Maximise Your Time Out

This one is great for those who want something to improve on over time, and juggling is perfect for many reasons. The first being it drastically improves your hand-eye coordination, and the second reason being that it’s immensely frustrating if you’re practising for hours on end! This is a brilliant 5-minute hobby that you can translate into some seriously cool party tricks down the line. 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Poi dance, hula hoop, sleight of hand skills, card shuffling tricks, ribbon dance 

You don’t have to be Michaelangelo to doodle! Whether it’s a bunch of flowers or scribbles on a scrap piece of paper while on the phone, we all doodle in one way or another. Why not give some drawing tricks a go such as simple optical illusions, caricatures, flowers or simply squiggles that you can turn into a drawing? It’s a wonderful way to escape, improve a skill and have some fun! 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Watercolour painting, decorating an envelope, zentangles, drawing in perspective 

Adult colouring has seen a huge uplift in recent years – simply because it’s a wonderful way to pass some time and create something beautiful with minimal skill needed! We recommend checking out some royalty free colouring images online or grab an adult colouring book (they can be found literally anywhere) and some inexpensive felt-tip pens – all you need to do is try to stay in the lines! 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Mandala meditation drawing, decorative planning, paint or colour by numbers, foil engraving, sculpting 

We all know a good singer or a good whistler – in fact, these practises are synonymous with people who are in a happy mood – so that’s enough reason for us to give it a go! Even if you can’t hold a tune to save your life, have a sing or a whistle to perk yourself up. If you can't whistle, look up a tutorial on YouTube that'll show you how.  

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Humming, harmonising, beatboxing, scatting, yodelling (not for the feint hearted!)  

The ancient Japanese art of paper folding brings an insane amount of joy. From making frogs, cranes to dinosaurs and flowers, folding a square piece of paper has never sounded so fun! Why not challenge yourself to see how many animals or shapes you can make? They also make wonderful random acts of kindness too. Why not pass on the gift and inspire someone else to do the same? 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Scrap booking or junk journalling, collages, mood or vision boards, balloon twisting 

Picking up an instrument can seem like a mammoth task, so whether you already play an instrument or not, practising for 5-minutes every now and then is a great way to get into the swing of things. We recommend you start with something small and easy, like a harmonica, ukulele or kalimba. You never know, you could find the hobby you’ll love for the rest of your life! 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Jaw harp, spoon playing, cajon, loop boards, DJing 

The ancient Japanese art of paper folding brings an insane amount of joy. From making frogs, cranes to dinosaurs and flowers, folding a square piece of paper has never sounded so fun! Why not challenge yourself to see how many animals or shapes you can make? They also make wonderful random acts of kindness too. Why not pass on the gift and inspire someone else to do the same? 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Scrap booking or junk journalling, collages, mood or vision boards, balloon twisting 

Whether you have an array of potted plants or love spending time in your garden, spend 5 minutes connecting with your green thumb to enjoy your 5-minute break. From watering, checking, repotting or even feeding your plants, you can spend your 5-minute time-out with your leafy friends. (Pro tip: For easy plant food, crush up a load of eggshells and lay them on top of the soil before watering!) 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Terrarium building, wild swimming, rock balancing, flower arranging, wreath making 

We have a lot of yarn lovers here at Joe Browns, and while these things may take a little while to master, they’re totally worth it. The beauty of knitting, sewing or crocheting is the ability to put it down and pick it up whether you're at home or on the go! Why not even try something truly original, like cross stitching slogans or quotes from your friends as gifts? 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Embroidery, felting, friendship bracelet making, jewellery making, amigurumi 

Photography is a fantastic hobby you can get better at over time. Anything can be made into a beautiful picture, and you’re probably reading this article from a device with a camera, right? You’re already have the equipment – so why not hone the skill? Whether you want to take better pictures of your travels and your loved ones or want to try something arty, photography is your go-to! 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Photo editing, Photoshop, pen and ink drawings, digital art, videography, video editing, Tik Toking 

Are you a brainiac? Test your general knowledge out on a crossword puzzle! Pick up a book of crosswords or sudoku puzzles at any supermarket and test yourself the next time you sit down with a cup of tea. There are plenty of other puzzles to try, so if you’re unsure, pick up a book with a variety until you find the one you like the most.  

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Codebreakers, arrow words, word search, Pictionary, Rubik's cube, solitaire 

Journalling is a brilliant practice with many benefits to it, from aiding with mental health or venting your feelings to capturing the memories you want to keep forever. Ever tried to keep a diary but gave up after a couple of weeks? We’re also guilty of going all-out, writing reems of our thoughts until daily life gets in the way, so why not take up your 5-minutes to record your thoughts in short bursts? 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Gratitude, organising a diary, creating a filing system, one line a day, photo journalling 

This one is for those people who love to stay productive. If your idea of a hobby is feeling accomplished, then try attacking a hotspot. A hotspot is a place in your house that tends to collect “things” (I.e., the top of the microwave, the coffee table, the kitchen side) simply take 5-minutes to put all the items from your hotspot back in their place and enjoy a clear surface! 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Spring cleaning, fridge or cupboard organising, menu planning, recipe making, meal prepping 

From those who love to twirl to those with two left feet, dancing to your newest favourite song is proven to both release serotonin and get that heart rate up. The best bit is, you can do it on your own and not care about how you look! (Think Hugh Grant dancing through 10 Downing Street in Love Actually) Shake off any tension and dance your socks off! You won't regret it. 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Shuffling, tap dancing, salsa dancing, aerobics, Zumba, dance workouts 

Thirst for knowledge? Some of us love reading up on something we didn’t know before, however, it’s easy to doom scroll through the news. Instead, why not read up on something from Wikipedia that interests you? From true crime, history to vastly niche hobbies, there’s probably a Wiki article about it. Better still, why not fall into a rabbit hole through the links? 

Joe’s Favourite Similar Hobbies: Reading, researching, brain games, historic research, learning 

If you were stuck for 5-minute hobbies to take up while you take your time out, you should have an idea of what you want to pick up!  

Stay tuned for our Week 4 Article on Recipes to Nourish the Mind, Body and Soul and don’t forget to check out the first two articles in our 4-Weeks to a New You programme. From Yoga vs Pilates to Joe’s ways to realistically practise Mindfulness. 

Have fun! 

Joe