If you follow me on Instagram or know me in person, it’s pretty obvious what I love. I love to read, run, and write. Also, the nerd in me likes that each of my hobbies forms a mnemonic device.
Sometimes I want to be one of those “all in” types of people, but I know if I went “all in” on one hobby, I’d have to give up the other two. I’m not okay with that. So, I created the “60|30|10 habit” for myself which helps me get as close to being all in as possible in each area.
How does it work?
I spend approximately 60 percent of my (free) time reading, 30 percent running, and 10 percent writing. I put them in this order since reading can involve and inspire both my running and writing. I often read about the lives of runners and writers as well as the sport of running and the craft of writing. This is checking two boxes at once. I’m enjoying the act of reading, and I am enjoying learning about one of the other two hobbies.
If I’m reading about running, I’m more likely to hop on the treadmill at the first second of the next pocket of time. If I’m reading about writing, I’m often writing in my head or taking notes so that the next free moment, the writing spills onto the page. Even reading fiction helps my writing as I consider how I could imitate—or not imitate—the author of the novel.
For the 30 percent slot, I choose running because 1. if you don’t run enough, you don’t get better and because 2. running is great for writers. There is something about the body moving and creativity. Again, since I like to read about writers, I’ve noticed how normal it was for the authors of classics to take extremely long walks daily. Many writers do this today, too, but it’s interesting to note the commonality of the ones we call the greatest at the craft. I don’t know of any that run instead of walk (Maybe I’ll be the first to claim this!), and I do think better about what I want to write when I walk than when I run. Sometimes, my mind gets competitive when I run, and I tend to only think about running and how fast I want to get. This works great when I’m running a faster run. However, I do try to force thoughts about writing on my easy runs.
Then there is the actual writing that falls into the 10 percent category. This is where I’m not thinking about writing or merely making notes. I’m forming sentences and paragraphs like I am here. But because I’ve spent much of my other slots thinking about it, it’s all I need to get the ink on the doc.
*As many of you readers are Christians, it may be good to say that I do spend time exercising spiritual disciplines. But that’s what they are—spiritual disciplines. I read my Bible and pray, and I meditate and memorize. These are not hobbies. These are necessary things for the Christian life. The reason I don’t mention them in the 60|30|10 Habit is that that time refers strictly to bits of free time I have that day (or that week) that I utilize with a hobby.
How can this work for you?
Choose three hobbies you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be three. This is for the sake of the example I gave.
Make the one with the most overlap your 60 percent one. For example, I could enjoy my other hobbies in some capacity by reading.
Make the one that mostly involves thinking your 10 percent one. For me, that is writing. For you, maybe it’s art, and you need to think about your next piece before touching the canvas. Maybe it’s gardening, and you can plan your beds in your head before digging in the dirt.
Q & A
This month, you asked:
I haven’t run in months. How do I start running again without feeling like death?
If you try to run like you did the last time you ran, you will feel like death. I guarantee it. I had my fourth baby last June, and the way I came back to running (I’m not able to run much when I’m pregnant because I’m a pre-term risk), could work for any beginner. The first thing you should do is focus on minutes, not miles. Run for one minute, walk for one minute, and build it up slowly each week. There’s more to this of course, so if anyone is interested in real details, shoot me an email.