A hobby? Who’s got time for that? Well, you do — at least according to psychologist and professor Jaime Kurtz. “We habitually waste time, creating the illusion of busyness. Facebook, email, Netflix — pick your poison,” she writes in Psychology Today. Back in 1957, Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote a book called “Parkinson’s Law.” It was all about time management and workflow, and it centered around one idea: The more time you have to do something, the longer it will take. If you have something you do two nights a week, odds are your chores will be done those nights so you can get to the hobby. The rest of the week? Not so much. Besides the obvious — turning off the screens — there are other tricks to managing your time for hobbies. One great way? Just schedule hobby time into your planner or calendar. Set a reminder on your phone, and when the time comes, just go do it, no excuses. Another trick, if you know you won’t get to it later, is to do your chores early in the morning. That way, when you come home from work, they’re all done, and you have time to work on your hobbies. Oh, and bonus — you come home to a clean house! In fact, hobbies have a lot of benefits. They “can be a healthy escape,” according to Dr. Beth Howlett, “and can be very beneficial to mental health.” And some hobbies — like
reading and exercise — can even boost your career success, according to the Washington Post. Plus, unusual hobbies, like beekeeping or playing a funky instrument, make for great conversation starters. There are also plenty of affordable hobbies that trick you into staying active, like geocaching or Ultimate Frisbee. Consider something outside of your comfort zone — with a welcoming community that’s happy to show newcomers the ropes. Never be afraid to stop people who are doing something that looks fun and ask them what’s going on. That’s how you learn!
Dr. Kurtz sums it up best: “Maybe there’s something you’ve always wanted to do,” or “maybe something you used to love but stopped doing.” Her advice? Take that thing and run with it. “Just don’t follow that phrase with, ‘Ah, well. Maybe someday — when the kids leave the house or when I retire.’” Because we all know what that means!
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Mom scooped up that little 40-pound boy, brought him to our home, and introduced all of us to our little brother. To this day, I am stunned by this act of faith by my parents. The resilience my parents had in the early years of Terry screaming nonstop for hours due to his abusive upbringing and their drive to give him the best education makes the work I have done in the legal field look elementary. Terry is a miracle. Nearly five decades later, through the help of my siblings and parents, my brother, Terry, lives in his own condo and has a full-time job at a Safeway in Issaquah, Washington. Mom and Dad didn’t stop there. Over the years, it would not be uncommon for us to wake up and see a woman sleeping on our couch because she had nowhere else to go, and my mom and dad were there for her. My dad was constantly helping unemployed people find jobs. You see, my mom and dad lived their faith. Even though we did not have many material possessions, I rarely, if ever, heard them talk about what they did not have. They would constantly thank God for what they did have: nine children and a great faith. I am grateful to my mother and father who constantly prayed for me and encouraged me throughout their lifetime, even though I was (and still am) very selfish and vain. As a father now, I cannot fathom the unbelievable patience and faith my parents placed in me.
My mother and father constantly taught me that everything I am and everything I have is a gift from God. I profoundly believe that through my mother’s saintly devotion and prayers, I have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams. My father has been a constant conscience for me. Whenever I have a difficult judgment call to make, I ask myself what my father would do if he was making the call. To this day, I love to hear the voice of my 95-year-old father telling me about the weather in Seattle, how he played cards with one of my siblings, or how he loves to be a lector at mass. I thank you, Mom and Dad, for the greatest gifts you have given me: faith, resilience, and the example of your life. I love you. – Joe Shannon
2 wwww.shannonlawgroup.com
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