On hobbies

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Dear Reader,

I’ve been feeling like I have too many things going on. So recently, I decided to talk to Michael—a co-worker and friend at the Academic Center—about it.

I told him about my list of commitments for this semester, none of which I can abandon.

I sought his guidance because he’s a master of juggling many things. He is:

• a writing tutor at Kingsborough College and my university’s academic center (where I also teach)
• an adjunct professor at St. John’s University
• a TA at Brooklyn College
• working on his PhD
• working on his memoir (with his top-pick publisher)

I’m sure there’s more; these are the specific ones that I’m aware of. Despite everything he has going on, whenever I talk to him, he’s calm like the sea. The passion with which he talks to me about his ongoing projects gets me excited as well.

I keep wondering, how does he do it all?

It turns out, he makes time for himself. He has a dedicated time to paint, without any worry or judgment. Painting and creating art are his form of recreation and meditation. It helps him reorient. When he’s making art, the workload doesn’t reduce, but in some sense, it helps him reprioritize what he needs to do.

“After every session, everything seems more doable,” he says.

This break from work and stimulation helps him reset his dopamine baseline, which results in better focus and gives him more mental clarity.

Even when I look outside, most people that do/have done incredible things have had hobbies that they do regularly.

Haruki Murakami, the international best-seller of Norwegian Wood, loves to run. The author of Deep Work, Cal Newport, explores nature through long walks. Investor, entrepreneur, and author Tim Ferriss is fascinated with learning languages.

I have been feeling a little overwhelmed recently. I’m either working or constantly thinking about work. I don’t really have anything like a hobby.

Through my conversation with Michael and reflection on this study, I’ve concluded that I need to develop a hobby too. A hobby that doesn’t limit my education but helps me grow mentally, and ideally, doesn’t include screens.

Maybe sketching? Walking? Reading?

I’m still working on a list of possible hobbies I could explore. Not sure what hobby I’ll end up following, but this is my goal for the weekend.

I’ll keep you guys posted on this journey.

See you next week.

Warmly,
Suraj

Thanks to Sambidha for reading drafts of this.

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