At any given time, I have a side project running.
Sometimes I attempt to design WordPress themes.
Other times I try photography.
And there’s good news: side projects improve other areas of your life.
This post originally appeared on theBuffer blog.
Spending your time in this way can make youhappier,healthier, andmore productive.
Side projects boosted work performance.
There’s been research to back up this phenomenon.
San Francisco State psychology professor Dr. Kevin Eschleman and his colleaguesmeasured the effect of creative hobbieson over 400 employees.
Recovery is a key psychological function of side projects and hobbies.
Evidently this also applies to work:
Optimal experiences correlate positively with mental health.
However, in our society leisure is used as an “escape” from work.
Boston College sociology professor Dr. Juliet Schorcalls this phenomenon"work-spend-work-spend mentality.
Side projects and creative hobbies help stop this cycle and nurture amore creativeand fulfilling version of down time.
But how, exactly?
Building a website can be a work project for you and a side project for me.
They believe side projects follow three rules.
They don’t have to provide you with a living.
you’re free to still eatif they fail.
They don’t have a deadline.
And as there is no time pressure, you don’t revert to your usual formula.
You try new things.
This is a labor of love.
You provide the labor and you provide the love.
So when you spend time on it, it is because you really want to.
That keeps you coming back and pushing it on.
Low-risk, low-pressure, and love.
You’d be hard-pressed to find these three concepts all in the same place in the business world.
Many work projects lack twoif not all threeof these elements.
High-risk, high-pressure assignments represent the flip side of casual pursuits.
So without side projects, things get unbalanced rather quickly.
A Side Project, a Creative Hobby, or Both?
When we’re talking about side projects and creative hobbies, are we talking about the same thing?
A creative hobby is a long-term interest.
Here’s an example: Musicians take on side projects quite often.
These projects can be the result of experimenting with new creative hobbiesnew instruments, new sounds, new technology.
In this way, the hobby leads to the project.
I’ve found creative writing to be an incredibly enjoyable hobby.
Someday, I’ll turn this hobby into a side project of writing a book.
you’re able to choose both projects and hobbies.
you might do both at the same time.
And you could pick absolutely anything that interests you and that you want to learn more about.
Your side project or hobby doesn’t need to be something you’re already good at.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
There’s also the challenge of overcoming the obstacles that get in the way.
Here are some helpful tips for creating a project or hobby that is reinvigorating and sustainable.
Focus on the now, not the end.Keep yourattention on the task at hand.
Break your project into parts.I’m borrowing this idea from the world of work projects.
Coming up with a project or hobby can provide a big psychological lift and a boost to work productivity.
Illustration by Tina Mailhot-Roberge.
Photos byMitch Altman(Flickr) andDebby(Flickr).
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