Burnout is something many people face, even if they don’t realize it. It can make you feel tired, sad, and even sick. However, it’s not just limited to work or adults – it can also happen to parents, caregivers, students, and anyone juggling a laundry list of responsibilities. If left untreated, burnout can manifest as physical ailments and even be a precursor to mental illness, such as depression or anxiety.  One powerful way to prevent this from happening is through hobbies. More importantly, switching between hobbies to avoid burnout can help keep your mind fresh and reduce stress.

Hobbies help people express their creativity and feel happier. Whether through painting one day, gardening the next, or picking up a musical instrument for fun, remember that taking time for hobbies isn’t selfish – it’s healthy and necessary. 

Clinical Pharmacist, Dr. Diana Rangaves, “Chronic stress raises cortisol levels, weakens immunity, and increases heart disease risks. Meditation and exercise improve fitness and emotional stability.”

Here’s what you need to know about burnout, how it impacts you holistically, and how switching hobbies can help you feel better and stay healthy.

Step 1: Recognize that you’re burned out

Sometimes burnout can creep up on someone. Without even realizing it, daily routines feel like a slog, work feels depressing, and finding the motivation to go through the motions gets harder and harder. If someone is experiencing this, recognizing that it’s burnout is important so that people can not just identify the problem but better understand how to address it.

Step 2: Create boundaries for better balance

One of the core things people need to do after recognizing that they’re struggling with burnout is to create healthy boundaries between their work and personal life. Key boundaries can include not responding to emails after work hours, not working on projects over the weekend, and resisting the urge to overextend by agreeing to unrealistic deadlines or tasks that are outside of the job description.

Step 3: Seek Help

Creating boundaries around traditional work tasks is a straightforward task. But for people facing burnout because of caretaker roles for loved ones, simply “stopping work after hours” isn’t enough. Those boundaries don’t exist for family caretakers. Instead, consider reaching out to other relatives or loved ones for support and assistance with managing duties. This could be as simple as asking someone esle to buy groceries for an aging or ill relative.

Step 4: Focus on self-care

Self care isn’t just about bubble baths and face masks. While those can both be soothing activities that can rejuvenate the body and mental health, self care can also be exercise like taking a walk. Even investing in therapy or revamping dietary choices can be incredibly beneficial.

Step 4: Consider adopting a hobby

Following step 2 allows for people to have time to either practice an existing hobby or try new ones. Just remember that hobbies should ideally not be stressful but instead allow people to relax and unwind. A study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that people who did relaxing activities in their free time had lower blood pressure and felt less stressed overall. This means that hobbies are actually helping the body feel better. It’s also worth noting that switching between hobbies, like going from drawing to playing guitar, uses different parts of the brain. This can improve memory and creativity. A 2017 study from Frontiers in Psychology showed that creative hobbies can improve problem-solving skills and help people think in new ways.

Tips & Best Practices

Burnout isn’t just about feeling tired or unmotivated as it can actually affect your whole body. Some include: headaches, trouble sleeping, stomach problems, a weakened immune system (getting sick more often), and mood swings or feeling sad. Burnout can’t be ignored. If left untreated for extended periods, it can lead to serious health issues like depression, anxiety, and even heart disease.

Hobbies are activities that people enjoy doing in their free time. However, switching between different hobbies can be an even better source for destressing and resisting burnout. When people switch between a few different ones, it keeps things fun and interesting. It also helps activate different parts of the brain. This provides variety, which can help people avoid getting bored or overwhelmed. Here are a few reasons why hobby variety is so vital for mental and physical health in the long term. 

A 2023 study in Nature Medicine found that people who spent time on hobbies reported more happiness and higher life satisfaction. This effect was even stronger when they tried different hobbies instead of just one. Burnout makes people feel tired and unmotivated. By contrast, hobbies boost excitement and give people something to look forward to beyond work or chores. A 2021 study in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that people who had hobbies were more energetic and felt less tired during the workweek.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Don’t turn hobbies into hustles

In today’s hustle-obsessed culture where everyone is supposed to create multiple income streams and maximize productivity, it’s easy to get lured into the idea that time can only be spent on hobbies that produce monetary value. So often, when a person excels at a skill, people encourage them to turn it into an income stream. However, if every hobby someone masters suddenly turns into work, they risk experiencing burnout again.

Don’t obsess over perfection

When practicing hobbies to reverse burnout, avoid worrying about perfection. If necessary, focus on low-stress options like building puzzles, coloring, or other crafts. It’s okay if that garden bed isn’t perfectly aligned or if it takes more time to build a puzzle than anticipated.

Know when to switch hobbies

When hobbies start to trigger stress or anxiety, or a feeling of frustration, it’s time to find something new to do. Remember, these are supposed to be self-care outlets for mental health, not new forms of torment.

What hobbies prevent burnout?

Hobbies that are of personal interest to a person bring the most satisfaction and help people avoid experiencing more frequent burnout. There is no one single hobby that will work for everyone but for the best results, try to spend at least 20% of your time on a hobby you genuinely love.

Can hobbies cause burnout?

Yes, it’s possible especially if the hobby becomes a new source of stress for a person. Likewise, if the hobby becomes the new core activity, and there’s no balance, burnout is more likely to happen.

What are the four C’s of hobbies?

The “4 C’s of hobbies” are create, consume, cavort, and commune. The idea is to create a healthy outlet that allows people to enjoy engaging in or immersing themselves in an activity, to have fun. and to build community with others.

Bottom Line

While stress is inevitable, burnout is a sign that a person’s workload is either too intense, or there isn’t enough balance between their work or personal lives. Adopting a hobby is a healthy outlet that can support mental health, but cycling through them occasionally can keep things fresh and prevent them from becoming a chore.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to deal with burnout without taking time off?

Find small ways to relax during the day. Try deep breathing, taking short walks, or doing something creative like drawing or writing. People don’t always need a full day off – just a few minutes doing something they enjoy can help. Even a 10-minute break spent doing something calming can refresh the mind.

Can spending time on your hobbies reduce stress?

Hobbies can lower stress by giving the brain a break from work and responsibilities. They also help improve focus on something fun and enjoyable, which releases hormones credited with improving mood, such as dopamine and serotonin. These hormones make people feel happier and more relaxed.

Is it unhealthy not to have hobbies?

It can be. People who don’t have hobbies may feel more stressed and less happy. Without hobbies, it’s harder to refocus the mind from daily worries. Over time, this can lead to more serious problems like anxiety or depression. Hobbies are a healthy and easy way to prioritize mental health.