6 Powerful Ways to Do More of What You Love

Do you have a list of things you would do if you ever had the time? Or do you have one big dream that has been rotting on the shelf while you’re busy adulting? How long have you been trying to lose weight? How many years have you wanted to learn that language? Do you want to do more of what you love when everything calms down?

During the Pandemic I did a lot of different things because I had time but ironically I still saved a lot of things for “one day” and then at the end of the Pandemic I was mad at myself for not learning Spanish, practicing my violin, or getting in shape. 

In fact, that’s when I started my currently 1800+ day streak on Duolingo. And that’s when I got out my violin again. Why? Because I realized something important. 

If you never do what you love because you’re always busy doing “life” then what will your life turn into? Something you don’t love. That’s a sad eventuality I just wasn’t ready to accept. 

How do Do More of What You Love 

So if it’s important that we do what we love now, instead of waiting for one day, how do we do it? How in the world are we going to make time for these fun dreams when we can’t even keep up with the laundry? Let’s break it down!

1: Remember What You Love

The first step you have to take if you want to do more of what you love is to identify what it is you love. What makes you lose time and forget to eat? What do you think about while you’re in a slump at work? What is that big dream you used to have? 

A lot of times you can find the answer to this question by looking into your past. What did you love to do as a child? Did you dream of becoming an artist? A singer? A dancer? Did you play an instrument? Did you enjoy doing things with your hands or things that were creative? 

But that’s not where this quest stops. I had a lot of different hobbies as a child. I wrote and I drew and I sewed and I played violin. I went deep into jewelry making for a while. I can crochet and paint. I liked bike riding, kayaking, skiing and hiking too. But that doesn’t mean all of those things inspire me. Some of those things aren’t even that interesting to me anymore. 

So how do you narrow it down? It’s simple. You take the next step. 

2: Figure Out of What You Love the Most 

When you’re thinking about all the things you have ever enjoyed doing it might be hard to know which ones are your favorites. Then again, it might not be that hard at all. 

For example, of all the things I listed above I know that I’m not that interested in drawing or painting. That kind of died it’s own natural death. I also know that monetizing jewelry making with my Etsy business pretty much killed my love for it. I got tired of crocheting scarves and all those outdoor activities have their own season and requirements that make them hard to incorporate into daily life. 

When I really think about it, sewing and writing are the only things I do that completely absorb me while I’m doing them. They are the only things I do that make me forget to eat. And they are the things I dream about. 

So what about you? What makes you lose track of time? What can you imagine doing every day? What are the things that make you forget to eat? If you aren’t sure you can cycle through your old hobbies and find out which ones stick. 

3: Keep Expectations in Check 

Okay great! Now you know what you want to do, or you have a pretty good idea. But how in the world are you going to find the time for it? Taking a painting or pottery class at the local college takes three hours twice a week. Going hiking every weekend requires a whole day. Where can you even take a dance class these days?

That’s the problem. When you think of doing more of what you love you think of it as a big official thing. Why? Because you are thinking like a kid. When you were a kid you had art class. When you were a kid you joined the orchestra. And when you were a kid you had hours and hours to play with your hobby after school or during the summer. But now, you’re not a kid. In fact you might have kids. And you might be lucky if you can get half an hour to yourself on any given day. 

That being said, we have to keep our expectations in check. You can do more of what you love but that doesn’t mean you can do it for hours at a time. It doesn’t mean that you are going to become a master in one year, and most of all it doesn’t mean it will become your new side hustle, business, or lifestyle. That thing you love doing will just become something you love doing. Isn’t that good enough? 

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4: Do More of What You Love with Just a Little Time

Okay, now this step, where you actually do more of what you love contains the real secret sauce. I’m excited to tell you about it because it really works. But first let me tell you about something I experience all the time. 

Every time I wear a dress I made, some friend of mine says, “I wish I could do something like that. I just never have the time. Every time I say I played violin or did some shuffle dancing today a friend will say “You get so much done in a day!” Oh yeah, and I napped. 

But here’s the secret. I don’t have any more time than all my other friends. I own two businesses and I volunteer at least fifty hours a month. I cook and clean my own house and I help my parents and friends. What I do have are micro-habits. 

What are micro-habits? They are the secret to doing more of what you love! They are the thing that changed my life! And I learned all about them in Atomic Habits by James Clear. 

Whatever it is you want to get into your life, look for the simplest way to do it and make a tiny amount of time for it every day. Pick up your guitar for 10 minutes every day, pick up an online dance course and do one or two short videos a day, learn a language with an app like Duolingo for 10 minutes every day. When I have a sewing project going, I do as much as I can do in fifteen minute segments. When I have more time it’s delicious but I don’t wait for that to happen.

Even things that require a little more time can become micro-habits. For example, if you want to get back to painting, pick one afternoon or evening in which you can paint for one or two hours every week. If you want to hike more often look for shorter hikes that are closer to home or do the same close one every week with different friends. When you keep it simple, you keep it doable! 

5: Make it a Habit 

Now that you know about micro-habits being small little bits of time in which you do more of what you love, there are a few more tips that I can share to help you keep those micro-habits in your life. 

I like to track my habits. For me it’s as simple as putting a letter for each micro-habit on the top of each day in my weekly planner. Something like V for Violin, S for Shuffle, W for writing. Then I put a star above the letter if I did it that day. That keeps me motivated to keep making a little bit of time for things I actually enjoy each day. 

Another way to keep a habit going is referred to in Atomic Habits as “habit stacking”. What is habit stacking? It’s when you make a stack of habits. Simple. You have some things you already do every day. You always drink your morning coffee. What if you did Duolingo while you did that? You always brush your teeth. What if you always played one or two songs on your instrument after that? You always drive home from work. What if you always dropped by the gym for half an hour on the way back? 

And lastly, make it easy. Set up your hobby so that it’s easy to pick up and drop quickly. For some hobbies that means creating a dedicated space. Just remember that space doesn’t have to be big. My violin hangs on the wall and my sheet music hangs by a clip. My sewing machine is on a shelf in my closet and my shuffle dancing is an online course that I can cast from my phone to my TV. Whatever your hobby is, make it as easy as possible to do in a short amount of time and it will be easier to do every day or every week. 

6: Find New Passions

Do my micro-habits always stay the same? Not at all! I give myself the freedom to change them as my interest in them governs. For example, in November when I like to do a writing challenge I dropped my violin and I hadn’t even discovered shuffle dancing yet. I still picked up my violin once in a while but it wasn’t in my daily routine. Now that I’ve discovered that I want to learn to shuffle, I’ve dropped my habit of sitting on the elliptical bike while I do Duolingo. It’s way better exercise and more fun! 

As you work through the list of things you used to enjoy you may find things you can drop and you may discover new things you enjoy. My mom recently rediscovered watercolor and she is really enjoying it. Some of my friends crochet adorable little creatures and others make beautiful cards.

Do More of What You Love and Love Your Life! 

The key is to find a little bit of time to do more of what you love regularly. Just a little tiny bit of time. Why? Because it will make you feel more like yourself! And when you look back at the years you won’t wish you learned Spanish or regret not painting or dancing your heart out. You will have done it! A little bit at a time. 

What are the things you have been wishing you could do “if you only had the time”? What are some ways you can fit the things you love into tiny bits of time each day or each week? What are the things you want to include in your happy simple life? Let me know in the comments below!