Thinking about my non-writing hobbies, I always wonder if they connect.  Maybe not directly to writing, but do they say anything about my personality.  There are currently three big activities that I do when I can’t write or need a break.  Not counting work or parenting because those aren’t hobbies.  Anyway, they are:

• Jigsaw puzzles (limited to 1,000 piece due to table size)
• Lego sets (running out of display space)
• Pokemon Go

The first two are fairly easy to connect to writing.  With Lego and puzzles, you’re putting something together.  The former has instructions while the latter has a picture, which fits with me needing to make an outline before I write.  Having a guide reduces my stress and keeps me focused.  Though, I still run into issues where pieces don’t fit and I have to step back to figure things out.  You’d be surprised how many times a Lego instruction isn’t very clear or two pieces look the same in terms of color.  Means I have to take things apart and change stuff out, which is like editing.  Jigsaw puzzles don’t have that issue, but I do have to pay attention to detail to put things in the right place.

Pokemon Go is a tougher one to connect to writing other than I work in fantasy and this game involves fictional creatures.  It took me a while to figure out why this game grabbed me more than the stuff on the Nintendo Switch.  At first, I thought it was solely that it acted as exercise and got me out of the house, which is good.  Then, I thought about all of my goals in the game.  I want to get a shiny of every Pokemon and get at least one of each, which is why the events with debuts get my attention.  This is a more nuanced connection in that I want to at least outline every book idea I have for Windemere.  Just don’t have the time for it these days, which is why I get maybe one character of Phi Beta done a week unless there’s a break.

Another thing with Pokemon Go is that I can go on mental autopilot with the game as I walk around.  This allows my mind to sort through other things and clear my head for writing.  I’m sacrificing writing time to make the hours I do get more useful.  I do find that I don’t stare at the screen nearly as much after coming back from a walk even if there’s a lunch between activities.  The mental wandering while playing also helps me settle plot issues unless I run into other players.  Then, it’s socializing and chatting, but it still acts as a powerful stress reducer.  Unless the weather is terrible, which puts me in the mall and I have to focus on dodging people.  That’s another thing.

Now, what does all of this say about my personality?

• Need to be organized.
• Highly stressed and need outlets.
• Need to create.
• Need outside stimuli for mental focus.
• Need short-term goals on top of long-term.
• Easily frustrated by own hobbies.

Anyway, this is some meandering thoughts on me.  Do other people have hobbies that they connect to their personality?