Clear Your Mental Palette with Our Top 5 Picks

With the bump and grind of our everyday lives, from long working hours, the imminent loadshedding and traffic jams, we sometimes need to just take time for ourselves. A great way to de-stress is to find a hobby, something where you can escape the chaos and let yourself relax with a little creativity through exploring an interest outside of your line of work.

When deciding on a new hobby it is important to look into something that you are passionate about, and that will allow for you to escape into a world where everyday stress is left behind. Once you have made up your mind on your perfect ¿getaway¿, all you need to do is get started. Here are 5 hobby ideas to get you underway.

Photography

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You can capture the beauty of life all around you through the lens of a camera. Choosing photography as a hobby will open doors for you. You can choose to photograph landscapes, cityscapes, people, animals, intriguing details¿ anything your heart desires! The world is your oyster. Whether you are starting out or have a few photos under your belt, you can always add to your equipment to ensure you can practice those skills and experiment with various techniques to make your photos uniquely yours.

Gardening

If you are more at peace in the outdoors, why don¿t you try your hand at gardening? You don¿t necessarily have to have green fingers to try out gardening as a hobby, all it takes is time, perseverance and patience.

There is nothing more satisfying than planning the theme, look and feel of your garden, and envisioning what you would like to get from it. Seeing the fruits of your dedication come to life will be rewarding. Choose your ideal. Is it vegetables, butterflies, birds? Who knows, if you plant your own vegetables, you may have the added benefit of never having to go to the supermarket. Not only will you be green and self-sustainable, your vegetable soup is sure to be a whole lot tastier.


Painting

Should you have a more creative flair and enjoy creating your own artwork, painting can be a great therapeutic pastime (outdoors and indoors). It will help you let go of your pent-up stress while stimulating your imaginative mind. The great thing about choosing painting as your hobby is that you don¿t need to be a professional artist to enjoy it. Some of us will choose paint-by-numbers while others may take on a bigger challenge such as a complicated oil canvass depicting the local city skyline. Just remember that the hobby you choose should be one that helps you de-stress. So get your paints, canvas and easel out for some relaxation and show the world your artistic flair.

Sculpting

Sculpting is another great hobby if you want to get your hands dirty. You can choose your perfect form of sculpting whether it be turning a lump of clay into a beautiful bowl or statue, or carving out wood or stone for your unique masterpiece.
It really depends on how much stress you want to get rid of. Wood and stone carving may be more physically demanding than turning the clay wheel to create an intricate vase, but with time you will become really good at it. Practice and the right equipment are what you need to succeed.

Scrapbooking

If you are more of an indoor person, scrapbooking is a great way to cherish memories in a creative way, from family albums to handmade and personal gift cards and presents. With scrapbooking, you can use pictures, notes, cut-outs and embellishments to make that unique memory. This is an easy to start hobby and can become quite technical. You only need a few bits and bobs to start with. When you get more ambitious, there are tons of scrapbooking ideas to keep you occupied with this hobby.

It does not matter what hobby you choose to have a go at, what is important is having fun and relaxing and enjoying it.