Day 7–30 Days of Journaling for Self-Discovery: Activities I enjoy, and how I can do more of them
It’s day 7 of my 30-day journaling challenge and today I’m looking at the activities and hobbies that bring me joy and how I can do more of them.
What do I enjoy doing?
I’m not sure where to begin this post. It’s not that I don’t know what I like, it’s that the list of things I like is massive, varied, and changes daily.
I guess I could start with a list of ten things enjoy doing
- Journaling
- Writing
- drawing
- painting
- playing video games (my favorite games so far are Fallout 4 and the Little Big Planet games)
- cooking
- gardening
- traveling
- learning
- swimming in the ocean
How I can do more of them?
I’m already journaling, drawing, writing, cooking, and traveling, so how can I do more of the other things I enjoy?
1 — Painting
I’m currently traveling, so painting will need to wait until I’m home as my art supplies are in storage. I’m thinking of setting aside time each week, like an art evening or an art day as a way of making sure I paint regularly.
2 — Playing video games
My consoles are also in storage, so this is another one that will need to wait. As with painting, I’m thinking setting aside a certain amount of time each week might be a good idea. That way I can play games without (hopefully) becoming hyperfocused never to be seen for hours at a time.
3— Gardening
I haven’t gardened since I lived with my ex, I think this is because I want to have my own space as I want to grow things like pumpkins, tomatoes, carrots, and sunflowers, which is hard to do when you’re living with flatmates.
Something I can do when I’m back if I’m still living with flatmates is turn my bedroom into a mini oasis filled with snake plants, monsteras, and succulents. That way, I’m still growing things, but I won’t require as much space.
4 — learning
I’ve enrolled in a course on Edx. BerkeleyX’s The Science of Happiness
I need to set aside time to work on it as the last time I did any work was about two weeks ago.
5 — swimming in the ocean
We need to go somewhere coastal We’re currently in Guatemala City and before that, we were in Antigua, both of which are landlocked.
An exercise I might find helpful
While on Instagram the other day, I saw a post by Dr. Tara Swart on how to feel happier and more creative.
The post was about how intentionally creating time for activities that make us happy and bring us joy allows us to be present, creating space in our minds.
The exercise seems incredibly simple, and I’m going to take the time to do it, as I think it will help me make time for the things I enjoy doing.
Step 1 — Make a list of 52 activities that bring you joy
Big, small, hard, write down everything you enjoy. You can be anything: drawing, hanging out with friends and family, traveling; it doesn’t matter, it’s going on the list
If the list becomes tricky, think about things like
- your daily routine
- how you would spend your perfect day
- what you enjoy doing on your days off
- your dreams
- moments you have felt truly present
Step 2 — Open your calendar, work through the list, and schedule one thing from the list each week
Allow yourself time to do each thing mindfully and to schedule things that require planning or saving further into the future.
Conclusion
For me, doing more of the things I enjoy doing is as simple as setting aside time dedicated to each hobby. I often feel that I don’t have the time to enjoy the things I love doing, but I know that’s because I end up dissociating, doom-scrolling, and then wondering where the hell the time went.
This week, I’m going to sit down write a list of things that bring me joy, get out my calendar app, and dedicate time to each activity. I might share the list here as a week as weekly progress updates on how things are going. Let me know if this is something you would like to see.
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