Prior to my 1999 cancer diagnosis, I did not have many creative hobbies outside of work. My interests were mostly physical. We were avid scuba divers, and I was a competitive racewalker. Oh, and golf, the crack cocaine of hobbies.
Cancer and therapy helped me realize there was more to life than work, and I vowed to broaden my horizons. I saw Martha Stewart’s beautiful cookies decorated with royal icing and sanding sugars, and I thought, I could do that! Two large bins of cookie paraphernalia later, and dozens of cookies cutters organized by season or theme, I still love making decorated cookies.
Then I started an online business selling golf shirts with embroidered logos designed by me. After a couple of years, I broke even. One smart thing I did was trademark my business name. Somebody else with deeper pockets wanted the name, and I ended up assigning the trademark to them for $50,000!
Next, I started a blog – Rock the Silver – about embracing gray hair. And because I couldn’t help myself, I sold t-shirts with the logo! I did that for about six years, until my job became increasingly demanding, and I just couldn’t do both.
Work sucked my creative juices dry, and I didn’t take up much of anything new until I retired. First the blog – Retirement Confidential. I figured this would be a journey worth writing about. Then I started playing around with ceramic coasters. Then woodburning. And my food fixation has never abated. We are both avid cooks and love experimenting in the kitchen.
Since I retired, I’ve learned to grow cannabis and make cannabis tincture, cannabis balm, naan, English muffins, scones, baguettes, no-knead rye bread, a variety of savory pies and sourdough bread. The next thing on my list might be melt-and-pour soap. For Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me a bar of soap made by a friend of hers who is an organic dairy farmer. I can’t believe what a difference it makes on my skin, especially since we’re all washing our hands so much. I thought, well, maybe I should just make some?
I have a book from the library, and I’m studying soapmaking for now without making any purchases. Although it’s a relatively low-cost hobby, I sent plenty of shirts to the landfill, so I’m now careful to approach all activities with caution – not just about the costs, but how much specialized equipment is involved? Do I have room for it? Or is this just a passing fancy? I only go all-in on hobbies I think will stick.
And that’s the thing. I’ve always tried to put a name on whatever affliction this is. On this very blog, we have discussed renaissance woman, dabbler, polymath and dilettante. I’ve also seen serial hobbyist.
Yet another word I just discovered is multipotentialite … pronounced multi – potential – ite (rhymes with bite). The term was coined by Emilie Wapnick, who hosts an entire website for multipotentialites, sometimes referred to as multipods.
The word multipotentialite is a mouthful. But I sort of like it.
Much of the website is how to earn a living when you are distracted by so many interests. It has made me wonder if that’s why my jobs were mostly disappointing – it just isn’t my nature to do one thing. As I look back, my father was a super-creative multipotentialite, but he struggled with actual work. Perhaps it was his example that helped me find the strength to tough it out.
I’m somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, which might also explain why I was able to hang in there job-wise. I like variety, but too much of it can be overwhelming.
For many of us, becoming overwhelmed by too many interests is the biggest threat to having balance in retired life. Sometimes I’m like a ball of frenetic energy, but if I take on too much, something slides through the cracks, usually household chores, and that unsettles me. I also need idle time with absolutely nothing on the schedule to just hang around and let my brain wander.
While much of the content about multipotentialites is about finding a way to focus your talents and earn a living, those of us who made it to retirement have different challenges. If you are driven by varied interests, chances are you are plenty busy, but are you doing what matters most? What matters most to you?
As a multipotentialite retiree, you’re probably going to go down a rabbit hole or two or three, and that’s part of the joy in being who we are. While you may not need the laser focus of someone in their earning years, I think it’s important to periodically hit pause and re-balance your fun portfolio. As Dale says, you can make work out of anything.
I’ve decided to cut back on golf, postpone soapmaking, write more and plan lots of pandemic-safe outings with Dale. That still leaves me plenty of time for art, cooking, walking, swimming, reading and tending to my cannabis plant.
And chores, but I don’t consider them fun.
It is indeed great to finally be getting somewhat back to ‘normal’, now that we are well over a month past our second vaccine and most of the people we socialize with are too.
We’ve recently attended two wine tasting after doing none for well over a year and have a small brunch planned for our closest friends as soon as we return north, where we will celebrate three major Birthdays and everything else that we’ve missed doing since we could safely gather!
I’m so happy to hear about your plans to re-enter the world. It has been tough.
You nailed me on this one. I do tend to become overwhelmed by it all and housework definitely fell to the bottom. I am home all day every day and I can’t get it together. I realized I was close to living in squalor so I did get it together and clean this week.
I am making a lot of art and people keep asking if I am selling my art. I have zero interest in selling. Professional artists spend less than a quarter of their time making art, what with all the marketing, showing, web development, packing, and shipping that is required. I don’t care if it piles up and squeezes me out of space.
Keep up the good fight Donna. You are amazing and doing great!
I got a little caught up today, but I’m like you. Housework is the first thing to go. Dale does some, but mystery maid has failed to show up for more than 40 years in a row.
Your art would easily sell, but I understand all your reasons for keeping it. I would only sell mine if I could figure out how to do it and donate the profits to charity. There’s a cat shelter that has a thrift store, and I keep saying I need to drive out there and give it a look. Maybe I could donate my art to them. I’m afraid they’ll say, yikes, no one here would ever buy that! Hopefully, it would be more like, wow, that’s lovely but not perhaps right for our clientele. I could live with that.
Our close-to-daily physical activities take up a lot of time, which I’m fine with, but increasingly leave me zapped for the remainder of the day, which I’m not. Tough to know what to do!
Otherwise, my self-taught guitar playing continues to advance, and I’ve now added singing classes to the mix. Who knows where it will all go . . . but it’s all good.
I do the yard work, because I enjoy it, but we employ a housecleaning service for the inside work, because there I don’t.
Travel research, online Spanish classes, volunteering, and reading for pleasure round things out. Looking forward to the return of so many things, but for now these suffice.
Reading about your evolving list of interests reassured me that I’m not the only one that does this.
Travel research is a big job. I’m starting to plan some outings, and it takes time. I can’t imagine all that’s involved in your upcoming trip.
I’m coming up on two years in retirement. I think your new word is starting to fit me. I have started guitar lessons online, started a blog, started part time contract work, started writing a book and then have all the daily activities of pool maintenance, yard and house maintenance and then my metal detecting hobby. It seems like I’m running out of time to keep up with my reading and walking. I have neglected the guitar this last month and need to get back at it everyday or so. So much to do in retirement!
Kindred spirits! I will be sure to check out your blog! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
That’s a mouthful. I’m sticking with dabbler or putterer, if I may. I have a few deep hobbies that are always there – and which on occasion have brought me money even in retirement. My theory of profiting off of creative stuff is to make what you like and then just offer it up. In my case on a a FB page or to neighbors or by word of mouth because I’m not up to sitting at fairs or whatever in my middle age I have other hobbies that come and go. Sometimes I draw and paint and sometimes I don’t. I have a passel of essential oils. One year I made lotion bars. One year. Im okay with that but I admit I’ve spent alot in creative and other inventory over the years. On the other hand I always sew and quilt and knit and make cookies and walk and travel. So there are constants and then the others.
As for the house I’ve tried to tell myself that yes even at less than 900 feet I still need cleaning help. So far I’ve held the line.
My goal is a somewhat even division of active stuff and relaxing stuff each day. I often don’t succeed.
Dabbler or putterer you may be, but you are definitely leading the pack with so many different interests. Who says retirement isn’t fun?
This so describes me. I overwhelm and frustrate myself trying to do it all. I’ve also had to give myself a break and be easier on myself. What doesn’t get done won’t kill me. The biggest problem I have is turning off my brain when I should be sleeping. I’m writing and crafting in my head which is great for inspiration (as well as reading which is what I do when I can’t sleep) but not for getting the rest I need at night. I thought retirement would cure all that! Just different things occupying my busy mind.
I also have a hard time turning off my brain. The list of things I go through when I’m supposed to be sleeping is staggering.