I distinctly remember telling my husband when our first son was still a baby that I needed something to think about beyond nap schedules and what else in our house I could baby proof.
I loved my boy with all of my heart, but a year into motherhood, I needed another place for my mind to go. I needed a connection to me.
Not Erica the mom, Erica the housekeeper, or Erica the newlywed wife.
I needed a connection to the Erica I’d always been.
At the time, I started simple. I started by spending more time at the piano. (Often with a set of chubby hands banging the keys to the side of me. 😉 )
But over the years, I ventured into photography, container gardening, and pizza-making. Before long, I started The Life On Purpose Movement, which has given me more creative fulfillment than I could have imagined back in those early days of motherhood when I felt a bit lost.
The world needs your gifts. Your family needs your gifts.
Maybe most important of all, I believe that you need the experience of exploring and cultivating your gifts.
The best thing about this list is that you can do many of these activities with your kids beside you. You can have your kid do play dough beside you while you update your gratitude list. You can invite the kids to participate when you pick out plants at the nursery.
You can show your kids by example that life is big and beautiful and we’re here to really live it.
What a beautiful legacy to pass on.
I hope you enjoy these 44 life-giving hobbies for moms—I can’t wait to hear about what you pick up!
44 Life-Giving Hobbies for Moms
- Use YouTube tutorials to teach yourself Photoshop or Lightroom.
- Master two difficult recipes a month. Crème brulée, sourdough bread, chocolate molten lava cakes, etc.
- Learn to make digital art prints and start selling them on Etsy.
- Start a blog, podcast, or Instagram account about a topic you’re passionate about, from gardening to parenting to social justice—and anything in between.
- Start a running list of gift ideas for the people in your life. As a bonus, you’ll be able to buy things when you see great prices rather than right before a birthday or holiday. (I keep my running list in the Reminders app on my iPhone.)
- Take up hand lettering. You can doodle on the iPad or practice with simple pen and paper. Or take an online course from a calligrapher like Hand Lettered Design.
- If you play an instrument, buy new music (music that really excites you) to learn.
- Start taking guitar, piano, or voice lessons.
- Use YouTube to teach yourself the ukulele!
- Write in a journal regularly. Document the everyday moments of your life.
- Keep a gratitude journal, writing daily about five small things you’re grateful for.
- Learn to take and edit better iPhone photos and videos. One of my favorite photographers offers a great course on this—Phone Course {Tips and Tricks for Daily Life}
- Pick up DSLR photography!
- Create a family photo book. (I like Artifact Uprising and Chatbooks for this!)
- Volunteer to host a bridal shower, baby shower, or a birthday party, and let your creativity flow while you plan the menu, activities, and decor.
- Use iMovie or an app like InShot to edit and compile your video clips into a montage. You could make videos to celebrate your child’s birthday, your anniversary, Father’s Day, etc.
- Learn to make your own green cleaning products.
- Plant a flower or vegetable garden.
- Make a potted herb garden.
- Research nonprofit organizations to find one you want to get involved in or contribute to.
- Use educational apps to learn to code, just like you might have your kids do!
- Coach a parks & rec session for your kids. (Pre-requisite: you must LOVE the sport!)
- Update your Pinterest boards. Reorganize and make more detailed descriptions. Click through and read a bunch of the articles that you pinned and “saved for later.” (I want to do this!)
- Work your way through an epic book list, like this one from Goodreads: 100 books to Read Before You Die. I also highly recommend the annual summer reading guide from Modern Mrs. Darcy.
- Go crazy updating your Goodreads account, leaving reviews on all the books you’ve read and finding new books to add to your list.
- Work on those baby books you’ve been procrastinating.
- Get a head start on your Christmas card, no matter the time of year. (Why not?)
- Find a friend to hike with and explore all of the hiking trails in your area.
- Foster kittens or volunteer at a local animal rescue.
- Join a gym with childcare. (An hour workout—without kids—never felt so good!)
- Get into a new fitness activity that brings you JOY: boxing, yoga, pilates, rowing, barre, tennis, tae kwon do!
- Get chickens. If you’re ambitious, you could even design and build the chicken coop!
- Sign up for an athletic event (5k, half-marathon, sprint triathlon), and start training.
- Get into essential oils.
- Get crafty. Make greeting cards, Christmas ornaments, baby bracelets, hair bows, etc.
- Do a top-to-bottom declutter of your home. OR start small—with one small space, like your junk drawer. {10 Clutter-Clearing Strategies that Will Gradually Make Your Life 100 Times Easier}
- Learn new hair styles and techniques using videos and tutorials you find on Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. (I’ve always wanted to learn to fancy-braid.)
- Take an art class. This online watercolor class from Jones Design Company would be excellent.
- Teach yourself to sew—or ask a friend, relative, or neighbor to help you learn.
- Tackle a home project.
- Try meditation. The Headspace app is a great starting place.
- Start composting.
- Write your life story.
- Start writing a novel.
I’d LOVE to hear about your experience cultivating your hobbies in motherhood! Which of these have you tried, and what’s on your list for the future?
Sending love, mamas!
So so important to have goals for your personal growth! Great list! 🙂 Now to find the time…
Exactly! I think interests and hobbies are essential, but they can be so hard to squeeze in, depending on what stage of motherhood you’re in. It’s just a theory, but maybe it works to have hobbies when you have one baby, then gets trickier when you have more than one toddler, and then becomes a bit easier when some (or all) of the kids are in school.
I agree and disagree. I only have one and it was easy when he was a baby to work on my hobbies – but now that he’s almost 3 and has no playmates? yeah…I’m his playmate…so the only time I can really work on the computer is when he’s having quiet/nap time in the afternoons. I’ve enforced him to learn how to entertain himself in his room for quiet time so I get a little bit of me time squeezed into each day.
Definitely, Aprille. I mean toddlers/preschoolers in general, no matter how many you have! My older son doesn’t entertain himself very well, so I can imagine he’d be by my side every second without his brother to play with. Good for you for teaching him to play in his room. Mommy sanity is a must!
Agreed! Rest time to the mommy-hobby rescue! 🙂 although I usually just have enough energy to sit on my couch and read. Except for now- napping is my current hobby 😉
I personally like how it moves in to a money-making venture on step 3, when most of our moms probably can’t fully work a USB port.
So many hobbies. so little time. that’s my problem!
Haha, yep, that seems to be the problem! Maybe that’ll have to be another post! But you’ve already got a great blog, so you can just check “get a hobby” off your to-do list. Done! 🙂
Yes, blogging is my biggest and most time-consuming hobby. And I love it!
Thank you for an amazing list! I have hit a road block sometimes thinking of hobbies, but now I am going to use your list! Have a wonderful day, friend!
Thanks, Ashley! I can’t imagine that you ever run out of hobbies or things to do! I’m sure that at this stage, your family and wonderful blog keep you hopping! 🙂 Have a great evening!
Love it! Well of course I’ve got a million things to do like everyone else but I definitely have a few hobbies of my own! And thanks for the links too. Very helpful. I really want to do a blog book so I’m excited to see that link. and also I’ve never been a really good writer so I’m i nterested in seeing the link for growing a blog slowly(it should apply to my photography page too right?) and another thing i wanted to add is making crafts to sell at the local craft boutique once or twice a year.I know a few moms that do this. Anyways thanks for doing this I always enjoy reading your blog! Miss you guys!!!
I miss you too, Vickie! We need to get together! Here’s the link to the “grow a blog slowly” post (https://ericalayne.co/2013/07/how-to-grow-a-blog-slowly.html). This post (http://jonesdesigncompany.com/the-blog-class/the-truths-about-blogging/) is a great resource for how to grow, as well. (Get ready, though, because it’s lengthy!)
And yes, craft boutiques are a fantastic idea. If you’re going to make them, you might as well get a little money for them when you can!
I *LOVE* this list! So inspiring! Blogging is my biggest hobby right now, but I would like to pursue other things {like the gardening and sewing}. It is definitely important for us mamas to pursue something that fuels our soul. We are better mamas for it!
I was excited when you mentioned you were going to write about hobbies. I feel like I used to have hobbies and no longer do. While I have done a decent amount of these things, I’m not sure if I enjoyed doing them or just do them to get them done. I blog, have finally made my blog books, tried (and hated) gardening my one plant, read pins, try new recipes, and do some crafting.
But you’ve got me re-motivated to practice piano (my middle one screams at me when I play), wanting to learn photoshop, and I really like actually *doing* pins. I would love to be able to make graphic prints–I see too many that look so simple yet too expensive for me.
Great post!
ahh found you through alana’s self care course. totally loving the title of your blog and totally loving the blog book idea! i’ve been thinking of doing that for a while now! just gonna wait some time, cause i just moved my blog…so i’m gonna let it build up again 🙂
I’m so happy I’ve found your blog through the Mommy-Brain Mixer! As a new mother I have really enjoyed reading your posts. You have lots of great insight into motherhood. I enjoyed your list of hobbies. I’m always looking for ways to grow as a mother, wife, and person.
Thank you for this list. While in lockdown due to COVID-19, I felt like I was losing myself again in motherhood and trying to be a good wife. When everything starts to open back up, I’m going to start by going to the gym and getting a mani/pedi every two weeks.
I am not a mom (yet), however I love the post, I totally agree that children should not take all the space and there is still should be thriving and time for hobbies 🙂
I am always bursting with ideas. I wasap surprised to read many that I have already tried or that passed through my mind. I could add… Patch work, makeup webinars, designing jewels, inventing recipes, crafting altars, rafting, star gazing, ikebana, claqué, interior design…. The world is still very wide!
This is such a great list not just for moms of young kids but for someone like myself who is a new empty nester and at a bit of a loss for what to do with myself. My latest passion is searching my genealogy. It can include writing family stories and photography that can be passed on to the next generation. I have also made new friends and discovered distant cousins who share the interest.
Thanks!
Lisa
That’s really nice post. I appreciate your skills. Thanks for sharing.