How Hobbies Help You Learn

Why hobbies can help in your professional life by helping you learn

I’m sure that not a single person has missed my blog posts, but there are reasons that I haven’t been writing as I had before. There are a number of different causes, including personal and professional. There have been questions I’ve been asking myself and a whole suite of paradigm shifts I’ve been coming to grips with. What it boils down to, in all simplicity, is that I’ve been busy. I’ve been focusing on professional projects and improving portions of my personal life, but I’ve been neglecting the all-important actions of learning and creating. I honestly wouldn’t blame you for thinking that this isn’t such a big deal, but it is.

I’ve been noticing a slow and consuming density falling over me. I haven’t been spending my time learning new techniques, keeping up with the changes in language or the community, or even drawing. What this boils down to is the couch potato syndrome. I burn myself out on all of these different projects and I end up wanting nothing more than to sit down and play a few games or watch a movie. As a developer, this bothers me. Something I had promised myself and learned from very early on in my career, was that I should never get stagnant. I should, as many people have already succinctly stated, Always Be Learning.

When it comes to finding a solution to a problem online, I find myself slogging through explanations and tutorials. I have been tempted to simply copy and paste the code I need instead of learning how it works. This is dangerous for so many reasons, I could write a book on it. However, if you’ve spent any amount of time listening to the wonderful, intelligent people that I have, you’ll already know most, if not all of those reasons. I have to say, I am wholeheartedly ashamed of myself and I am not proud of this type of behavior. But that’s the good news. I caught it and I can fix it.

About a month ago, I was given the amazing gift of a stylus to plug into my new computer and help me draw the illustrations I’ve been yearning to do again. I set everything up, got it ready, and realized that there were a few buttons on the pad as well as the pen itself. Obviously, I’d need to figure out what these did and acclimate myself to the tool, so I put it away until I had time. Looking back, I realize the folly of this. Especially after spending the time last night to figure out all of the actions and actually learning about this new and extremely helpful tool.

I plugged in this toy, opened up Illustrator, and clicked through options, looked at instructions, and actually read with intent and gusto. It had been far too long since I practiced like this, but I had fallen back into it quickly and easily. Yes, it’s true that this isn’t directly correlated to my career, only my hobby. But, the experience of learning and enjoying the practice of gaining knowledge is as important in any career as the knowledge you already possess.

Looking back, this process was as quick as it was fun. I had learned everything I needed and I was able to play with techniques and levels of comfort as I worked on a new project. In the end, I produced work on an illustration I can already see I will be proud of and happy with. It isn’t finished by any means, but neither is the practice of learning. It took this experience as a reminder that as sentient beings, our main goal should be learning. We are, of course, allowed to take time off and relax, to pat down the foundation to build upon, as it were. But we must get back into the practice of learning every time. If you continue learning, practicing, and picking up new things, you will consistently be better than the person you were yesterday. That should always be my goal, and yours.

With this in mind, I’d like to happily announce that I will be picking up writing tutorials and blog articles again. It has always been a fun and enlightening way to pick up new techniques and learn them thoroughly. In order to write about how to use something, I have to figure that out for myself, and the act of writing down the instructions is a great tool for imprinting them into my own memory.

I have seen many people urging their community to learn, to grow, to help others do the same. I would like to rejoin that mentality and help others as I help myself. I suppose, in summation:
Hello, and welcome to my blog that I will be picking back up and keeping current and active.