Have Too Many Hobbies? (you may be a multipotentialite)

If you feel like you have too many hobbies, know you’re not alone. Life has a ton of awesome things to explore and this may just mean that you’re a kick-ass multipotentialite.

So if you’re struggling with hobby overload, then let this post be your guide.

These are my experiences. This is the other (more positive) side of the multi-interest story.

Let’s get it.

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(but first) How Many Hobbies Should I Have?

This post supports the multi-hobby juggling act. But what’s the limit? How many hobbies is too many?

Is there even such a thing as too many?

It’s different for everyone, but I usually hover around 4-6 core passions.

I do have more second-priority pastimes too, but my focus and urgency is more sporadic with these.

But “too many” is a nuanced idea and depends on individual goals, circumstances and preferences.

Still, there are some signs that you may have a few too many hobbies on your plate.

Some Signs You’re Juggling Too Many Hobbies

Too much is too much. So it’s okay to take a break or restrategize things (more on that below).

Here are a few signs I’ve noticed when I find myself trying to juggle too many things:

There’s something worth mentioning here: hobbies are priorities.

And if you’re like me, your pastimes are often attached to some creative or professional goals.

So never feel bad about prioritizing them.

After all, you’re probably just a multipotentialite.

What Is A Multipotentialite?

Having too many hobbies may just mean you’re a multipotentialite.

A multipotentialite is someone who has many creative pursuits and passions in life — someone who has multiple potentials.

It’s the multi-hobbyist, the curious creative — the creative entrepreneur.

It’s you.

Here are some common traits of being a multipotentialite:

• Curiosity

• Flexible and adaptable

• You’re a fast learner

• You’re a creative at heart

• Passionate about your thing(s)

• You’re a dreamer

• Open mindedness

• You’re resilient

Being a multipotentialite is awesome. We forge our own paths and stumble with a smile.

But it helps to learn a few strategies to manage things better.

So let’s look at some of my top tips for being a multi-hobbyist.

(but first here are some more benefits worth mentioning)

10 Benefits of Being A Multipotentialite

1. Connect more dots and draw creative or unique insights

2. More skill diversity (making you more competitive in your industry or niche)

3. More adaptable and resilient to changes and trends

4. More career options (as you can easily pivot if things don’t work)

5. A keen focus on personal growth and development

6. More resilient to boredom or motivation droughts

7. More likely to be innovative and come up with novel solutions

8. More likely to be inspiring to others

9. Quickly grasp new concepts, stay ahead of curves and enter new domains quicker

10. You use your brain in various ways, making it stronger and more agile

How to Manage Multiple Hobbies (5 tips)

If you’re like me, having multiple pastimes is a non-negotiable.

The idea of scrapping a passion isn't on the table.

So the tips below are how I effectively manage my hobbies, improve my skills and grow as a (self-assigned) multipotentialite.

1. Prioritize

Successfully managing multiple hobbies requires some focus.

So let’s prioritize your pastimes.

I like to categorize mine into three buckets:

• My Non-negotiables

• These are top priorities and stuff I do almost daily

• Examples: My music and blog stuff

• My Up-and-comers

• These are next priorities (after reaching some first-priority checkpoints)

• Examples: My filmmaking and video editing skills

• My Sandboxers

• These have no long-term goals (yet!) and are for my free time

• Examples: Sharpening my prompt engineering skills and snowboarding

I make my graphics using Canva. If you’re looking for a new creative hobby, grab a free account here!

Categorizing things helps me know where to put my focus.

My non-negotiables and up-and-comers have more specific career or professional goals attached to them.

So I know where to put which hobbies.

This first step requires some self reflection (and even some testing), but try to consider your main macro goals, core values and hobby purpose.

This can help prioritize things.

2. Organize

I made this using Milanote (a free project and life organization software).

Organization is essential for managing multiple things.

For me, I use timeboxing techniques to manage all my hobbies.

I schedule my pastimes based on my lifestyle and how I know I feel at different times during the day.

For example, I’m always more creative in the mornings and in the evenings. So I time block my creative hobbies during these times:

• A couple hours in the morning for blogging, website design stuff and brainstorming

• A few hours in the evening for music stuff

• I leave my afternoons for less-creative stuff (you know, work work)

Timeboxing, or time blocking, is a great way to organize things into your schedule and lifestyle.

It’s simple — but effective.

3. Strategize

Strategizing your hobbies is a pro move.

It also increases motivation, your sense of achievement and leads to greater focus and skill improvement.

My favorite way to strategize hobbies is to create goals for each of them.

This gives me something more tangible to work towards.

So here are some tips for creating goals (or checkpoints) for your hobbies:

• Make them realistic

• Create urgency with deadlines and timelines

• Break down goals into smaller components

• Find points of inspiration and purpose for each goal

• Focus on skill building and challenging yourself for growth

• Track your progress

4. Monitor

Keeping track and monitoring your hobbies is a smart move.

Plus it’s fun (but maybe that’s just the personal organization nerd in me).

So I like to create a central hub to organize and keep track of all my stuff.

This helps me stay focused and keep perspective (for remembering where I’m going and how far I’ve come).

It’s like building a digital home for all of your hobbies — each one with its own room.

There are a lot of awesome platforms out there for this, but I use a mix of these four:

• Notion (free)

• Create or use pre-built templates to manage projects, habits and so much more

• Milanote (free)

• Like Notion, but more visual (and more minimalist)

• Todoist (free)

• Great for tracking habits, to-do lists and daily tasks

• Google Docs or Sheets (free)

• I draft all my blogs here but it’s also nice for brainstorming or jotting down ideas

5. Reflect

Life changes, circumstances evolve.

So I like to keep things open for change.

For example, producing music in the evening perfectly fits my current lifestyle and obligations.

But if…scratch that…when things change, I’m ready to pivot my schedule so my hobbies don’t get left behind.

Self reflection helps me audit my hobby lifestyle every once in a while to see if I need to make any of those changes.

Self reflection is a modern skill.

And it’s also a great wellness booster (just like making time for all your hobbies).

So that’s a wrap for today. Let me know in the comments: what’s your hobby number or limit? What are they?

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