. There are people who learn to cook, which is something that can be very useful in our daily lives. Others consider an art-related hobby which enhances creativity and helps at work. Exercising is another option, that can include dancing, running, bodybuilding…. It can be hard to start, but it will not only strengthen mental health but also physical health. If the exercise involves teams, it can even improve communications skills.

Another hobby can be learning languages, which gets us involved in new cultures and can be useful at work.

Reading is a very common hobby. It improves creativity, knowledge, and even brain activity, which can help at work.

In recent years, we have seen many companies invest in employees’ hobbies. It can be a big investment, but it can also bring huge profits and benefits to employees and teams. It is a way to unite workers, improve their relationships, and learn more about their talents and skills, which can be useful for the job.

Hobbies are an effective way to invest and improve ourselves, and our work performance. Investing in ourselves is a good way to feel better and be more productive.

References:

1. Simple Strategies To Enhance Your Work-Life Balance, August 2019, Forbes
2. How hobbies can improve your happiness and productivity at work, August 2019, Fast Company
3. Burnout in Europe, October 2018
4. Why you should be scheduling your free time: How hobbies improve your productivity and creativity, September 2019, RescueTime: blog
5. 6 hobbies that could improve your performance at work, according to science, May 2018, CNBC