How to have a productive habit? How to convert my hobbies into habits? How to change my habits to hobbies? Tips for forming a habit. Sounds familiar right? You might have searched for the answers to these questions numerous times, maybe way more than you are willing to admit. So how do you convert a habit into a hobby and vice versa, despite reading so many books, surfing the internet, and watching motivational videos? Before getting on that, you need to understand what habits and interesting hobbies are and how it works.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit" - Aristotle

Keeping the excellence part aside (no pressure!), a productive habit is something that you do often in a regular and repeated way. And that includes both your bad and good habits. You generally display it at any moment and it is often performed by your unconscious mind. One obvious reason for forming a habit is the frequently repeated action of something. For example, waking up early or binge-watching (although no one wants to admit that!) It’s an activity done over and over to the point that you don’t think about it. You don’t ask yourself if you want to do it. It sort of gets done. And most probably, you will feel incomplete if you don't do it.

If what we do repeatedly is a habit, then what are hobbies? 

“If you don’t do it consistently, it’s not a habit. It’s a hobby” — James Clear

This tweet is just on point and perfectly explains what are hobbies.

Hobbies are something you like to do, something you consciously take time for. It interests you and that’s why you do it so often. It can be as diverse as reading, cooking, writing, stand-up comedy and hiking to name but a few. 

Converting your productive hobbies into habits will help you immensely to grow and achieve success in your life. It will also help you have a more productive day. And it goes the same for converting your habits into hobbies. There might be some habits that you don't do that often. Sometimes it can be a habit that we might consider is not good for us. Like binge-watching! There is nothing wrong with getting some television action or Netflix action after a tiring day. But when it starts to interfere with your other work and becomes a habit, it might become a problem. 

Don't worry! There are some tips that will help you in turning your hobbies into habits and vice versa.

Tips to convert your hobbies into habits:

1. Pick a specific time

Choosing or fixing a time for a hobby regularly will keep you on track to convert it into a habit. When choosing a specific time, remember to pick a non-rushing time. A relaxing time will help you in doing the task without procrastinating. It will also help in avoiding the unwanted stress of “making time”.

2. Choose a location

Why choose a location right? Because when you designate a place to perform your hobby, you are less likely to get distracted. Pick a spot in your house (according to what your hobby is!) and go at it religiously to make it a habit. This will also help in delegating your time and space physically for the change.

3. Consistency is the key

This one is an important one. I can't emphasize it more! Consistency is everything. Choosing a time and place is great but if you don't do the hobby consistently, then it will not change it into a habit. Make sure you do it regularly until one day you start doing it unconsciously without even thinking about it.

4. Don't stress about the results, just do it.

Frankly, the results are not the main focus in this. You are doing a hobby to make it a habit. Not for the perfect result. The more you stress about the results, the more you will find reasons to back out. Write it even if it's the worst you have written! Cook even if it didn't turn out exactly like the recipe. Just do it! Thinking about a particular task can bring anxious thoughts. So like I said, fixing a time and location beforehand, will reduce half your stress and then the only thing that remains is to just do it.

Tips to convert your habits into hobbies:

1. Break the consistency

Habits are a regular thing, so to break that into a hobby, start breaking the consistency. Changing the pattern and location frequently will help you in breaking it as a habit.

2. Approach it consciously

You have to consciously decide not to engage in the habit because habits are mostly done unconsciously. You have to actively recognize your habits and what triggers them. Remember that the power is within you to change, you just have to be conscious about your actions.

3. Fix a specific time

Your habits are regular. So along with being conscious, try to fix a time like once or twice a week for the habit. This one might be difficult to do, but if you keep going at it, your habit will slowly change into a hobby because of the frequency. Limit your frequency of the habit as much as possible by fixing a time for it beforehand.

4. Find a productive alternative

Take the example of binge-watching. Writing reviews for the shows you're watching or switching to informative podcasts or audiobooks is a great way to deal with your habits in a productive way. It will also help you in switching to a new hobby. Finding a productive action for your habit will help in transitioning easily. 

At the end of the day, you decide what hobbies you want as your habits and what habits you want just as a hobby. If you are willing to make that change, then this will help you immensely. Again, the power is within you, so if you decide to make a change, then nobody can stop you. 

Hope this blog helps you in making the change.