Level up your free time with these hobbies

With the new year, everyone is filled with hope to make this year better than the last. Often, everyone promises to make changes by making various resolutions that they intend to keep, but tend to languish after the end of January. Creative hobbies, such as crafts, can help lift your mood, relieve stress, and improve cognitive abilities for the year. All you have to do is select one of two.

Journaling

The beauty in bullet-journaling is that there’s no true wrong or right way to do it. You can catalogue your daily meditations and errands; include pictures, and remnants of memories strewn about. You can even plan for the future using your journal. It can be formatted by topic, page number, short sentences, and bullets. It’s all up to you.

Image Credit: Pexels

Sewing

A pair of sewing needles may seem too intimidating. To start, all you need is a needle and thread, and scraps of fabric. Master the basic stitches, and this skill proves useful everywhere in the home: Use it to mend a seam, repair small holes in sweaters and socks, or make a pretty tomato pincushion. Begin small, and when you’ve become comfortable in your skill, you can graduate to a sewing machine of your own.

Painting

With painting, you don’t need to be a born Picasso. Just a paintbrush, a palette of colours, and a willingness to learn. There are countless techniques to try in different finishes. You can opt for acrylics, oils, watercolour, or even glitter-painting. Try working with stencils-they come in every shape and size imaginable to make that perfect pattern. Just experiment with different tools and materials to find a style you like.

Knitting

Dispel any preconceived notions about traditional craft: Knitting is no longer just for grannies. These days, everyone is picking up a pair of needles and yarn. Once you learn how to cast on, knit, purl, and cast off again and learn about the different kinds of yarn, you’re ready to make something of your own.