How to Balance Work and Hobbies

Part of recovery includes replacing maladaptive behaviors with healthier ones that keep you moving forward every day. During the first few months, you might find yourself feeling anxious during “dead time” when you have nothing to do. You might try to fill it with work or find ways to occupy yourself. Many people in recovery take up hobbies to distract and keep you from focusing on intrusive thoughts or cravings.

Do you have things you enjoy that bring happiness and fill blank spaces in your day? Participating in pleasurable activities decreases stress and improves mental health. However, balance is essential. You might start to notice your hobbies cutting into time meant for work or other tasks. Learn to balance your work responsibilities and hobbies by making a routine and prioritizing healthy behaviors.

Replace Unhealthy Behaviors During Treatment and Aftercare

During treatment and aftercare, you will need to replace the maladaptive behaviors and thinking patterns that contributed to your previous struggles with addiction. Some ways people do this is by finding a new hobby like those listed below:

• Artistic activities like reading, writing, and painting
• Music creation or appreciation
• Sports or exercise
• Hiking, biking, horseback riding, swimming, boating, and other outdoor activities
• Gardening
• Baking

To stop yourself from becoming preoccupied with any one type of activity, you can change it up by alternating your hobbies. Explore different interests and discover new appreciations for art, nature, and the people around you. According to the Psychosomatic Medicine Journal of Behavioral Medicine, “Individuals who engaged in more frequent enjoyable leisure activities had better psychological and physical functioning” and “engaging in multiple types of leisure activities plays a role in buffering the negative psychological impact of stress.”

Make sure you know what you are getting into before starting a new hobby. Replace unhealthy activities with ones that keep you feeling positive, hopeful, and energized. Practice moderation, though, to stop yourself from becoming potentially dangerously lost in the experience and adventure of a new hobby.

Transitioning From Inpatient or Intensive Outpatient Treatment

Transitioning from a rehabilitation program to ongoing recovery can leave you with unexpected free time. You might feel tempted to fill it with things that make you feel better about yourself. However, you need to learn warning signs that indicate new routines or behaviors are negatively affecting your life. You might find yourself doing the following:

• Not completing critical daily tasks due to unnecessary distractions
• Strained relationships due to spending too much time doing specific activities
• Damage to your career from lack of focus or poor prioritization due to distraction

One great way to keep yourself accountable is by living somewhere that requires you to fulfill certain obligations. Your responsibilities effectively discourage obsessive behaviors that might otherwise interfere with your recovery. A sober living community like Real Recovery Sober Living offers a smoother transition from the structured environment of a treatment facility to independent living. Spaces like these provide consistent support and accountability during the period after rehabilitation.

According to the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, “Many sober living homes [SLHs] are members of SLH coalitions or associations that monitor health, safety, quality, and adherence to a social model philosophy of recovery that emphasizes 12-Step group involvement and peer support.” Sober living communities are an excellent place to learn how to balance different aspects of your life healthily, including hobbies and work duties. The additional peer support provides an outside perspective that helps you identify potential problem areas before they can significantly affect your life.

Avoid Letting New Past-Times Take Over Your Life

No matter where you live or how far along you are in recovery, it is essential to monitor how you spend your time in order to avoid creating new maladaptive patterns. Hobbies can often begin to replace time meant for work or personal relationships. It is crucial to set boundaries for yourself if you see that happening. For example, you can do the following:

• Work only during paid hours and turn off workplace notifications at night
• Set aside specific times and make a budget for hobbies to avoid overspending your time or money
• Say “no” to additional work requests that would impact your personal time
• Set a daily or weekly time limit for hobbies

Another helpful way to keep track is by writing how much time you spend on hobbies and work tasks on your calendar. Remain aware of your actions by noting your daily, weekly, and monthly schedules. Be honest about how much time you dedicate to each activity. The visual representation of how you spend your time can be jarring at first. You may not have realized how much time you devote to various tasks or recreational activities. You might find it easier to see where you can make changes to improve your work-life balance if you look at all the hours you spend on hobbies or job-related duties.

Recognize When to Cut Back on Your Hobbies

Use hobbies to fill free time and avoid feeling restless or bored. According to research published in Current Psychiatry Reports, “The most common reasons for relapse given by substance-abusing patients include stress, negative mood and anxiety, drug-related cues, temptations and boredom, and lack of positive environmental contingencies.” Find multiple things you enjoy doing to stop yourself from becoming bored, overwhelmed, or frustrated.

Some people thrive by constantly staying busy and on the move, while others feel drained after a long day — even if they spent that time doing something they love. If you often feel exhausted and frustrated after spending time on your hobby, then it might be time to try something else.

Healthy Ways to Celebrate Your Interests

Invite your friends and family to join in the fun when you start a new hobby. Celebrating your interests with others can increase self-confidence and give you a sense of empowerment. Your loved ones and friends can also provide an objective view of how well you incorporate the activity into your day-to-day life. Suppose you begin to worry that you have become overly invested in something. In that case, you can ask for advice and get an outside perspective to alleviate your fears or confirm that you would benefit from decreasing how much time you spend doing that activity. A few healthy ways you can celebrate your interests with people you care about include:

• Have a celebratory event when you reach an important work, recovery, recreational, or personal goal
• Invite your friends and family to events related to your hobby
• If your hobby includes crafting or art, you can make gifts for people you care about
• Do the activity with people you love and include them in the planning stages

Balance work and fun by keeping track of how much time you spend on each. Anyone who cares about your ongoing recovery will give you an honest answer if you ask them how well you balance work, personal responsibilities, and recreational activities. A sponsor or therapist can also advise you on positive changes, coping techniques, or preventative measures if you start to feel like things have become a little challenging to manage.

Set Aside Time for Loved Ones

You need to carve out significant time between work and hobbies for loved ones. You have to nurture the relationships that inspire and motivate you. A few ways you can incorporate healthy social interactions between work and other activities include:

• Having meals with loved ones and friends
• Texting, video calling, emailing, or chatting with friends and loved ones regularly
• Sharing your achievements and positive experiences with your support system
• Setting aside time every day to contact at least one person you care about

Let Work Responsibilities Live at Work

One way to stop work from interfering with your personal life is to keep it in the workplace. Turn off your work notifications, work phone, or other devices that interfere with your off-work hours.

If you work from home, controlling your environment can be a little more complicated, but you can still set aside time and space for your professional responsibilities. One of the best ways to do that is by making a home office space that you can easily close off when you clock out for the day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that “Working at home during the pandemic can affect access to social support and result in feelings of isolation and added stress.” By setting apart space and time for work, you can decrease your overall stress level.

Are Hobbies Overtaking All Areas of Your Life?

Have you noticed that your hobbies take up more of your space, time, and energy? The good news is that finding balance can be quick and straightforward. Change how much time you spend on hobbies by doing the following:

• Focus on smaller and more achievable goals. If you love writing, focus on finishing a short story or blog article before attempting to write a 500-page novel.
• Limit how much space you dedicate to physical activities. If you enjoy carpentry, keep your hobby under control by setting aside a corner of your garage instead of investing in an entire outdoor shed.
• Check-in with your support system. Keep them updated on what you are doing and how it makes you feel. Sometimes a sponsor, therapist, or loved one can spot potential issues before you become aware of them.

Find Balance Using Mindfulness and Self-Awareness

Use self-awareness, objectivity, and mindfulness to keep track of where you are spending your time. Identify any areas where you might not be making healthy choices and then take specific steps to make positive changes. Sometimes it is easier said than done, and you might find it helpful to talk about it with your therapist, support group, or other members of your support system.

Self-awareness is essential; otherwise, you may have problems recognizing when one or more of your everyday activities start taking over the majority of your time. Keep moving forward every day. Growth is a process, and it is normal to have setbacks. If you find yourself trading in one maladaptive behavior for another, you will have a support system and resources to help you get back on track.

You control what your life looks like in ongoing recovery. Whether you choose to pursue career goals or start a new and exciting hobby, you remain responsible for maintaining accountability for your mental and physical health. An excellent way to find your footing after detox and withdrawal treatment is by spending time at a sober living community where you can focus on healing and building a new healthy routine for yourself. Find balance in work and your personal life by staying vigilant and using the resources at your disposal. Attendance at 12-Step meetings, therapy, and a strong support system will make it easier to spot problem areas before they can get out of hand. The supportive environment at our facility makes it easier to set clear boundaries for yourself. Find out more about Real Recovery Sober Living and how you can benefit from a sober living community by calling us today at (813) 488-5048.