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[dr_coffee]

If so, please share.

I have been told I need to develop a hobby.  Besides reading.  And working. 

Or, does one need a hobby?

[verafrance]

What was the reason given for the prescription?

[systeme_d_]

I don't think people "need" hobbies.  It sounds like someone is advising you to add another dimension to your life, perhaps to widen your social circle, or to otherwise find an area in which you might find a deep sense of satisfaction.

If you agree that you would benefit from an additional activity, or if there's something you'd like to try, then do it.  If you think your life is sufficiently full and satisfying, then don't.

If you decide to cultivate a hobby, consider whether your aim is to make connections with others, or to provide yourself with some time and space on your own.

Suggestions:

volunteering for an organization you support, or in an area in which there is much need (I used to be a literacy volunteer -- others on the fora volunteer for animal organizations)

some kind of craft (I enjoy making my own jewelry, for example)

collecting of some sort (I collect signed first editions of one of my favorite authors, and a certain type of pottery)

gardening (I stink at this, and don't really enjoy it, but I like flowers)

[mirandaf]

Painting, photography, posting on the fora. Don't know if it quite qualifies for hobby status, but I like walking outside, preferably on dirt paths near the water, in nice weather. And feeding ducks.

And speaking of ducks, pets are good for distraction purposes. Walking the dog, playing ball with the dog, being outside with the dog... it's all good and non-work related.

[antiphon1]

I have other activities I like to do besides reading and work.  But hobbies?  No.  

Some of the stuff I'm doing now is:

 - taking classes in a related field
 - preparing the void behind the shed for landscaping
 - volunteering with the after school tutoring program
 - planning a remodeling project on the house
    (Guess what I'm doing this summer?)
 - joined a bridge club
 - golf

[sikora]

Banjo.  I've been at it for three years now, and I wonder why I chose such a challenging instrument.

Coloring books for grown ups.

[yellowtractor]

Weightlifting, row-crop agriculture, and philately.

[cat_on_track]

I used to feel quite boring when people asked me if I had any hobbies and I couldn't just rattle off a list of terrifyingly impressive activities ("oh sure - mountain climbing, pearl diving, and lion taming!"). I've gotten sneaky, though; these days, I claim home improvement (got a table saw, too!), collecting female mystery authors (best if with heroine - no, not that kind, the female hero kind), herding cats (beginners' level; I've only done it for a bit more than four decades), and annoying undergraduates (I passed the apprentice and journey-woman levels eons ago; am a certified/iable master ... oops ... mistress).

[annmarie]

I don't think that you can deliberately find a hobby or recreational activity.  You try an activity and it either "catches on" and becomes a hobby - or you just practice the skill for a time and then let it go.  You might also participate in an organization or do volunteer work for a long time or a short time.

I have had sports, such as walking and swimming for several years.  I have done arts and crafts, including sewing and other types of crafts with fabrics or yarn forever.  I have recently been making cards and gift items on the computer.

[high_energy_photons]

I cook, quite a variety of interesting things.  I also garden, after a fashion (small herb garden).  Reading counts, if it is for pleasure (not work), though this can cross if you chose your field well enough (my husband can read for pleasure and still be in his field, and so can I).  I like to play cards and other games, though not for money.  I play video games.  I like to cruise on my motorbike.

[whiteknight]

I play chess and the drums . . . but not at the same time.

[macaroon]

I run.  My hobby sucks.  The only time I have to do it is before the kids wake up, so around 5:15 in the morning.  It is dark.  It is cold.  I fell in a pothole once and needed 3 of those gauze pads to patch myself up for my 9AM class.  I get lost.  People let their dogs out at 5:45 AM unleashed for the morning pee, and they chase me.  I tried using a headlamp, but I've gone back to the maglite because of the dogs.  But it helps so much with my stress level that it is definitely worth it.

I have a very nice freshwater aquarium with a lot of plants.  This is a good hobby if you get a lot of information on how to properly care for one, and if you have a good store nearby to get fish that aren't sick. 

[notaprof]

My hobbies are so low key that I am not even sure if they qualify as true hobbies:
Japanese Calligraphy - a class that meets once per month and we typically learn one, maybe two characters.  It is very zen.

Flower arranging - I am too dangerous as a gardener since I manage to kill plants right and left.  Now I only work with plants that someone else has killed and I don't feel so guilty.

Birthday cake decorating and other baking - but I hate to cook otherwise. 

Wasting time.  I have achieved a black belt, grand master status with this hobby.

Hobby I would like to have - woodworking and making mosaics.

[patter]

Tongue-in-cheek: my hobbies include teen and canine psychology (I have kids and a neurotic dog), finding the holiday decorations that I put away the previous year in some bizarre though oddly logical place, and adventures in cuisine (I really don't enjoy cooking, but somebody's got to figure out what to do with vegetarian sausage, grapes, and canned Alfredo sauce.)

Seriously - costuming.  I find it tremendously satisfying to hunt down, create, or alter a costume so that it fits a particular person, time period, or event.  But I wouldn't want to do it as a job.

[zarathustra]

I'm developing hobbies because sitting around reading just doesn't do it for me anymore.  I'm hoping one or two of them will be aerobic but it hasn't happened yet.  I just bought a set of acrylic paints and I'm toying with the idea of decorating some ugly things around the house with my unskills.