☕ Slow things down
Quiet hobbies
Calm, low-key hobbies such as reading, chess, language learning, meditation, collecting and puzzles. Most cost little to start and fit into short sessions at home, and each guide shows how to build a steady habit.
Showing 60 of 276 hobbies
Reading
Reading for pleasure means borrowing or buying novels, nonfiction, short stories or audiobooks you enjoy, and building a habit of finishing them.
Open guide →Creative Writing
Creative writing is making up stories, poems, scenes or true-life pieces on the page, building a regular habit of drafting, revising and sharing with readers.
Open guide →Journaling
Journaling is writing regularly in a notebook or app to record events, plans and thoughts, from daily logs and bullet journals to reflections and commonplace books.
Open guide →Chess
Chess is a two-player strategy game on a 64-square board where you plan, calculate and out-think an opponent, improved through puzzles, endgames and slow games.
Open guide →Jigsaw Puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles are interlocking cardboard or wooden pictures you assemble piece by piece, from 100-piece starters to 2,000-piece or hand-cut challenges.
Open guide →Language Learning
Language learning is building listening, speaking, reading and writing in a new language through daily study, spaced repetition, input and real conversation.
Open guide →Genealogy
Genealogy is researching your family history by working back from living relatives through certificates, census returns, parish registers and wills to build a tree.
Open guide →Meditation
Meditation is sitting quietly and training attention, usually by following the breath or a guided recording, noticing when your mind wanders and returning.
Open guide →Coin Collecting
Coin collecting, or numismatics, is gathering coins by country, era or theme, studying their history and condition, and keeping them safely in albums or holders.
Open guide →Stamp Collecting
Stamp collecting, or philately, is gathering postage stamps by country, theme or period and learning to identify, handle and mount them in albums.
Open guide →Vinyl Collecting
Vinyl collecting is hunting for, buying and caring for records, from charity-shop finds to special pressings, and playing them on a turntable you set up yourself.
Open guide →Comic Collecting
Comic collecting is buying, storing and trading comics, from current issues to vintage back issues, protected in bags and boards and chased by title, character or creator.
Open guide →Coffee Brewing
Coffee brewing is making better coffee at home by controlling grind, dose, water and time with pour-over, AeroPress, French press, moka pot or espresso.
Open guide →Tea Tasting
Tea tasting is brewing different teas side by side and noting aroma, colour, flavour and finish, to learn what you like and why one tea tastes different from another.
Open guide →Postcard Collecting
Postcard collecting, or deltiology, is collecting postcards by place, subject or era, then sorting, researching and storing them safely in an album or archive box.
Open guide →Book Collecting
Book collecting is building a shelf around a theme, such as one author's first editions, a genre or a publisher's paperbacks, and hunting down the right copies in good condition.
Open guide →Rare Book Collecting
Rare book collecting is buying scarce, early or historically important books, such as first editions and inscribed copies, judging condition and provenance.
Open guide →Art Collecting
Art collecting is buying original paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture from artists, galleries and fairs, learning to judge quality, edition and condition.
Open guide →Photograph Collecting
Photograph collecting is gathering vintage prints, cartes de visite, snapshots and contemporary photographs around a theme, and learning to date and care for them.
Open guide →Toy Collecting
Toy collecting is hunting down vintage and modern toys, from tinplate and dolls' house furniture to 1980s TV spin-offs, and keeping them complete, boxed and in good condition.
Open guide →Action Figure Collecting
Action figure collecting is buying and displaying articulated figures from films, comics, TV and toy ranges, chasing complete sets, variants and well-preserved packaging.
Open guide →Doll Collecting
Doll collecting is buying and caring for dolls, from antique bisque and composition dolls to vintage fashion dolls and modern artist dolls, researching makers and original clothing.
Open guide →Teddy Bear Collecting
Teddy bear collecting is buying antique, vintage and handmade artist bears, learning to judge mohair, stuffing and maker's labels, and displaying them with care.
Open guide →Model Car Collecting
Model car collecting is buying detailed scale models of real cars, such as 1:18 and 1:43 diecast and resin, usually following a marque, a racing era or a favourite car.
Open guide →Diecast Collecting
Diecast collecting is buying metal toy and scale vehicles, such as vintage Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox cars, buses and lorries, and keeping them boxed and in good paint.
Open guide →Train Collecting
Train collecting is building a collection of British railway items: model locomotives and rolling stock, plus railwayana such as tickets, signs, lamps and timetables.
Open guide →Sports Memorabilia
Sports memorabilia collecting means hunting down match programmes, shirts, tickets, cards and signed items linked to a team, player or event you care about.
Open guide →Autograph Collecting
Autograph collecting is gathering signatures from sports stars, actors, musicians and writers, in person at events, by post or through dealers and auctions.
Open guide →Movie Memorabilia
Movie memorabilia collecting means tracking down original film posters, lobby cards, scripts, call sheets and props, and learning to tell the real from the replica.
Open guide →Music Memorabilia
Music memorabilia collecting means gathering gig tickets, tour programmes, setlists, backstage passes and signed items connected to bands and artists you love.
Open guide →Concert Poster Collecting
Concert poster collecting is buying, framing and storing gig posters, from original promotional prints to numbered screen-printed editions by poster artists.
Open guide →Vintage Clothing Collecting
Vintage clothing collecting is hunting down and preserving clothes, shoes and accessories from past decades, learning to date, grade and care for them.
Open guide →Handbag Collecting
Handbag collecting is searching for, authenticating and caring for bags, from affordable vintage leather to designer pieces, built around a style, era or maker.
Open guide →Hat Collecting
Hat collecting is finding and looking after hats from past eras, from felt trilbies and straw boaters to flat caps and millinery, and learning how they are made.
Open guide →Button Collecting
Button collecting is gathering buttons by material, age or maker, from Victorian glass and shell to military and uniform buttons, and sorting, identifying and displaying them.
Open guide →Pin Collecting
Pin collecting is gathering enamel pin badges, souvenir and lapel pins, and displaying them on boards, bags or jackets, buying from artists, fairs and shops.
Open guide →Patch Collecting
Patch collecting is gathering embroidered, woven and PVC patches, from band and travel souvenirs to scout badges, and sewing them on jackets or displaying them in albums.
Open guide →Badge Collecting
Badge collecting is gathering pin badges, enamel badges, button badges and sew-on patches around a theme, then sorting and displaying them on boards or in albums.
Open guide →Keyring Collecting
Keyring collecting is gathering souvenir, promotional and novelty keyrings by place, theme or material, then storing them on hooks, boards or in boxes.
Open guide →Matchbox Collecting
Matchbox collecting, known as phillumeny, is gathering matchboxes, matchbooks and their printed labels by theme, country or maker, and mounting them in albums.
Open guide →Bottle Cap Collecting
Bottle cap collecting is gathering crown corks, screw caps, pull tabs and old milk bottle tops by brand, place or design, and cleaning and displaying them.
Open guide →Beer Mat Collecting
Beer mat collecting, known as tegestology, is gathering printed pub coasters by brewery, pub, theme or era, then sorting them into albums or boxes.
Open guide →Mug Collecting
Mug collecting is gathering commemorative, souvenir, advertising and studio-pottery mugs by theme, maker or era, then displaying them safely on shelves or in cabinets.
Open guide →Teacup Collecting
Teacup collecting is gathering china cups, saucers and trios by pattern, maker or era, learning to read backstamps and displaying them safely.
Open guide →Spoon Collecting
Spoon collecting is gathering souvenir, silver, silver-plated and novelty spoons by place, maker or type, and learning to read hallmarks and care for them.
Open guide →Glassware Collecting
Glassware collecting is gathering pressed, cut, blown and studio glass, such as vases, decanters and drinking glasses, and learning to judge age, make and condition.
Open guide →Pottery Collecting
Collecting ceramics such as vintage British tableware or studio pottery, learning to read maker's marks, spot damage and display pieces you love.
Open guide →Perfume Collecting
Perfume collecting is gathering scent bottles, miniatures, atomisers and boxed fragrances, learning how to store them, spot fakes and display them safely.
Open guide →Fountain Pen Collecting
Fountain pen collecting means building a set of new and vintage pens, learning nibs, fillers and inks, and writing with what you buy rather than just displaying it.
Open guide →Pencil Collecting
Pencil collecting is gathering pencils for their history, design and printed imprints, from school and advertising pencils to carpenters' pencils and propelling pencils.
Open guide →Eraser Collecting
Eraser collecting is gathering novelty, puzzle, vintage and scented erasers, usually small and cheap, and learning how to store them so they don't harden or melt.
Open guide →Typewriter Collecting
Typewriter collecting means buying, cleaning and using vintage manual typewriters, from portable models to heavy office machines, and learning to judge their mechanics.
Open guide →Camera Collecting
Camera collecting means finding, testing and often shooting with vintage film cameras, from folding and box cameras to 35mm SLRs, and learning how to judge their condition.
Open guide →Telescope Collecting
Telescope collecting is buying and restoring vintage and antique telescopes, from brass refractors and pocket spyglasses to mid-century hobby scopes, and judging their optics and age.
Open guide →Map Collecting
Map collecting is buying, researching and caring for antique and vintage maps, from county engravings to old Ordnance Survey sheets, and learning to judge their age and condition.
Open guide →Globe Collecting
Globe collecting is buying and caring for antique and vintage terrestrial and celestial globes, dating them by their borders and labels, and judging condition and authenticity.
Open guide →Shell Collecting
Shell collecting is gathering and identifying empty seashells from beaches, learning to name species, clean and catalogue them, and follow the rules on where you may collect.
Open guide →Sea Glass Collecting
Sea glass collecting is searching beaches for frosted, rounded fragments of old glass worn smooth by the sea, then sorting them by colour and keeping a record of where they were found.
Open guide →Fossil Collecting
Fossil collecting is searching beaches, quarries and clay pits for ammonites, belemnites and shark teeth, then cleaning, identifying and labelling your finds.
Open guide →Insect Collecting
Insect collecting, or entomology, means finding, identifying and recording insects, and for some, pinning and keeping a small reference collection of common species.
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