What if your hobbies could be the one place you don’t have to optimize, be productive, or “do it right”? In this episode, we talk about keeping hobbies fun—especially when perfectionism shows up and makes us hesitate to start, abandon a project, or turn enjoyment into pressure.

We share real-life examples from knitting, bullet journaling, visible mending, watercolor and sketchbooks, and even reading. We also talk about how tracking and goals can quietly turn a relaxing hobby into a stressful one, and how lowering the stakes can help us get back to the point: doing something because it feels good.

What We Talk About

1. 02:46 - When hobbies get “too fiddly,” perfectionism can make us quit Janine finds abandoned knitting projects and talks about how frustration (and not wanting to back up and fix mistakes) can stop us from continuing.
2. 04:05 - A mistake doesn’t have to mean you’re done Janine shares a “rookie mistake” on her hat, then unknits and keeps going.
3. 04:38 - The fear of “ruining it” can keep us from starting Shannon talks about not wanting to mess up a sketchbook or watercolor journal with something that doesn’t feel good enough.
4. 07:40 - Bullet journaling: functional vs. Instagram-perfect We talk about how artistic bullet journal examples can intimidate people, even though the original method was meant to be quick and simple.
5. 09:10 - Visible mending: daunting to start, satisfying to finish We talk about the pressure to choose the “right” way to mend—and how gratifying it feels once we do it.
6. 15:33 - When reading becomes a numbers game Shannon shares how tracking books read started to create stress, especially during shoulder recovery.
7. 18:56 - Protecting hobbies from becoming work Janine shares why she said no to a knitting-related work opportunity so knitting could stay fun.

Key Takeaways

1. Perfectionism can sneak into the fun stuff: Even hobbies can start to feel like performance—especially when we think there’s a “right way” to do them.
2. Lower stakes = easier starts: When something is private, practical, or “just for us,” it’s often easier to experiment and keep going.
3. Functional can be beautiful: A bullet journal that works, a sweater that’s patched, a project that’s imperfect but used—these can be more satisfying than “perfect” things we never start.
4. Tracking can turn joy into pressure: Goals and numbers can be motivating… until they make the hobby feel like a quota.
5. Let hobbies stay hobbies: If turning something into work adds stress, it can cancel out the reason to do it in the first place.

The Bottom Line

Hobbies are allowed to be messy, imperfect, and purely for enjoyment.