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Carving out some time for personal pursuits can provide a sense of achievement and a break from the daily grind. Hobbies also can improve physical and mental health in a variety of ways.

People with tight schedules may think that they’re too busy to engage in hobbies. In such instances, individuals should look for activities that don’t require too great of a time commitment.

• Photography: Photos can be snapped just about anywhere and at any time, making photography ideal for busy people. Thanks to advancements in mobile phone cameras, individuals do not even need a high-tech or expensive camera to snap great shots.

• Cooking: Everyone needs to eat, making cooking a very useful hobby. Many people who cook for pleasure also note how relaxing it can be to prepare a delicious meal.

• Curating music playlists: People with a love of music can take advantage of the many music streaming services to curate their own archives. Discover new music or find old favorites and then make digital playlists for the activities of everyday life, such as backyard barbecues or commutes into work. Various streaming sites allow users to make playlists public so they can be shared with others who enjoy the same musical genres.

• Reading: The benefits of reading are numerous. Reading bolsters readers’ vocabulary, can teach them about current events, provides an escape, and also serves as exercise for the brain, potentially delaying age-related cognitive decline. Reading can be a solitary venture done in short or long periods of spare time. It also can be shared with others through book clubs and other reading groups.

• Scrapbooking: Photographs are now routinely relegated to the cloud, where they linger in a sort of digital limbo. Scrapbooking inspires people to not only print their photos, but to get creative putting them together with designs, sayings and other mementos.

Busy individuals do not have to pass up on hobbies because they feel they’re short on time. Plenty of activities don’t require much time but still provide a host of benefits.