Top Ten Tuesday

My Non-Bookish Hobbies Or What I Do When Not Reading

20201103 Non-Bookish Hobbies

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Hi everybody, and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday!

Today’s a little more personal, as we talk about our non-bookish hobbies! Now, I have to admit, I’m a bit of a short-term-hobbyist. I love a lot of things, and I like trying new things, but I never seem to be able to make any hobby stick for long, or find a routine that can keep them around. So I’m always like, “O yeah, I love that! I just haven’t done it in ages! But I really mean to pick it back up! No, seriously!” For example, I have loved doing Pilates, drawing, photography and bullet journaling. I did some badminton for a while, and I had a fitness subscription. But I haven’t kept any of those hobbies up. 

That said, there are still a few hobbies that have been consistently a part of my life (or, in the case of one, I’m trying really, really hard to be more consistent about). Here they are:

Blogging

Okay, maybe this can be considered bookish, since you know, I blog about books. But I feel like I need to mention it anyway, because IT. TAKES. UP. MOST. OF. MY. FREE. TIME. (Not that I mind, because I do love it, but it still needs to be said)

I’m sure all you fellow bloggers understand just how much time goes into blogging, and the multitude of things it consists of. I’m basically writing, designing and lay-outing everything. I’m networking by finding and commenting on other blogs and establishing online friendships. And when my blog acts up and doesn’t cooperate, I turn into an IT person. (Ugh, not a fan of that aspect. Also, my IT knowledge usually starts and ends with turning it off and then on again.) This is a multi-functional hobby for sure!

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Music

I love listening to music and in my free time I can often be found updating my Spotify playlists, or browsing Youtube for music and performance videos by my favorite artists.

My music taste is extremely eclectic, though it mostly consists of rock and pop. Also, since the last 4-5 years, I’ve gotten really addicted to k-pop.

Some of my favorite artists:

Non k-pop:

Linkin Park, Against The Current, One OK Rock, Troye Sivan, Bring Me The Horizon, Ed Sheeran, Rise Against, Fall Out Boy, Sleeping With Sirens

K-pop:

BTS, Stray Kids, Dreamcatcher, Monsta X, SuperM, Mamamoo, BlackPink, The Rose, Oneus, Ateez

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Kdramas

I used to be a huge TV addict. Like, one of those people who had a schedule for every day based on what show had a new episode coming out that day. I watched several shows at the same time. But the problem was, most shows tended to go on for way too many seasons and ended up really disappointing me, and for a while I forced myself to keep watching ‘just because I wanted to know how it would end’, but then I just quit most TV shows altogether (except for a few recent shows like Stranger Things, The Umbrella Academy or The Witcher…)

But then I discovered the wonderful world of k-dramas and I FELL IN LOVE. One season dramas, with only 16 or so episodes to tell a story, feels like it is PERFECT FOR ME. I love the drama, I love the plotlines, I love the magical aspect k-dramas seem to bring. Watching a k-drama to me is like being enveloped in a warm, comfortable hug.

My favorite k-dramas right now:

Romance is a Bonus Book, Goblin, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, While You Were Sleeping, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Crash Landing On You

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Dance

This feels weird to add, since I actually quit from my dancing club last year due to too many other commitments and a lack of overall time, but it would also feel weird not to mention dance, since it’s been a part of my entire life so far. I’ve been dancing since I was a kid, and I’ve been dancing on and off pretty much all my life. I’ve never been good enough to enter championships or go pro or anything, but I’ve always loved doing it and just having fun with my dance club colleagues.

I miss it greatly, but I also know it was the right choice as I just didn’t have the time to go every week or to put in the extra effort when there was a performance and it was eating me up inside. So now I’m trying to find something to do on my own, so if any of you have any amazing Youtube dance workout recommendations, please do let me know!

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Graphic Design

This is something I’ve always been interested in, and loved doing. I’ve always had a kind of basic knowledge, but not enough to really do a lot.

So during the first lockdown I purchased a self-study course on Adobe Indesign and Adobe Photoshop and I’m slowly working my way through them. (Keyword here is slowly, since I usually prioritize blogging or reading whenever I have some free time. But I try!)

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Workouts

Hahahaha.

OK, just hear me out. This is a hobby I’m TRYING to get back off the ground. I love doing home workouts. I’ve done several in the past and I always feel better when I get to workout on a consistent basis. So I really want to go back to feeling like that.

But nowadays, I’m having trouble finding a routine that fits for me. I did great during the first lockdown, when I was home and not working, because then I could do 3-4 workouts a week. But when I’m working full-time? It just DOESN’T HAPPEN. Life just comes in between and I’m either too tired at the end of the day or have other things to do in the weekends. But I want to do it. I’m looking for a routine that fits me and one day, I will be able to work out consistently-ish again!

Some of my favorite home workouts:

Turbofire // Tone It Up // Chloe Ting // Sunny Funny Fitness (she has super fun dance workouts, including to kpop songs)

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Friends

So many little hobbies can be categorized under one specific category, and that is friends. I love doing things with my friends. I love going out to eat with friends. I love going to see a movie with friends. I love going ice skating with friends (terrible at it though, I just do it to please my inner Yuri on Ice fangirl). I love going shopping with friends. I love just sitting and talking with friends. Basically, I just like enjoying the simple things in life, and I like sharing those things with friends.

Naturally, this is something I haven’t really been able to do much of this year, because of the Corona virus, but I really hope to be able to do more of it again soon.

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My dog

I can’t forget about our not-so-little-anymore Dalmatian pup, Pixel! Pixel joined our family last summer and she has of course completely changed our lives. She’s a super active dog, who needs A LOT of attention and A LOT of playtime. So every morning, I take her for a long walk (my husband takes care of the evening walks) and every evening, we play with her. Her favorite game is (of course) chasing after a ball, which she can do for hours on end (I’m not even exaggerating) or playing hide and seek with her toy.

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Tell Me:
What are some of your non-bookish hobbies?
And am I the only one who has some trouble combining reading/blogging with other hobbies?

Lindsey xoxo

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PS: I’m (still) having some technical difficulties with my comments. I apologize for the inconvenience but I could really use your help in the next few weeks, especially if your comments are not coming through. Check this post for more info: https://www.lindseyh.be/2020/09/technical-difficulties-i-need-your-help-with-my-commenting-issues-please
Thank you!

36 Comments

  1. I wish I didn’t mind exercise. 😉 I do love design though AND of course, blogging. 100% relate to how much work it is.

    1. Haha yeah, I like exercise when it’s done, but it’s the starting that is giving me trouble 🙂

  2. So true bout blogging! And aww Pixel looks adorable. Love that name too. 🙂

    I like that Sleeping w/ Sirens song!

    1. Pixel is adorable, that’s for sure 🙂

  3. Just gotta say: Dreamcatcher, Mamamoo, and The Rose? The taste truly jumped out.

    1. There’s no denying they are some amazing bands. I’m especially obsessed with Dreamcatcher 🙂

      1. I can’t blame you. Dreamcatcher’s music and charisma are incredible! I’ve been getting into them recently. 😊

  4. I need to get back into workouts again. We had to let our gym membership lapse and I’d like to do workouts at home–I just haven’t done much more than walk to the Pokéstop and back.

    1. Oh, that’s actually still a fun way to get some exercise in! I used to play Pokémon and take walks around the neighborhood between all the Pokéstops, but then I stopped like so many of my hobbies *oops*

  5. Patrick Prescott says:
    1. Thanks!

  6. I liked your comments about what you do with friends.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.

    1. Thanks, hanging out with friends is definitely one of my favorite activities 🙂

  7. Blogging takes up most of my free time, too! I try to exercise every day, but I need to be better about it.

    1. It’s crazy how much time goes into blogging – but luckily we love it 🙂 I definitely need to be better about exercise too, I’m not even at weekly at this moment *oops*

  8. lydiaschoch says:

    Dancing was on my list, too. And I’d love to get better at graphic design.

    My post.

    1. I definitely love and miss dancing! Graphic design is a lot of fun, I enjoy learning it 🙂

  9. OMG can I just say how much I love Pixel! She’s gorgeous 🙂 I had hanging out with my friends on my list too, even though it often encompasses other things I like to do, I’d have been remiss if I didn’t include it since my friends mean so much to me. I’m also really into music, though my music taste tends to lean more towards musicals soundtracks than k-pop. I do love blogging, but didn’t include it since it was book related, though it is what I spend an inordinate amount of my free time doing!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/11/03/top-ten-tuesday-288/

    1. Thanks, I do love our Pixel 🙂
      Yes, hanging out with friends is can encompass so many things, and yet the crucial element is that it’s done with friends – definitely one of the most important things to me too!
      I love musical soundtracks too, though I mostly only know the big popular ones like Hamilton, Chicago, or Wicked. I also love the Mean Girls Soundtrack!
      Haha yeah I kind of cheated with including blogging, but it takes up sooo much time that it felt weird not to include. And sometimes I blog about music or TV so it still kind of counts 😉

      1. I’ve been obsessed with dalmatians since seeing 101 Dalmatians as a kid, thankfully I grew out of wanting 101, but one might be nice in the future, assuming that my situation allows for a super active dog. We currently have a Labrador who also needed a lot of exercise when he was young, but he doesn’t really want to go for walks now that he’s old.
        Yes, often I’ll literally just sit and talk for hours with my friends, and it’s so much fun, I’m glad that we were able to meet up more this summer but also kind of sad that we’re probably going to be restricted on how much we can meet over the winter. Coronavirus sucks! I tend towards the more popular ones as well, stuff like Hamilton, Wicked, Hairspray, Waitress are on my IPod though I do have so more niche ones like The Last Five Years. My most recent addition was the Moulin Rouge Broadway soundtrack. I’ve never actually heard the Mean Girls one, will have to check it out. I definitely get that, it’s basically all I’ve been doing over the past few months.

        1. Oh yes, I loved that movie too! But I’m good with just the one Dalmatian now haha 🙂 Though it would be nice for her to have a playmate… Labradors are also adorable! I think they’re kind of comparable to Dalmatians when it comes to playfulness and activity, if maybe just a little bit less. But I’m sure Pixel will also calm down when she gets older, so for now we’ll just enjoy her playfulness 🙂
          I heard so many good things about Waitress, I have a colleague who loves that one also, so I need to check out the soundtrack for sure 🙂

          1. That is totally fair, there’s no realistic way that anyone could have 101 dogs! Our dog was definitely incredibly energetic when he was young, we used to have to take him for 3-4 walks a day but now we have to drag him out of his basket to go out! Yes you definitely should, the music is amazing, Sara Bareilles wrote the lyrics and composed the music and she’s such an amazing songwriter!

  10. I’m trying to make workouts a hobby, too. Mine just include walking at this point, but I’m up to 2 miles/5 times a week. Good luck!

    1. A 2 mile walk 5 times a week already sounds like a nice routine! I hope to have one soon too 🙂

  11. Lauren Becker says:

    I love dance. I never did it growing up, but in my 20’s, I joined an adult dance class and it’s been great. Right now I’m doing tap! Blogging is definitely a hobby. It takes up a lot of time, but I do love it.

    -Lauren
    http://www.shootingstarsmag.net

    1. Tap sounds like a lot of fun! I’ve never done it, but it’s always so incredibly fun to watch and I always want to try it 🙂 Blogging definitely takes up so much time, so luckily we do love it!

  12. I love your dog so much! *sobs*

    1. She is adorable! 🙂

  13. Mareli Thalwitzer says:

    Hi Lindsey! I have never heard of K-dramas, but I am so going to check it out.

    I still do dancing, I do a twice weekly ballet barre class and although it kills me – I love it.

    I guess I can say my pets are a hobby as well. Elza is just the spoiled little brat, there are actually 3 other cats and 2 labs as well!

    And yes!! Blogging is my favorite hobby!

    Here’s my The Collected Works of Elza Reads

    1. Thanks, I hope you’ll find a k-drama you’ll love 🙂
      Ballet Barre sounds like a lot of fun, but also very difficult! I think it’s great that you do that twice a week!
      Pets are the best indeed, couldn’t imagine life without them anymore 🙂

  14. Sophie @BewareOfTheReader says:

    As I didn’t have ten ones I did not post about it yesterday but I do love Linkin Park too( sonow I’ll peruse your other bands) and thanks to you I finaly listened to some KPop LOL. Now as far as workout is concerned my fitness club has some online but I do prefer long walks outside and yoga with Adriene ( she is an amazing instructor if you want to try).
    And I love my dog and the blog….yeah ?

    1. AH I’m always happy to find another Linkin Park fan 🙂 And I’m glad I got you to try some kpop, hope you enjoyed it!
      Oh I don’t know Yoga With Adrienne, so I’ll have to look her up! It would be fun to try some yoga at home.

  15. Pixel is so cute!

    I think its great you invested in graphic design like that. If you can take your time with it that is not a bad thing. As long as you get something from it for yourself right?

    1. She is indeed adorable 🙂
      Exactly, I don’t mind taking my time as it’s something I do for myself and there’s no rush 🙂

  16. Pixel is so adorable! I need to get back into my workouts too. We cancelled our gym membership because of COVID and I’ve been struggling to get back into any kind of exercise routine. And yes on blogging. That is definitely where most of my free time is spent. So much fun!

    1. Yes, I have the impression that COVID ruined a lot of gym routines, but I’m definitely trying to get a home routine going. Blogging definitely takes up so much time, but luckily it’s fun and we love it 🙂

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