The best hobbies for teachers aren’t about being “productive”; they’re about getting your headspace back after a long school day. When your mental health feels thin by Week 6 of the school year, a good hobby can give you a steady, relaxing way to switch off.
Popular belief says you need big blocks of time to feel refreshed, but small routines can shift your whole week. A simple walking routine after work supports physical fitness and can ease the stress that builds in the teaching profession.
Sometimes you just need creative outlets that aren’t tied to lesson plans or student needs. Playing a musical instrument, trying easy tricks like coin tricks (no magic shop required), or even a short session of video games can be a fun way to reset your brain. This blog post breaks down how to choose a great hobby that suits your teaching career, your budget, and your energy.
Hobbies for Teachers to Help You Stop Thinking About School
Many times, as a busy, wound-up teacher, it is difficult to come home and just forget about school. I know…I was one of them.
School took over my life, both on the job and at home. It was just in my head. All. The. Time.
Part of the problem is that I didn’t have anything else outside of school. When I became a second-career teacher, I felt like I had let go of my creative side and all the crafts and hobbies that I’d enjoyed, to plan and perfect the art of teaching.
Then, there was nothing outside teaching, and it ended up taking over my life.
And…all I seemed to have the energy for was binge-watching telly. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you LOVE some of the great tv shows available. But the trouble was, once I was on the lounge, it became very difficult to leave and do something else. I was just too damn exhausted. I needed a new hobby that would improve my quality of life and provide better ways to cope with the stress of teaching.
How Relaxing Hobbies for Teachers Can Make a Difference in Your Mindset
Over the last couple of years, I’ve had to make some BIG changes in my life. You see, I ended up fully burning out of my teaching career. I was suffering from depression, anxiety, and full emotional breakdown. Only once I realized that I had to start prioritizing myself and not spend every waking moment thinking about school could I make the necessary changes.
I started looking for ways to decompress outside of school. I started trying a new, fun hobby every now and then. And over time, I started feeling like a real person again.
One of the most important things I’ve realized on my journey is that relaxing hobbies for teachers aren’t a luxury. They’re not something you fit into whatever time is left over. You have to actively look for various ways you can make hobbies for teachers a priority in your life so you can decompress and remember who you are outside of the classroom.
I’ve started to rekindle my love of hobbies and crafts, or anything that will take my mind away from the all-encompassing role as a teacher, and to reconnect with my life outside of school, so that I can enjoy my life. If we all had this attitude, I’m sure we would all be better teachers.
While you’re here, get the FREE Stress-Busting Tips Cheatsheet to help you RELAX after school:
Related Article: 7 Tips for Teachers: How to Stop Thinking About School
How Hobbies for Teachers Make You a Better Teacher
Michael, from Smart Classroom Management, discusses this in his article Hobbies Make you a Better Teacher, stating that teachers should; head out to hike, swim, paint, and play an instrument, amongst other interests, in an effort to help to ‘become more effective, interesting, and charismatic’ teachers. He also is very clear about hobbies acting as a ‘powerful antidote to teacher-related stress.’
I’M ALL FOR THIS!
By extending yourself beyond the classroom and doing NEW and FUN things, can only help you to enjoy your life much more, get you out of a RUT and make YOU feel happier in yourself.
Now’s the time to get your mind off school, pull yourself away from the telly (or lesson planning) and join me.
Relaxing hobbies for teachers are a great way to help to renew your energy, rekindle your passion and give you a drive for life. Because like Self-Care for Teachers says,
You are person first and a teacher second.Ellen Rolland Keene
School doesn’t have to be the ‘be all and end all’ of your life.
So off you go, dig into your cupboards now. Go and find what’s lurking there, that might spark your interest and help you relax.
Do you have a jigsaw you haven’t even opened the box of yet?
What about stitcheries or have you some fabric stashed away in a cupboard waiting for you to resurrect.
That’s ok if you do. Now’s the time.
Leave the planning and marking at school and make some time for you!
It CAN wait!! But YOU can’t!
Here are my suggestions for 9 relaxing hobbies for teachers to help you wind down and get the joy back in your life.
Relaxing Hobbies for Teachers
There are so many great relaxing hobbies for teachers, from learning a new skill to re-reading a good book, or learning a new language. If you need relaxing hobbies for teachers to fill your free time, start with some of these ideas.
Jigsaws
If you haven’t hobbied for a while, I suggest starting with something simple like a jigsaw. Most people have these hidden away. Why don’t you pull out the box ready for when you come home tomorrow from school?
Here’s one I was working on in the Summer school holidays, earlier in the year. I recommend starting with the edges. Find all the little bits with straight edges and corners and get that going first.
Then, sort the pieces into coloured groupings in a variety of containers. This helps save time in searching for a particular piece.
DON’T FORGET to set up your puzzle away from the family, where it can be left undisturbed while you’re working on it. I have mine on a coffee table or unused dining table.
Adult Colouring
My dad laughed at me the other day when I said I’d taken up adult colouring (‘like a child’). But I don’t care. It’s a well-known strategy for mindfulness to help stay in the present and is also known to relieve stress and may also reduce anxiety, depression and PTSD.
I’m finding it surprisingly relaxing.
I actually discovered several colouring books in the cupboard and I’m loving experimenting with different designs.
When I was young, I used to feel a bit stressed when colouring. I think it was my perfectionism coming out. But now, I’ve made an agreement with myself, not to stress over colour-choices. I’ve been doing some free-style colouring and it’s quite calming – an awesome idea to add a few minutes of mindful colouring in any calming morning routine.
Gardening
The habit of gardening is a wonderful way to connect to nature and calm a frazzled mind.
In the warmer months, I love to head out to the garden and pull a few weeds or water the vegetable patch – just what’s needed to feel more relaxed and wind down after a busy day at school.
I also have created a soothing green spot on my patio, with more tropical and shade-loving potted plants and these have also crept inside my house, to bring the outdoors in.
Seeing lush green plants around my home helps instil a sense of peace too. Just the act of the weekly watering gives me a sense of tranquillity.
Listening to music
I find listening to my favourite music, while I’m cooking or taking a bath or shower, a great way to lift my spirits and relax after work.
The awesome thing now is having music sharing apps like Spotify, that you can use for FREE. Then you don’t really have to continue to purchase music and it’s available at any time.
Listening to music is an awesome way to feed your soul and divert your thoughts off school – The thoughts often spin around in your head and create a sense of overwhelm.
Make yourself a relaxing and enjoyable playlist and get down and boogie or just chill to some quieter and more soothing genres.
Watching movies
The next favourite relaxing activity for me would be the times I take for myself to enjoy a good movie. It’s a great way to mentally escape and just chill out.
I really love to have movie nights on the weekends with my husband and find a new release film that we’ve been anticipating. And as a natural-born movie buff, I get the value out of streaming sites like Binge, Netflix or Amazon Prime.
I find there’s nothing like a funny Rom-Com or Comedy to have a good belly laugh, de-compress and get your mind off your busy school week.
Why don’t you choose to include a regular movie night into your week too?
Collecting
Collecting is another easy, but an enjoyable past-time that doesn’t take much preparation.
Many, many years ago, as a child, collecting stamps and coins was all the rage. I also had fun finding shells on the beach and bringing them home as a lovely reminder of the holiday experience at the coast.
These days, there are so many things you can collect. You might have a book fetish or love antique furniture or pretty teapots.
Currently, I enjoy sourcing all sorts of spices and use many of them in my cooking, as well as I’m developing my eclectic collection of scarves. My mum collects antique dolls.
So whatever it is you’re passionate about, why not start the hobby of collecting to help you relax?
Cooking for enjoyment
Speaking of spices, have you tried cooking to wind down?
If you enjoy baking or conjuring up some delicacy, this might be something you can do for enjoyment. I know some people love to give dinner parties, while others like to make delicious sweet treats. (Especially with the many cooking shows out there to watch like; Masterchef, Top Chef and Nailed It!)
If this is for you, grab out your recipe books and start planning an awesome cook-up.
What haven’t you made for a while that you love to eat?
For me, I indulged in the creation of a Sticky Date Pudding on the weekend – something I hadn’t made in years. It was amazing with its delicious butterscotch sauce!!
Have fun with Painting
Another interest of mine is painting. It’s something I haven’t done for a REALLY LONG time, but I used to love it.
Painting does take a little bit of planning; with purchasing all the requirements – you know, things like: brushes, paints and canvases/paper etc.
But if it’s something you’d like to get into, you could take a class or ask a friend to join you for something creative and fun.
A few years ago, I signed up for a self-paced online acrylic painting class. I bought the easel, paints, brushes and canvas and got started. But sadly, life got in the way, especially with all the busyness of teaching. So this is something I really want to revisit and have some fun with.
Shiny Happy Art is an Australian-based online instructor and art supplier. She loves teaching acrylics and watercolours and has a variety of projects with video instructions to get you started. Why don’t you check it out?
Stitching/embroidery
I’m a closet stitcher from years ago (it can be called embroidery, but people in my mum’s generation called it ‘fancy work’), way before becoming a second-career teacher. I used to watch mum sit in her chair at night and create some beautiful, delicate stitcheries… and I suppose the interest rubbed off on me.
It was a passion of mine to create some handcrafted things, and my home is still dotted with many examples of my handiwork… But I let it go.
Recently though, I got out some of my patterns, fabric and threads ready to get started on a pretty project. I thought it might be a great way to unwind and revisit my past passions, as well as a therapeutic activity in my burnout recovery.
Here’s one I’ve just started:
If you’ve never done any stitching before, it will take some preparation and planning. But take my advice… It’s FUN and also hugely satisfying to make something pretty with your hands and then be able to hang on the wall or make a cushion to display.
An easy way to begin embroidery is to buy a stitchery kit, which will have ALL the fabric, thread, and pattern, with instructions on how to complete it. Using kits is the way I started this enjoyable pastime.
Here’s one I’ve just started:
The Best Time for Relaxing Hobbies for Teachers is Before You Burn Out
There are so many wonderful, relaxing hobbies for teachers that I don’t have enough room to discuss them all here. I’ve only listed 9, BUT there’s plenty I’m still keen to try, like knitting, finding a book club, or learning more about photography… but that’s for another time.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of relaxing hobbies for teachers, and it’s given you some inspiration to start back into doing something for yourself.
Hobbies are an awesome way to help relax and soothe your busy mind, as well as offering a way to wind down after a frantic day at school – so important to keep balance in your life.
Don’t be that teacher who has nothing in their life but school! You owe it to yourself and your well-being!
Remember You’re Worth It!
Michelle
Pin this post for later!
Leave a Reply