Hobbies vs. Passion Projects vs. Skill Development: Finding Your Purpose in Every Pursuit
- Lay Jordan
- Jul 21
- 11 min read
Updated: Jul 26
Discover the distinct purpose of hobbies, passion projects, and skill development in your life. This comprehensive guide helps multi-passionate individuals reduce overwhelm by clarifying expectations for each pursuit. Learn practical strategies for managing your diverse interests, setting appropriate goals, and finding fulfillment across all your activities without burnout or guilt.
Do you ever feel like your "hobbies" demand too much, or that your "passion projects" aren't quite paying off? Or maybe you're dedicating time to "skill development" but it feels like a chore?
For the multi-passionate, our diverse interests can sometimes blend into one amorphous blob. But understanding the distinct purpose behind what we pursue can bring clarity, reduce overwhelm, and maximize our joy.
We often use terms like hobbies, passion projects, and skill development interchangeably, but they actually serve different purposes in our lives. Clarifying these distinctions isn't about creating rigid boxes; it's about empowering you to better manage your time, energy, and expectations as someone with multiple interests. This month is all about building a quality life and creating a more joyful, value-filled life. To get the most out of this series, start with Episode 56 of A Little Atypical podcast: 'POV: You want to live multiple lives in a lifetime.' It lays the groundwork for everything we'll explore. You can listen or watch on YouTube via the links below.
Episode No. 56
Where to listen:
The episode dives into embracing your multi-passionate nature, connecting diverse interests, career paths for multi-passionate individuals, handling external judgment, and cultivating a quality life that honors all aspects of who you are. Whether you've always felt scattered or simply curious about integrating multiple passions, this episode provides the perfect foundation for understanding the concepts we'll explore in this blog series.
In this blog post, I'm going to show you how we multi-passionate folks can sort our various interests into helpful categories. I'll walk you through a simple way to figure out what's a hobby, what's a passion project, and what counts as skill development. Once you understand the difference, you'll find it so much easier to manage your time, set realistic expectations, and ditch that nagging guilt that comes with having a million interests. Think of this as your friendly guide to living that rich, varied life where all your passions can happily coexist, no more feeling like you're being pulled in fifty directions at once!
Defining the Differences (Through Purpose)
For each category, I'll define its core purpose, characteristics, and what it offers you as a multi-passionate person.
Hobbies: The Realm of Pure Joy & Recreation
Purpose: Pure enjoyment, relaxation, stress relief, personal satisfaction, no external pressure or expectation of output/monetization.
Characteristics:
Low Stakes: Minimal pressure for perfection or performance.
Intrinsic Motivation: You do it simply because you love it.
Restorative: Recharges your mental and emotional batteries.
Exploratory: Can be a testing ground for new interests without commitment.
What it isn't: Something you feel obligated to do, something you're trying to monetize, something you're aiming to master for professional gain.
Examples of Hobbies to Explore:
Gardening or caring for houseplants without pressure to create a perfect landscape
Casual cooking or baking new recipes for pure enjoyment
Adult coloring books or casual sketching without critique
Hiking, walking, or casual biking with no fitness goals
Board games or puzzles with friends and family
Watching films from a specific director or genre
Casual photography with your phone, capturing moments that bring joy
Collecting items that spark happiness (vinyl records, vintage finds, etc.)
DIY craft projects from Pinterest that catch your eye
Learning about topics you're curious about through documentaries or podcasts
Casual journaling without pressure to be profound or consistent
Bird watching, Star-gazing or cloud-watching - simple pleasures that require no expertise
My Hobbies: Drawing has been a lifelong joy that took an interesting journey. As a child, I loved it so much that I applied to fashion high school (and got in!), but later felt discouraged when I couldn't take art classes to nurture that, and I just didn't do anything without purpose. I've since learned that when we burden our hobbies with professional expectations, we can lose the pure joy they're meant to provide.
Reading is another hobby I rediscovered in college. After years of reading non-fiction solely for self-improvement, I finally allowed myself to read simply for enjoyment during my final semester, remembering that leisure reading serves a completely different purpose.
My newest hobby, jewelry making, began last year with beaded bracelets and anklets. I do it purely for creativity and satisfaction, with a vision of perhaps expanding to more accessories and clothing someday. Right now, it exists in that low-pressure space where I can experiment without expectations.
Passion Projects: The Space for Deep Engagement & Expression
Purpose: To bring a deeply held idea, vision, or creative impulse to life. Often driven by a desire to express, contribute, or solve a problem. May involve significant personal investment but not necessarily immediate financial gain.
Characteristics:
High Engagement: Deeply captivating, often feels like "flow" state.
Personal Significance: Often tied to your identity, values, or unique perspective.
Output-Oriented (but not necessarily profit-driven): There's usually a tangible (or intangible) outcome – a finished piece, a shared idea, a community built.
Voluntary (but often feels urgent): You choose to do it, but the internal drive can be strong.
Can Evolve: A hobby can evolve into a passion project if the purpose shifts.
What it isn't: Pure relaxation (can be intense!), something you do solely for money (though it can be monetized eventually), a chore.
Example Passion Projects to Inspire You:
Starting a blog about your unique viewpoint on a specific topic, like sustainable fashion from a budget-conscious perspective
Creating a podcast interviewing people in your community with fascinating stories that often go untold
Developing a workshop series teaching something you're knowledgeable about to underserved populations
Building a community garden in an unused space in your neighborhood
Designing a card game based on an interest or expertise you have
Creating a documentary or photo series exploring a subject you're deeply curious about
Writing a children's book that addresses topics you wish you'd understood better as a child
Building an app that solves a problem you've personally experienced
Starting a YouTube channel demonstrating unusual cooking techniques from your heritage
Organizing a recurring event that brings together people with shared interests in your area
My Passion Projects: My blog, podcast, and YouTube channel clearly fall into this category. While I do hope to eventually monetize them enough to sustain them and give back to supporters, their core purpose is expression and connection. These platforms are where I bring my ideas to life, share my perspective, and build community. These outcomes matter deeply to me, regardless of financial return.
What makes these passion projects rather than hobbies is their output-oriented nature and the sense of purpose behind them. They require significant energy and commitment, but the drive comes from within. That urgent desire to create and connect feels more compelling than obligatory.
Skill Development: The Path to Growth & Capability
Purpose: To acquire or improve specific abilities, knowledge, or expertise. Driven by a desire for personal growth, career advancement, problem-solving, or to support passion projects/hobbies.
Characteristics:
Goal-Oriented: Clear objectives for what you want to learn or achieve.
Structured: Often involves deliberate practice, learning resources, and feedback.
Can Be Challenging: Often pushes you outside your comfort zone.
Future-Focused: Invests in your future capabilities.
Can Be Applied: The learned skill is often intended for practical application.
What it isn't: Necessarily enjoyable in every moment (can be hard work!), a random pursuit without a clear learning objective, something you'd do for pure escapism.
Examples of Skill Development Areas to Explore:
Learning a new language through structured courses to enhance communication abilities
Taking coding classes to build technical capabilities for future career opportunities
Studying photography techniques through workshops to improve your visual storytelling
Practicing public speaking through Toastmasters or similar groups to overcome communication barriers
Mastering specific software programs relevant to your field through tutorials and practice
Taking cooking classes to learn professional techniques beyond casual experimentation
Developing financial literacy through courses to better manage personal or business finances
Learning project management methodologies to enhance organizational effectiveness
Studying design principles to improve your visual communication skills
Taking writing workshops to strengthen your ability to communicate ideas clearly
Learning video editing to enhance your content creation capabilities
Developing negotiation skills through practice and feedback to advance professionally
My Skill Development: My self-education journey represents my most focused skill development efforts. Completing the Google Digital Marketing course is a perfect example of structured, goal-oriented learning with clear objectives for future application. My focus has been on skills that directly support my dream career path.
Looking ahead, I'm planning to expand my skill development to include languages like Portuguese and Spanish, as well as a deeper knowledge of nutrition and bodily systems. What makes these "skill development" rather than hobbies is their intentional, future-focused nature. I'm approaching them as investments in both my professional capabilities in the beauty industry and my personal growth.
Understanding these distinctions has been liberating. I no longer feel guilty when I spend time on my beaded jewelry without a "plan" to turn it into a business, or when I take breaks from my passion projects to recharge. I also approach my skill development with more patience, knowing that the challenging moments are part of the investment.
The Overlap & Evolution (Crucial for Multi-Passionates)
As multi-passionate individuals, it's essential to understand that hobbies, passion projects, and skill development aren't isolated in rigid boxes. They exist on a spectrum with considerable overlap and natural evolution between categories. This fluidity is actually one of the greatest advantages of having multiple interests.
Consider how your pursuits might transform over time: what begins as a casual hobby can spark curiosity that leads to deliberate skill development, which then fuels a meaningful passion project. For example, casual photography (hobby) might inspire you to take a structured course on lighting techniques (skill development), which eventually leads to creating a compelling photo series on local architecture (passion project).
Similarly, a passion project might require you to develop new skills along the way, or a skill you're developing might unexpectedly become a source of pure joy that transforms into a hobby. The boundaries between these categories remain permeable, allowing for natural growth and evolution.
Key takeaway: The purpose behind your engagement is what truly defines the category at any given moment. Rather than feeling confined to rigid definitions, regularly check in with your "why" (what purpose is this pursuit currently serving in your life?). This awareness allows you to adjust your expectations, time commitment, and relationship with each activity as it evolves.
Tips to Navigate Your Diverse Pursuits
This is where the practical advice comes in for multi-passionates.
Identify Your "Why" for Each Pursuit:
Ask: Am I doing this for pure joy (hobby)? To create/express something meaningful (passion project)? Or to grow a specific ability (skill development)?
Categorize your current activities. This can be an eye-opening exercise.
Allocate Time & Energy According to Purpose:
Hobbies: Schedule dedicated "downtime" for them, without guilt if you don't "achieve" anything. Protect this time fiercely.
Passion Projects: Designate focused blocks. Understand they demand deep energy. Allow for ebb and flow.
Skill Development: Create consistent, even short, practice sessions. Treat it like an investment.
Manage Expectations (Internal & External):
Don't expect your hobby to make you money.
Don't expect your passion project to be effortless.
Don't expect skill development to be instantly gratifying.
Communicate your different "hats" to others if needed, but primarily for your own clarity.
Embrace the Cycle of Evolution:
Be open to a hobby becoming a passion project, or a skill becoming part of a new interest.
Don't feel obligated to monetize everything. Some things are purely for you.
Beware of "Productivity Guilt":
Multi-passionates often feel guilty if they're not being "productive." Remind readers that hobbies are productive for well-being. Passion projects are productive for creative output. Skill development is productive for growth. Each contributes differently.
The "Season" Approach:
You don't have to pursue everything at full throttle all the time. Lean into certain categories or specific pursuits during different seasons of your life (e.g., more skill development during a career transition, more hobbies during a stressful period).
Clarity Leads to Fulfillment
Understanding the distinctions between hobbies, passion projects, and skill development isn't about creating rigid boundaries or rules for yourself. Rather, it's about embracing intentionality in how you engage with your diverse interests. This framework offers a lens through which you can view your activities; not to constrain them, but to appreciate their unique value in your life.
For multi-passionate individuals, especially, this clarity can be transformative. When you recognize the different purposes behind your various pursuits, overwhelm begins to subside. The nagging voice of imposter syndrome ("I'm not committed enough to any one thing") loses its power when you acknowledge that each category of pursuit serves a distinct and valuable function.
I encourage you to take some time to reflect on your own activities. Which ones are truly hobbies, offering you that essential space for joy and relaxation? Which ones are passion projects, channeling your creative energy toward meaningful expression? And which represents your commitment to skill development, building capabilities that will serve you in the future?
Remember that a rich, multifaceted life comes not from dabbling randomly in everything, but from purposefully engaging with your diverse interests. Understanding the "why" behind each pursuit allows you to set appropriate expectations, allocate your time and energy effectively, and fully embrace the unique satisfaction each one brings.
Your Turn: What are your hobbies, passion projects, and skill development goals right now? Have you been treating them differently based on their purpose? I'd love to hear how you're navigating your multi-passionate journey in the comments below!
I hope you enjoyed this post and found it interesting. Also, if you like my content, it would mean the world to me if you would also subscribe to my YouTube channel, my Pinterest, and my TikTok account. On YouTube, I have the most inspirational content from Lifestyle Design posts to Digital "open when..." letters to boost your mood. I also keep a copy of my podcast episodes (which is also available on Spotify). I decided that I am honoring what feels right to me and continuously working on building the life of my dreams and helping others do the same. Don’t forget to share this if you feel inspired, and I will have more content for you soon.
Until next time, butterflies 🦋 Sincerely yours
Xoxo,
Lay 💋
Episode Description:
Are you a multi-passionate individual who dreams of exploring diverse paths, careers, and ways of living? Do you feel the constant pull to embrace all your interests, even when the world tells you to "pick a lane"? Then welcome to A Little Atypical, the podcast for wellness-minded individuals ready to defy expectations and design a life that truly nourishes their multifaceted soul.
In this powerful episode, we dive deep into the desire to live multiple lives in a lifetime. If you've ever felt "unfocused" or "scattered" for having too many passions, you're not alone!
We'll explore:
Embracing Your Multi-Passionate Nature: Why your varied interests are your superpower, not a weakness.
Connecting Your Passions: Strategies for finding natural transitions and unexpected merges between your diverse interests.
Careers for the Multi-Passionate Soul: Discover fulfilling job paths like Creative Entrepreneurship, Consulting, Trend Forecasting, and even Academia that allow you to constantly evolve and explore.
Navigating External Judgment: How to stand strong in your vision when others question your choices and offer limiting advice.
The Power of Being Misunderstood: A revolutionary mindset shift – "Being misunderstood is divine protection." Learn why not everyone needs to 'get' you, and how this can actually safeguard your authentic self.
Cultivating a Quality Life: Prioritizing what truly matters – health, creativity, and exploration – beyond societal expectations.
Plus, get a peek into our host's current loves, accomplishments, and recent mindset shifts (including a new sleep hack and a completed Google certification!). We wrap up with an inspiring oracle card pull that perfectly encapsulates our message: Your potential is endless, and your throne is big enough for all versions of you.
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