Can We Do Things Just for Fun Anymore?

So when did everything become something we have to be good at?

Reading is now something to aim for on Goodreads. Exercise turns into a fitness target, travelling becomes a checklist of places to visit and even resting has to be done properly.

At some point the things we used to do just because we had enjoyed them started to become a means by which we assessed ourselves; hobbies, which had originally been a way of getting away from reality, are now beginning to resemble the lives we are trying to escape.

When enjoyment becomes Achievement

It is easy to see how it happens. You begin by reading the books because you enjoy them, only to later find yourself thinking about how many books you've finished this year. You join a running club since you'd like to go outside, only for your attention then to turn to your pace. You take up a new hobby, and afterwards start to question whether or not you're improving at it.

In a July 2026 article for TIME, “We are Taking Hobbies Too Far,” this idea is explored by looking at the increasing tendency to treat leisure as yet another kind of productivity. Activities which were supposed to be a break from our responsibilities can then become performance indicators, symbols of status or yet another list of tasks to complete.

It’s not at all wrong to set goals or to want to improve, but if all our activities are seen as things to be optimised, then we should consider whether or not we are still enjoying the process or are only seeking the satisfaction that comes from having achieved something.

The Pressure to Make Everything Count

Maybe part of the problem is how accustomed we've become to measuring progress. At university, so much of our lives revolves around grades, internships, leadership positions and deadlines. This means we're constantly working towards something, and it's easy for that mindset to follow us outside the classroom.

We start treating our personal lives the same way we treat our résumés: always looking for the next skill to develop, the next milestone to reach or the next experience to add. Even our hobbies can become part of an idealised version of ourselves.

Social media can make this even more complicated. Hobbies aren't just things we do anymore but they can become things we showcase. The run club, the pottery class, the latest book we've finished are all examples of how we build our images. Before we realise it, even our downtime starts to feel like something we need to make impressive.

Let Yourself Be Bad at Something

I feel like the answer is to let some things remain unfinished, unmeasured and entirely our own.

Read a book without worrying about how quickly you finish it. There's no need to count your steps when you go for a walk. Choose a hobby that you're bad at and just keep being bad at it. Spend an entire afternoon doing nothing at all and don't feel the need to explain it. It's not necessary to turn each of your interests into a skill, each experience into a memory worth recording, or each free hour into a chance to improve yourself. Some things can simply be enjoyable. They don't need to be productive, impressive or useful to anyone else.

Maybe that is also a lesson worth gaining at university. The process of becoming the person you want to be doesn't always consist in adding more to your life but it's a matter of rediscovering the things you once loved before you began to ask what use they could be.

The next time you start a hobby, rather than asking whether you are improving at this or what you are getting out of it, just ask yourself if you are enjoying it.

It isn't necessary for everything you love to be turned into something you achieve; it's sometimes sufficient just to like it.