Let's Talk...Having A Hobby
On the rare occasion, I’m asked what I do in my free time for fun I’m always left a little dumbstruck with what to respond with. I’m one of those extremely fortunate people who was able to turn my hobby into how I make a living and sustain my life doing what I love. For a long time, I struggled to have any hobbies outside of this blog as it became my job as it was all-consuming and it’s only really in the last few years that I’ve made a conscious effort to start doing things just for fun. There is so much focus on turning what you love into how you make a living and side hustles that it’s all too easy to forget that sometimes we just need to do something for the fun of it and these are my favourite hobbies that I’ve acquired over the years.
knitting
A few years ago I decided that I wanted to learn how to knit after my best friend taught me how to cross-stitch. Even though I adored cross-stitch it was something I had to stop because it put too much strain on my hands which at the time I was struggling with a lot of nerve problems in so knitting felt like a slightly kinder option. With the help of YouTube, I successfully taught myself how to knit a simple scarf and over the years I’ve knitted a few scarves and last year I picked the knitting needles back up for my dogs. So far, I’ve only managed to knit a couple of snoods for them but I’m keen to make sure I keep working on my knitting skills. I hope I can eventually knit them a jumper each and in the future, it could be something I could do to aid a knitting auction held each year to donate money for sighthounds in need. I never thought I’d enjoy knitting as much as I do but it’s something that I find incredibly rewarding to see something come together and I can’t deny it’s undeniably good for my overactive mind. If you’re interested in learning how to knit I highly recommend the following YouTube channels;
reading
Reading is something that I’ve loved throughout my entire life, my mum often had to pry a book out of my hand when we were sitting down for dinner when I was younger but in recent years I have struggled to read. When I’m not feeling so hot mentally I find it pretty difficult to get lost in a good book and make reading part of my daily routine but in the past couple of months I’ve made a huge effort to start reading again and it’s something that’s made me so happy. I’m currently reading my beloved childhood favourite Harry Potter for what feels like the hundredth time but the story never loses its magic for me and it’s been great for me to have something familiar to seek comfort in at such a miserable time of year. Usually, in the morning I used to watch YouTube videos with my breakfast but now I sit and read my book instead and I find that starts my day off so much better. By doing it first thing too I don’t feel bad if I don’t manage to read for the rest of the day although ideally, I like to do it in bed in the evening too.
running & exercise
Before I moved out and got Josie and Edie I wouldn’t have said that fitness was a hobby, it was much more of a necessity for me as it was often the only time I was leaving the house as working from home gives you a seriously sedentary lifestyle. However, now I’ve got two little sighthounds who get me out every day (well, that is unless it’s raining) I don’t find myself having that need to go to the gym like I once did. Now, I go to the gym and more specifically run for my mental health and also because I really enjoy it which is not something I ever thought I’d say. Exercise is something that’s had such a positive effect on my life and it’s the number one way that I manage a lot of my mental health struggles. So for that reason, it is something I prioritise in my life but I’m very conscious of it not being something I ever feel guilty for not doing as you should never feel guilty for not doing a hobby.
the adventures of Josie & Edie
When we re-homed our second sighthound, a little blue whippet who we called Edie I began a blog that runs alongside this one. It was when I really started to focus on the dog's Instagram page too and it’s something that has bought me an infinite amount of joy over the past couple of years. Starting a new blog when I already blog for a living might seem like a slightly strange choice but it’s something that has helped me remember why I loved blogging so much in the first place. On my own social media platforms, I feel like I’ve struggled a lot over the past couple of years with knowing where I fit in with the whole influencer scene. I feel like I’ve never truly found my niche and whilst some could argue that’s a terrible thing for my business not putting myself into a box is something that I’m somewhat ok with. Having an entire Instagram page and blog dedicated to my sighthounds has introduced me to an entire world that I would have never known existed otherwise and it’s finally where I feel like I’ve found my tribe. I’ve made so many awesome connections with other sighthound owners as well as small businesses that I would have been otherwise clueless to. Having a blog and Instagram page that is purely just for fun has taught me a lot about how we can use social media and it’s been so good for me to have somewhere online that isn’t about work at all.
