Engage in these Smartphone-Free, Stress-Buster, Indoor Hobbies
Most of the children across the country are having their summer vacations. Children used to wait eagerly for these long breaks. It used to cut them away from the monotony of school. Going to hill-stations or grandparent’s homes or an adventure trip made these vacations really memorable! The COVID-19 drastically changed this situation as they got confined to their homes for over 400 days now. This extended stay at home can distress teenagers if not managed well. Explore these exciting indoor hobbies to make your stay at home constructively engaging.
Gardening
Gardening forever is among the first indoor hobbies for everyone. If you love plants and nature, you may try making your own kitchen garden in small spaces like balconies or backyards. Gardening is an art and a skill that can help you gain knowledge of plants, soil, and the environment.
It also instills values like care, dedication, and a feeling of contentment in seeing your plants grow. You can use the limited space by using railing and wall planters.
You may create extra spaces by putting stacks for small pots. You may begin with easy-to-grow plants for your kitchen garden like tomatoes, brinjals, chilies, beans, and mint, etc.
Pet-Love
If you are an animal lover, finding a companion in a pet may just be the right thing for you. Among popular indoor hobbies, keeping pets is a close second to gardening. It is a rewarding experience whether it’s a dog or an aquarium you bring to your home.
The love and loyalty you receive back from some animals are quite astounding! One may spend hours watching the colorful fishes in an aquarium or birds in a birdhouse. These are such a mesmerizing visual for the eyes.
Keeping a pet and taking care of it is a whole new set of exercises. You need to know about their feeding habits, take care of their hygiene, and also know how to amuse them. Besides, regular visits to a veterinary and doses of vaccination are a must in the case of most pets.
Indoor Photography
Most of us believe that good photography is an outdoor activity. Trust me when I say that even indoors, you may find some exquisite spaces, perspectives, moments, and emotions to capture with your photographic lens. It’s all about the science of photography.
Also, it’s a lot about the correct amount of light, shadow, scene, balance, pattern, focus, precision, and texture. For starting photography as a hobby, you just need a camera and start shooting raw images.
As you become more familiar with your camera and photography, you may refer to some photography guides or attend photography workshops.
Cooking
Are you a foodie? Do you like cooking for your loved ones? Or are you among the ones very particular about the flavor, aroma, and color of the food? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, you may start taking cooking a tad seriously.
Cooking helps you learn about control, balance, the right mix of ingredients, becoming health conscious, and taking care of details. Many studies have also reported increased creativity and focus among those who love cooking.
It’s been also found that cooking may relieve mental stress and make you more relaxed and happier. You can start with simple dishes and then gradually move to more complex ones like baked, grilled, or roasted dishes. There are whole new cuisines to be discovered if you thought cooking was boring!
Reading
If you are among those who enjoy reading stories or who want to get a whole new perspective of the reality, I am sure reading is what you are looking for!
The old saying that books are your best friend is true and will remain so forever. Don’t believe it? Just grab a good book on your genre of interest and let its magic do all the talking.
You may pick books of the genres like fiction, non-fiction, thriller, fantasy, sci-fi, novels, drama, humor, mystery, etc. as per your liking. Reading not only improves your knowledge, concentration, vocabulary, and imagination but also develops empathy and reduces mental stress.
Music & Dance
Music is most people’s favorite to stress out or release tension. It works as a therapy and has a soothing effect on your mind. If you feel enchanted with music, you can pick it as a long-lasting hobby. Whether it is singing, dancing, or learning to play an instrument, you will find solace in the rhythm of the music.
Plus, knowing music makes you cool in a crowd! You may start with a simple karaoke singing or imitating the dance steps while watching television or getting familiar with a musical instrument. You may further polish your skills by joining music or dance classes later.
Journal Writing
Writing is in vogue these days. Many people have their own blogs for their creative expression. Many websites also require content writers for their products and services. If you have a flair for writing but confused about what to write on, consider journal writing.
Journal writing is a way to know yourself better by doing a lot of reflective thinking. When you pen down your experiences and emotions in a diary, it also helps you do catharsis and gradually improves your expressions. It relieves your negative feelings. You may use this to introspect and become a better version of yourself.
Gradually, you may learn the nitty-gritty of writing and may even get into the world of publishing. Journal writing among indoor hobbies ranks quite high.
Scrapbooking
Scrapbooking is not so popular among indoor hobbies. But once you understand the beauty and symmetry of it, you may become a life-long scrapbook practitioner.
It is much like journal writing except that it is more about collecting and organizing. If you have your old photographs at your home, you are ready to immerse in scrapbooking.
You just need a scrapbook and some stationery like glue, decorative motifs, sparkle pens, etc. While doing this, you sequentially arrange the photographs, organize them beautifully, and pen down some of the sweet memories associated with them.
So, you learn skills like arrangement, organization, collection, aestheticization, etc. And, of course, the final product gives you a sense of accomplishment and it is something you will cherish and feel proud to show to others.
You can create scrapbooks for your collections too like stamps, denomination notes, your favorite comic strips, trading cards, etc. You never know when your collection may become an antique and valued possession in the future!
Mandala Painting
If you have an artistic bent of mind, try mandala paintings. ‘Mandala’ is a Sanskrit word for ‘circle’. In this, you employ your imagination and mathematical logic to create beautiful, symmetric, patterns using circle and other geometric shapes.
You may then color it using acrylic or any other paint to bring contrast yet uniformity in the pattern’s wholeness. Mandala paintings are of high religious and spiritual significance.
Psychologically, it increases resilience in adolescents and adults by helping them cope with traumatic events, depression, or anxiety.
DIY Crafts
‘Do it yourself’ or DIY crafts involve using raw materials to create or do things which are useful or decorative. Simply, instead of rushing to the market for every single thing now and then, you can just do it yourself at your home.
Be it painting your walls, doing some woodwork, electronic work, and repairing or making decorative lights and artefacts for home improvement.
DIY may also include indulging in some fashion designing ideas like nail art, handmade knitted or woven scarfs, embroidered handkerchiefs or shirts, making fancy jeweled necklaces and bracelets, etc.
DIY is always fun, cost-effective, and full of utility. It enhances your creativity and value for work.
I am sure you will definitely try some of these hobby ideas. Learning a new hobby is like discovering a new quality of yourself. What you are or can be good at. It helps in your personality development and makes you a better person. It enhances your concentration and provides a creative outlet to your mind. All these hobby ideas also have the potential to turn into a great vocation. So, if you think that you have found your calling, just start doing it. Because unless you start, how will you reach your destination!
Thanks for suggesting these hobby ideas!
You are welcome Vatsal! I hope you start a new hobby from the list and enjoy it!
I take care and play with my pet. I love my pet. I am also growing some plants to keep myself busy during vacations.
Good to hear this Vansh! You can try some more hobbies from the list. All the best!