sometimes it can honestly feel like you’re losing interest in everything you used to enjoy.
things that used to interest you, even things that you enjoyed since you were a child, just don’t
feel as interesting anymore. i remember i used to love reading for hours on end and even “sneakily”
read books during class. i loved to journal and write stories where i was the main character. i
loved singing and playing guitar, even though i wasn’t very great at it. i was obsessed
with reading about space and reading almanacs and fun facts. it made me happy. i felt like I used
to be so fulfilled and multidimensional. the loss of interest in hobbies can be called “anhedonia”,
defined “ a decreased ability to feel pleasure and a reduced interest in activities an individual
used to enjoy” and is a common symptom of depressive disorders, substance-related disorders,
and personality disorders, but some people who suffer from anhedonia don’t have any
mental illness at all. growing up means more responsibilities and less time for the
activities you used to enjoy- there’s a pressure for everybody to use their time as productively as
possible, always. even with the time that I do have, i find myself simply scrolling on my phone,
because it’s the easiest way to get that dopamine rush. its tempting to just do something that is
sedentary and mindless like watching a show because your daily responsibilities take
up so much energy anyways. but hobbies are important; research shows that taking part
in leisure activities can actually have a positive impact on our overall happiness
and health. honestly, I’ve been feeling this way for a while now, and maybe you have too.
it can be really hard to just take the easy road, but we’re strong enough to get through this;
join me on trying to reconnect with old hobbies and a few summer days in the life.
the current “grind mindset” and the rise of “hustle culture” implies that everything has to
be a side gig, a side hustle, or something productive. i sometimes even find myself
feeling guilty for relaxing and thinking about everything i could be doing instead…
but when you’re still stressing about what you could be doing,
that’s not restful at all. it’s okay for a hobby to stay a hobby. the notion that everything you
have to do has to be productive can be toxic and takes away the enjoyment from things you
do for fun and stress release. hobbies don’t have to be done as efficiently as possible or
at the highest level of competition. it’s also okay for hobbies to be temporary too-
you can enjoy something for a couple of months like crochet or puzzles, but it doesn’t have to
become your identity or an obligation to like it forever so it’s okay to try new things!
making youtube videos has definitely re-sparked the creativity inside of me
that I’ve lost as I’ve grown up. i organize my videos, and my life, through this app called
“Notion”. I’ve been using Notion for many years now for not only organizing my Youtube videos,
but also in various other aspects such as journalling, habit tracking, and taking notes.
here is my customized notion homepage, I tend to tweak it to suit my needs whenever I feel
like something isn’t working for me anymore. before, I used notion to study for my MCAT
and other subjects that required a lot of memorization. I used the toggle feature to
ask myself questions in order to initiate active recall, instead of passively copying down notes.
nowadays, I use Notion the most for organizing my content on youtube. I know a lot of you also
want to start a channel, so I’ll leave my simple youtube template down below so you can have a head
start to organizing your content as well. since finishing a video itself can be a large task,
i like to separate mine into several check points, such as script, filming and editing.
I also keep track of the dates I uploaded the video and I can switch my table into a calendar
view to see how often I’ve posted visually. on notion, you can also collaborate with others,
so it’s easy to send any script i’ve written to a friend so they can give me their feedback first.
I also have a section for ongoing video ideas, upcoming sponsorships, and a video checklist
that I go through before I upload any videos to try to minimize mistakes. even though notion is
sponsoring this video, it’s seriously one of the most powerful digital tools i’ve ever used
and I’ve been using it for years. if you want to check it out, use my link in the description box.
one thing that’s different between now and when i was a child was my access to electronics.
websites and apps like tiktok, youtube, and twitter are addicting because it’s so easy to
get that dopamine rush without any work required. your brain gets used to not having to work to get
what you want, and as a result this lowers your attention span. tasks like reading and writing
seem so much more difficult because it’s not as easy as just watching a video on tiktok, even
though it’s not really that hard. however, this comes at a price. the satisfaction that you get
by watching a tiktok video is short lived, whereas the pleasure that you feel from doing something,
such as reading a book, lasts much longer and has other benefits as well.
i know it’s so hard to fall into the easy way out, but just remember you’re focusing on
things that you’re truly proud of. these things take time and it’s okay to take things slowly.
the most important thing is to just do it and make it a routine. then even on the days where
you don’t have motivation, you still do it because you’re used to it. and those are the days where
you’re going to find that your hard work has paid off and provides you motivation to keep going.