How hobbies can help manage burnout and mental health

For Gauri Yardi, music is more than just a hobby. It's something that helps her deal with the ups and downs of life.

In 2017, after a tough few years that left Gauri burnt out and exhausted, music was a huge comfort.

"At that time, I sang a lot. [It helped me] slow down, be in the moment and relieve stress," the 37-year-old writer from Melbourne says.

Lately, she's picked up the ukulele and found it has helped, too.

"When you're playing, you're concentrating on your finger positions and … strumming," Gauri says.

"You're not thinking about a pandemic, or what's going on at work.

"For me, it's not at all about getting better. It's just about having fun."

How hobbies can help your mental health

For many Australians, the pandemic has brought uncertainty, stress and isolation, and research suggests hobbies can help.

Research from the Australian Psychological Society found that four in five Australians found activities like listening to music and spending time on a hobby moderately or highly effective in managing stress. 

Another study from New Zealand found engaging in activities like song-writing, creative writing, knitting or art led to increases in wellbeing that lasted into the next day. 

How to find a hobby that will help you recover

Jo Wintle works as a business psychologist, and has researched approaches to managing burnout in workplaces.

She says hobbies are useful for "effort recovery".

In other words, they can help us detach from the daily stresses of work and home and help us feel refreshed.

"Hobbies that you pursue are a fantastic way to recoup your energy. There's no limit, and it's really up to what you're interested in," she says.

For best results, she recommends thinking about activities with these four elements:

• Psychological detachment from work — the activity should help you disconnect from work.
• Relaxation — your hobby should be enjoyable and help you feel good.
• Mastery — it helps if you get a sense of accomplishment.
• Control — having control over an activity outside of work can help with recovery.

Ideally we should aiming to spend 30–60 minutes a day on these types of activities, Ms Wintle says.

"It has to be an activity that engages you enough mentally so that you are distracted from the workday and focusing on something else," she says.

It doesn't need to be something you do by yourself

Angela Tung's hobby is aerial silks — a type of acrobatics you might see in a Cirque du Soleil performance.

The 22-year-old from Sydney is working part-time while studying at university, and she finds her weekly classes help her relax.

"It really helps with managing stress. Often if I'm having a stressful week with exams or a lot happening at work, I can go to silks have a break and it just clears my head," she says.

"I feel like overall I'm a lot less stressed and a lot happier and more energetic. I'm not tired all the time. It's definitely been really helpful for mental health."

While Gauri's musical hobby is a solo activity, Angela likes the group aspect of silks.

"Each term, we say what we're working towards, and then we help each other train and work towards our chosen moves," she says.

"It makes a difference to be excited about a new move and also to be cheered on by people in my group."

It also helps her embrace her creativity, which is something that often gets lost in our busy lives.

"We tend to forget about how important being creative is," says Tunteeya Yamaoka, a registered psychologist working in Brisbane.

"We shouldn't see that as less important than being task-focused or goal-oriented. It's important to exercise all parts of your brain — not just one part."

'I guard it with my life'

When Jo Wintle isn't working as a psychologist, you might find her sewing.

She started taking two-hour weekly classes about 10 years ago and has been going ever since.

"There are five people, and we're guided through whatever projects we're working on," she says.

"For me, I guard it with my life, because in those two hours I connect with others in the class, I'm learning something new, I'm being really creative and I'm also being challenged, because sewing is such a technical skill.

"And, I'm producing these wonderful pieces of clothing that I actually do end up wearing, as do my kids."