Does Every Hobby Need a Goal?

A little reflection on why every hobby seems to become a project—and why it’s okay to do something simply because it makes you happy.

July 17, 2026 | The Unscripted Femme

The other day, I caught myself wondering whether I should get better at one of my favourite hobbies. Then, almost immediately, I wondered if it could turn into a little side project. And then—because apparently my brain enjoys piling on—I started thinking about how I could track my progress.

It made me laugh.

Why is it so hard to simply enjoy something?

Somewhere along the way, hobbies started feeling like assignments. Reading becomes a race to hit a yearly goal. Baking turns into a business idea. A bike ride somehow isn’t complete unless you’ve logged the miles. Even a leisurely walk ends with someone asking, “How many steps did you get?”

I miss the idea of doing things simply because they’re pleasant.

Lately, I’ve been noticing the moments that make an ordinary week feel especially good, and almost all of them are wonderfully unremarkable. Sitting around the table playing cards. Wandering through a bookstore with no particular title in mind. Riding my bike to a coffee shop I’ve never visited before. Walking through a neighbourhood just to see what it’s like.

At home, I love puttering. Watering my plants while music plays in the background. Baking something because I happen to have extra butter. Making tea and sitting on the porch while it rains. My cat usually joins me, staring intently at something invisible, which somehow makes the whole moment even better.

None of these things make me more productive. They won’t earn me a promotion or give me a better answer when someone asks what I’ve been up to lately.

If anything, they ask me to slow down.

And maybe that’s exactly what makes them feel so nourishing.

Sometimes it seems as though we’ve turned leisure into another self-improvement project. Every book should teach us something important. Every workout should make us stronger. Every hobby should become a skill. Every skill should eventually become income.

It’s a lot to ask of ourselves.

Maybe some things are allowed to exist simply because they make us happy.

What if a hobby’s only purpose was making an ordinary Tuesday feel a little brighter?

What if reading didn’t have to make us wiser? What if baking never became a business? What if riding your bike with nowhere to be was reason enough to go?

I’ve started thinking that hobbies aren’t valuable because they make us more interesting. They’re valuable because they give us a little break from worrying about whether we’re interesting at all.

For an hour or two, we’re not optimizing or measuring or trying to get ahead.

We’re just enjoying our own lives.

And that feels surprisingly rare.

I’d love to know about you. What’s the hobby you do with absolutely no agenda? The one that isn’t about productivity, self-improvement, or sharing online? Just something that quietly makes your day better.

For me, it’s still a cup of tea on the porch while it rains, with my cat beside me, completely captivated by something only she can see.

Nothing gets accomplished.

Which may be the very best part.