What inspired your research into leisure crafting?

I have always valued having hobbies and approaching them in a serious way; dedicating some considerable energy towards them. Personally, I have always loved being involved in theatre. I like having a project alongside my job, especially that require effort and time. As a psychologist, I was interested to see if the qualities you develop in your leisure time affect the rest of your life, because instinctively I felt that what you do in your spare time can be very important.  

What is 'Leisure Crafting' and how can it benefit us?

Leisure crafting is different from a leisure activity or hobby. If you take singing as an example, it would move from a leisure activity and become leisure crafting if you were part of a choir that did regular performances. Leisure crafting is the proactive pursuit of leisure activities targeted at 4 areas: 

• Goal setting
• Human connection
• Learning
• Personal development

Leisure crafting describes the processes of setting goals, developing your skill, of learning and of building social connections. This journey is fundamental and heightens the psychological benefits of leisure activities. 

We know that hobbies are great for us, but our research has shown that it is less about the moment of achieving your goals, but more about working towards them. An important aspect of leisure crafting is the personal desire to continue learning; it is a long-term process of setting goals and continuing to challenge yourself. 

Other psychologists have conceptualized the idea of ‘Mastery’ as important in leisure activities: the feeling of proficiency or expertise, the 'got it' moment. Psychologists have found that these mastery experiences actually reduce health complaints and burnout symptoms. 

Leisure crafting is certainly related to this idea, but goes further by placing emphasis on human connection, goal-setting and the proactive pursuit of goals.
 

Which pastimes would count as leisure crafting activities?

In our research, we didn’t go into too much detail about the types of activities and how they differ in their psychological benefits. 

For us, the concept of leisure crafting is very much about the mindset you have when doing your hobby, rather than the activities themselves. It’s all about learning, improving and developing your skill.

Berg gives examples of leisure crafting in his study. He describes learning to write a novel alongside your job. While this seems like quite an extreme example, it does show how leisure crafting is about learning whilst improving and developing your skill. Any activity could be leisure crafting if these principles are applied. Even sport could be, if you are aware of setting goals and personal development. 

What are the psychological benefits of leisure crafting?

Our research showed three considerable outcomes of leisure crafting. If I were to speculate about what these effects mean, I would think that they would culminate in an overall sense of life satisfaction and heightened quality of life. 

• Meaning making: proactively seeking learning experiences provides meaning to one’s life. Psychologists such as Barbara Frederickson have theorized that meaning, linked to life purpose, is one of one of the main ways to have positivity in your life. We found in our study that this concept of meaning correlates with leisure behavior
• Satisfaction of autonomy needs: people feel that they have direction and control over their lives
• Relatedness: leisure crafting gave participants a sense of connection with others
  

Are there any other benefits of leisure crafting?

As well as the psychological effects mentioned above, it is thought that leisure crafting gives individuals the opportunity to compensate for their unattained personal goals at work. It can fill the gap left by an unfulfilling job. So many people don't find purpose, meaning or autonomy in their employment, so the idea that you can find these basic human needs in your leisure behavior is exciting.

Psychologists working on recovery theory have shown that leisure crafting activities can prevent burnout, help recovery from workplace stress and increase performance at work. 

Does it matter when you do your leisure crafting?

My study looked at how weekly leisure crafting relates to satisfaction of human needs.

Others have looked at how the weekend is important and how leisure activities on the weekend can contribute to positive psychological benefits. Others have looked at how leisure crafting activities on holiday can be used to shape long term happiness, reduce risk of burnout and increase well being. 

Ready to start crafting your own leisure time? Have a look at all our courses and workshops:

• Creative courses
• Yoga
• Surfing
• Sports
• Languages
• Craft
• Dance
• Music
• Exploration 
• Food
• Tech
• Woodworking