CREDIT: ILHAN ADEN
Bored and out of ideas for hobbies? Here's what you can do for a fruitful new you.

Change is an inevitable part of life but as creatures of habit it takes work to embrace. For some that work begins in the New Year and for others that work never stopped.

Regardless of where you are on your journey of change, let this new year be your year of new — new hobbies/projects/friends and more.

If 2020 has taught me anything it is to be much more intentional with my choices in 2021, the biggest take away being…just try.


So here are my recommendations of new hobbies to start in 2021.

1. Photo journal

Photo journaling is a great way to utilize the photos that aren’t for social media but still mean something to you.

It is a creative way to express emotions sometimes not easily spoken or written. And for the budding storytellers, it is a great way to develop concepts into narratives.

If money is an issue — let’s be real, it is for everyone right now — this is a cheap hobby to start during the pandemic since just about everyone has a smart phone with a workable camera. You can start with taking photos of things around the house or use it as motivation to go for a COVIDfriendly walk.

Pro tip: Sunrise and sunset, also known as the golden hour, are great times of day to shoot if you are interested in playing with free lighting.

2. Podcast

In what I believe is the year of entrepreneurship, podcasting is a great hobby to begin if you are a talker and/or well informed on a given topic.

With podcasting, there is a show for everyone. From weekly 15min episodes to monthly three-hour long episodes, you are not bound by time but rather content.

If starting a podcast is for you, ask yourself three questions.

Do you have access to good audio equipment?

Can you talk about a given topic/ topics interestingly?

Can you consistently upload?

If you can already answer these questions confidently, you are ready to go. However, for everyone else interested, you can invest in a quality mic from Amazon.ca — they run from as low as $50 — and record a few episodes with yourself and/ or hosts. Have others listen back to ensure they hear you clearly and can engage with the content. Once that is established, determine a consistent upload schedule and find the digital service providers (Spotify, Google Play, Apple Music, YouTube) you’d like to use.

Pro tip: It’s okay if you aren’t good with transitions, they are the hardest things to get right in podcasting but practice makes perfect.

3. Journal

You can never go wrong with writing down your thoughts and feelings. It is an unfailing method that allows you to reflect, analyze, understand, and grow in many aspects of your life.

Although not new in its recommendation — especially on lists like this — let consistency in your journaling be the new aspect you embrace in 2021. Build a schedule for not only writing in your journal but also reading from it, it is through reflecting back on your words that one can note progression.

Pro tip: Keep your journals organized with the year and date range inside the front of each journal once it is filled. It helps to know the specific time period you are reflecting on when reading back.

4. Read

Reading, similar to journaling, is not a new recommendation however the idea of scheduling when you read is something new to embrace.

I recommend setting monthly goals to ensure books are actually being read in hopes of avoiding what the Japanese call Tsudoku — the act of owning a lot of books you never read.

Pro tip: Looking for recommendations? Try reading any of the books photographed, they all make a great read!

5. Collect Vinyl’s

With ownership rather than access to music slowly pushing its way to the mainstream, collecting vinyl is easier than ever before. With several stores in the city, there are a wide range of genres available so everyone can find something they enjoy.

Music is an experience that when given the proper focus, the additional reading material available with vinyl aids in its consumption. For me, it adds meaning and sometimes context I would not get from just listening.

Building a tangible music collection is an underrated hobby that I believe will take over 2021 partly for what the pandemic has taught us about being intentional with our money and time.

Pro tip: Check out Grooves, Old East Village, Odyssey Records and Speed City Records for some great deals on vinyl.

Photos below credit: ILHAN ADEN Click on the thumbnails below to view a larger version of each image.