AIBU to have no hobbies

See? Now we all know you're Linda from number 33!!

I don't have a hobby. There's things I enjoy doing but I definitely wouldn't class them as a hobby... going for a walk, shopping, reading, cooking, baking, doing quizzes etc. These are just standard activities imo rather than hobbies. Perhaps it's because I'm neither sporty nor particularly creative and most hobbies seem to be one or the other

There's loads of threads with women complaining about their DH's very time consuming hobbies which they cannot reveal because it would be "too outing"!!

But we all know it's cycling or golf 🤷‍♀️

I tend to have fits and starts with hobbies, depending on how life is (busyness, exhaustion, depression all have an effect etc) I can go years not having any hobbies (unless watching tv counts 😅). I have loads at the moment. Life does feel better when I do, I feel more satisfied with life like I’m a more interesting, better person which makes me feel good. But that being said when I don’t have hobbies I cannot force myself if I have no interest there. I’ve tried. It doesn’t work. So take the pressure off yourself and let one find you naturally when the tie is right and in the meantime just enjoy your rest when you can get it.

@BunTHoven there you go there.
You DO have plenty of "hobbies" 🙂

I am really confused?
Were you making a joke that's gone over my head?

Experiences are great and trying stuff is great.

I always worked FT with a commute and had 2 children and sometimes those hobbies took a bit of a back seat. I have a DH who genuinely shared the load plus had a cleaner so gave me time.

Have spent a lifetime hiking, gaming, dancing lessons of many types, visiting museums and crafting namely making costumes and props for myself, others and some theatre productions. Have tried many other things as well but these stuck.

I just made an authentic replica of a 1940’s tea dress, hat and bag and went to a vintage steam railway and car event recently and waltzed on the train platform to live music.

@tammienorrie I researched how to make a hooped petticoat last night, I get what you mean.

It was a figure of speech.

When I was younger and getting my career off the ground, I don't think I had a hobby beyond reading. I had things I liked to do but nothing that really constituted a hobby.

I don't think I really knew it about myself, but I am far more arty (for want of a better word) than I suspected, and now I get a lot of pleasure from exploring that in various ways - whatever takes my fancy, whatever a friend is also doing and we split the cost of materials. But I have time to do that now.

It's probably not that unusual to not do a hobby. It's fine, right? Life is busy and brains are varied.

Totally agree. Every waking hour spent working / school run/ cleaning / shuttling DS to activities. My hobby is getting a full night’s sleep. I try to do that at least three times a week!

Seriously?
There's several people on this thread who are also saying they don't have hobbies.

Because she is the only one who is like that. So any mumsnetter that knows her in real life will automatically know she is the one who created the thread.

I would agree that hobbies have to be something you're engaged in rather than just passively observing. Scrolling Insta/Tiktok on your phone isn't a hobby, but creating videos on whatever topic might be. Mindlessly surfing the internet isn't a hobby, researching your family history online is.

There are periods where life gets busy and you might not have time for 2 hours a day doing open water swimming or a salsa class but that's when you pick up other hobbies you can pick up and put down. For me, that's cross stitch, knitting or other crafts. Personally I don't think "going for a walk" counts as a hobby, but we go geocaching and I'd argue that was.

Thank you @CrystalSingerFan for the link to the free Open University courses. I've signed up to the one on the Enlightenment!

I think it's a bit unusual to have absolutely no hobbies at all. What do you do in the evenings and weekends? If you ever read / do crosswords / puzzles / bake / go walking etc I would consider those to be hobbies.

I know what you mean about having little time because I struggle with that too due to full time work and two small children, but I think if you're regularly doing anything non-essential in the course of a week that constitutes a hobby!

I think it’s about intent. If you’re mindless watching (or mindless scrolling on a phone) to pass time it’s not a hobby. If for example you’re an avid true crime fan and you absorb the information presented to you and reflect on it after / discuss it etc then it’s more of a hobby.

How can that be "outing" though (which was what I was replying to)?

OP has the moment she said she had no hobbies.

For some people it's love affairs - remember the Sondheim song lyric 'Bobby is my hobby / And I'm giving him up'.

I think you're not unusual at all. I worked full time, some weekends, lots of evenings. Brought up a child mostly single handed, dealt with household dross, garden maintenance and needy elders. Sometimes there was very little time for hobbies.
Some hobbies are no longer economic either. Sewing, knitting, dressmaking are for design, better fi and fun but rarely cost effective.

Why?
No one has mentioned anything especially unusual.

Do your children have hobbies? Any regular activities they've kept up with? Did you have any as a child?