Hey everyone! Let’s talk about something since I haven’t done that in a while. Let’s talk about ADHD and hobbies. Or better yet, ADHD and quitting hobbies.

Getting Bored With Hobbies

I was chatting with a friend today, and he mentioned feeling bad about not being sure he still likes a hobby he had picked up a few years ago. He’s been doing in it for a while, has a teacher/mentor, has spent money on the tools and equipment he needs, and is getting really good at it.

He’s a fellow ADHDer, which is awesome, and he’s on an amazing journey of self-discovery. He said this hobby wasn’t engaging anymore, and that made him feel upset. That he felt he’d “wasted” money on it, and worse in his mind, had “wasted” his time. He felt as though he could have been doing something else, learning something new, using his time differently.

I told him flat out: time “wasted” on yourself is never wasted time.

I reminded him of all the things he’s told me that he’s learned from this hobby. How his skills have improved, his hand/eye coordination. How he showed his family this particular hobby wasn’t hard or scary but just took time and patience to learn and hone. I wrote a paragraph of text back to him as a rebuttal to his statement, listing all the new things I knew he’d learned.

You know what he said back?

“That’s very neurotypical of you.”

That cracked me up.

Introspective Time

But then I started to think of the hobbies I started and stopped, mostly because I lost interest in them. I have canvases and paints from my Bob Ross phase. There are more bass guitars in the house then I care to think about. A pile of drawing pads with pens and pencils from when I tried my hand at sketching.

I’ve always felt terrible that I just stopped. I did them for a few months, learned everything I could about it (I have books to prove it) and then just … stepped away. Honestly, it’s something I beat myself up over. Why didn’t I continue? How could I just lose interest?

What a waste of time and effort.

But was it?

Just as I had reminded my friend, I had actually learned a lot. Stuff like colour theory, which I use when I do covers or posters. Or really listening to a bassline and getting the groove of a song from it. Or how an artist has used perspectives in their work to make us feel small when we look at it.

I may have stopped the hobby, but the important thing I have to remember is that I learned something.

So, it wasn’t wasted time. It was time spent on improving myself.

So, What Should You Do?

Next time you’re doing a hobby that no longer brings you joy, don’t feel like you have to continue. You don’t owe anyone anything for it, and you haven’t wasted your time. Instead, reflect on everything you’ve learned from it and how you now use that information in your everyday life.

Then, go out and try something new! Learn new things, and after than, do it again!