Keeping Up With Hobbies

Written by Lauren Smith

Like most college students, I’m unfamiliar with the elusive concept known as “free time.” I spend most of my days attending classes, doing homework, and working. Occasionally I play tennis. Occasionally I buy a new cactus. Occasionally I listen to the proverbial libertarian vs. socialist debate in the cafeteria.

What I often find myself not doing is the thing I love most, the free-time activity I’ve been devoted to since I was eight: writing. While balancing homework, regular work, and a social life, how can students keep up with their hobbies? Swear them off for four years? Skip class and accept straight Cs on assignments? 

Don’t do either. Instead, read on and discover eight tips for staying both busy and productive. This list will focus specifically on writing—my personal hobby—but the ideas can be applied to any free-time activity, whether that’s cooking, crafting, coding, or something else entirely.

  • Prioritize school. Succeeding in college can impact the rest of your life, while taking a few weeks away from writing (or playing tennis, or painting, etc.) can’t. Be sure to get your necessary work out of the way before you start your “fun” work. Not only will you ensure that you don’t fall behind, but you’ll also feel better, and enjoy it more, when you finally do take a break.
  • Maintain healthy physical habits. Sitting in front of a desk for hours at a time is exhausting. Counteract that mental tiredness by getting physically tired. This doesn’t mean you need to go to the gym and deadlift 500 pounds—a walk around the block could be all you need to get your endorphins flowing.
  • Accept the need for breaks. Breaks are bad! Breaks are wasted time! Breaks prevent you from reaching your full potential! All wrong. Turn off that self-inflicted guilt. Make yourself some popcorn, curl up under a fuzzy blanket, and watch a good movie. Breaks are healthy—even necessary—as long as you don’t spend all your time unproductively.
  • Turn your hobby into a side job. Even if a traditional “job” isn’t an option for you right now, there are still ways to earn money. In writing, for example, even a simple list of options gets long quickly:
    • Medium articles
    • Fiverr freelancing
    • Monetizing a blog with ads
    • Entering competitions
    • Self-publishing on Amazon

         Having even a very small monetary reward can make your projects a lot more fun.

  • Find an accountability partner. This could simply be someone who sends you a slightly judgmental text every once in a while. “You said you were going to write today, but you left your laptop in the Union and haven’t touched it all day.” The point is: Find someone who will motivate you to sit down and produce something, even when you’re not sure you want to.
  • Schedule time. You might decide to work on your hobby every Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. Or you might be more like me and say: “I’m going to write on the weekends and some afternoons” without getting too specific. Decide if your hobby is better practiced in chunks or a little bit at a time, and plan out your time accordingly.

Ultimately, if you’ve picked up a hobby you love in high school, there’s no reason to give it up in college. The secret to becoming the student who can get good grades and start a small business, write a book, or solve the problem of world hunger is getting your priorities straight, incentivizing yourself, and holding yourself accountable. This weekend, set aside some time outside of studying to pursue your passion projects. Who knows? The skills you’re practicing then may be just as useful after college as your mandatory classes and assignments.

Lauren Smith, ’25, is a prospective political economy major and French minor. Outside of starting arguments in philosophy class, she enjoys curling up on a bench outdoors (sun, rain, or snow) to write novels or articles for her blog, www.laurensmythbooks.com.

Published in December 2021