How to Make Time for Hobbies When You’re Mentally Exhausted
You finally get a minute to yourself.
The house is mostly quiet.
The to-do list has stopped screaming at you for the day.
And in theory… this could be a good time to do something you enjoy. A creative hobby. A project you've been meaning to finish. Something fun.
But instead, you scroll your phone.
You stare at the wall.
You glance at your fabric pile or that half-finished sewing project and think, “I should...” but you don’t.
And then the moment passes.
You tell yourself, “Maybe tomorrow.” But then tomorrow feels the same.
It’s not that you don’t care. You do.
You miss your creative time. You miss feeling like yourself.
But your brain is foggy, and your body is done. Even the fun stuff starts to feel like one more thing on the list.
Creativity Needs Capacity, Not Just a Time Slot
There’s a reason it’s hard to figure out how to make time for hobbies when you’re burnt out. We’re told that if something matters to us, we’ll just find a way to fit it in. But that completely ignores what burnout actually feels like.
Even when you technically have time, you might not have the mental energy, focus, or clarity to begin. And that can feel frustrating—especially if creative hobbies used to be your go-to for joy or stress relief.
Burnout shows up in a lot of quiet ways:
Avoiding the projects you used to love
Getting stuck in tiny decisions (What should I make? Where even is my stuff?)
Feeling guilty for not “using your time better”
Wanting to be creative but feeling like everything takes too much effort
None of that means you’ve stopped being a creative person.
It just means your brain is doing its best to protect you after too much for too long.
A Gentle Way Back to Creative Time
Complicated plans are usually the first thing to fall apart when you're burnt out. What helps more is something gentle. Something real. Something your brain can actually handle right now.
Here are two things that help when I want to make space for creativity but my energy is bottomed out:
📝 1. Keep a Tiny List of Creative Things You Might Like
Make a list—on your phone, in a notebook, wherever—with little creative nudges. Five minutes or less. Nothing that requires decision-making or deep focus.
Think:
Picking out a color palette you like
Pressing one piece of fabric
Re-threading your machine
Rearranging a basket of yarn
Flipping through a DIY or hobby Pinterest board you forgot about for inspiration
The point isn’t to be productive. It’s just to stay connected to what brings you joy—without adding pressure.
🍿 2. Leave One Easy Project Out Where You Can See It
Pick a low-effort creative hobby—something in progress or low-stakes—and leave it somewhere visible. No bins. No closets. No “when I have time.”
Put it on the kitchen table. The coffee table. A corner of your desk. Wherever it won’t be hidden under life.
There’s no pressure to sit down and start. It’s just there in case a little creative spark shows up and you actually feel up for it.
Your Creativity Is Still There
I know what it feels like to be disconnected from the part of you that loves to make things. To miss it. And to not quite know how to come back to it.
That creative spark might feel far away right now, but it’s still there—quiet, maybe, but not gone.
The version of you who used to feel excited about creating is still there. She might be under a few layers of stress and exhaustion and expectations, but she hasn’t gone anywhere.
You don’t need to fix everything before you start again. You don’t need to wait for some magical block of free time.
What helps—especially when you’re burnt out—is staying close to your creativity in small, kind ways.
Even just thinking about making something is a valid place to begin.
And when the energy returns (because it will)—you’ll already be facing the direction you want to go.