Everyone knows a workaholic: the person who arrives early at the office and stays until the cleaning crew arrives. They don’t take sick days and tend to stay available via email during their vacations. Their work ethic and output put others to shame—even if it seems like they never actually clock out.
In reality, workaholics run the gambit in terms of motivation. Some are Type A personalities by nature, who find great fulfillment through a job well done. Others might be dedicated to seeing a specific project through, with plans to take a sabbatical afterward.
Regardless of whether a worker is an inborn workaholic or a conditional workaholic, the compulsion to put in long hours can have negative effects on the body and mind. Those who can’t seem to turn their work brain off might simply need to spend their mental energy in a new pursuit.
Think you know a workaholic who might benefit from diving into a new hobby? Any of the selections below will help them divert their attention—at least, for a little while.
Gaming
Though many have jumped onboard the online poker (and blackjack) bandwagon, some might find the game too demanding after a long day. While many find the activity helps them spend restless mental energy, slots might be a more appropriate way to relax after a particularly grueling stretch in the office.
Aside from engaging themes and unique storylines, slots also tend to include bonuses that come with certain time and eligibility conditions for newcomers. The point is to engage the mind without placing more stress on it.
Blogging
Others may prefer a more concrete way to articulate their thoughts and ideas—especially if they’re in a job that they’re passionate about. One of the most constructive and open-ended ways to empty the mind after a long day is to blog.
Blogging lets workaholics extrapolate on their favorite ideas and take them in an unregulated direction. In other words, they can flesh out all the ideas that run their head during the workday and focus on the ones that help them relax… so long as they’re not creating extra work for themselves.
Restoration Projects
Not everyone who struggles to take time off work wants to keep engaging their minds. Like the slots example above, some projects don’t have to have a specific purpose. Restoration projects, whether related to a car or a couch, having a detail-heavy project that requires busy hands is a popular way to spend extra energy.
Anyone with an interest in tinkering will likely find a half-complete project lying around. For those who like to work with a purpose in mind, there are typically a few household repairs that need attention.
Learning
A select portion of the workaholic population may simply have added mental energy to spend. They’re not staying at the office because they love handling insurance claims, but because they have an active intellect that enjoys making connections, analyzing circumstances, and drawing conclusions.
In these cases, picking up a casual nighttime education course is a great solution. This can be self-driven, such as with language-learning platforms like DuoLingo or Rosetta Stone. They could also be official courses, such as local classes at a community college or via online universities. Popular night courses for hobbyists run the gambit, from crime scene investigation to creative writing to psychology.
Curating
Similar to restoring, curating gives workaholics the power to assign and organize a project. While many think of curating as the work of museum or art gallery employees, it can actually be applied to just about anything that’s involved in collectorship.
For example, someone with a strong interest in a niche topic, like pre-Victorian English coins, can curate a collection of coins themselves or even create an online catalog that arranges relevant information on the coins. In the case of creating an online catalog, workaholics can also find a community of like-minded people, from coin collectors to hobbyists who like to discuss the topic generally.
