Intrigued to find out what introverts do as hobbies? With the rise of online hobbies, having fun and a good time on your own is getting much easier and practical. All from the comfort of your own home! As an introvert myself, I sometimes feel it’s difficult and costly to build hobbies out of my home, especially if it requires long drives and a good company.
If you’re like me, these are the 11 best online hobbies I would recommend to keep your introverted soul sane and nourished.
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1. Online classes
One of the things I’ve picked up in the past two years on my journey of self development is to purchase online classes. Yes, purchase. I believe good knowledge, one that you can apply immediately without trial and error, needs guidance – and I’ve come to terms that people simply don’t guide for free. While YouTube can teach you a ton, it’s pretty much at surface level and not in depth. So it’s good to find out what interests you via YouTube then deep dive into it by purchasing online classes, when you’re ready.
Online classes can be of any topic that simply interests you. For me, it’s making money on Etsy, learning how to use Pinterest, how to build blogs as well as Japanese cooking lessons. I also took an online course to become a healthy eating coach! Some will work out while others won’t, it’s okay you’ve learned something new anyway.
What I love most about online classes is that I don’t have to travel into the city to attend physical classes that would take two hours of my weekend when I have another project due on Monday. You can also play these classes repeatedly in your free time and don’t need anyone to accompany you. It’s quite troublesome to get someone to follow you right? I recall driving 1 hour on my own to learn how to make tempeh from scratch in a 2-hour session and well four years after, I no longer remember how to – can’t play it again jeez!
Quick Tip: Start with one course and finish it before buying another one. Do not overwhelm yourself. One step at a time.
2. Yoga
Being able to work from home has been wonderful. Most people finally enjoy waking up in the morning not having to think about what to wear or where to drive to. However, it means we can become less active physically and also work around the clock (especially if your home office is in the bedroom). If you’re not physically active like most of us are, I believe you can feel better with some light stretching. So start doing yoga!
Introverts tend to overthink everything which sometimes leads us to talk to ourselves. Sleeping gets even more difficult when your mind can’t stop working! I’m sure you’ve been there too. I find 15-minute yoga stretches an hour before bedtime helps me relax my muscles and sleep better through the night. Ever since then, yoga has been a hobby of mine!
Quick Tip: You can also try meditation to clear your thoughts and calm your body.
3. Photo or video editing
Another skill I’ve learned and seems pretty useful is photo and video editing. As introverts, we are huge fans of capturing everyday moments e.g. our commute to work, what we cook, date nights out and even our OOTD. Pictures speak for themselves! So we don’t have to. Editing photos is a nice hobby because we get to look back at what we did last week or last month and just recall our introverted happiness of being out (once in a while).
You can also look into monetizing your shots by selling them as photo stock on websites like DepositPhotos. Submit some of your best photos for a review and get approved. They occasionally have contests and it’s pretty nice that they provide content calendars to plan your next shoots. One headache off and DepositPhotos also accepts videos!
You would be surprised to know that quite a considerable amount of YouTubers are introverts, especially the ones posting vlogs. Some do it because they have no one to accompany them and talk a lot by themselves. So it feels less lonely to vlog and talk to the camera. You can also become a YouTuber by sharing what you do best – even if it’s about how to train your dog. It’s much less scary to be a YouTuber than speak to a live crowd since you’re only speaking to a camera. Take this opportunity to build your communication skills!
4. Make art
Quite a number of introverts I know have drawing as hobbies. Gone were the days we had to bring physical sketchbooks around, nowadays we have the iPad. With an Apple pencil, you can start making digital art. It’s amazing that today we can earn a good living by making art. There’s many ways to do this. You can be selling NFTs, sell wall prints on Etsy, make print on demand products or teach others how to make art themselves.
If you’re not looking to monetize this skill, it’s fine. You can always do something for the sheer enjoyment of it. New to painting? Try painting by numbers – these kits make a nice wall art and will help you relax. If you’re looking into other ways of making art, Arteza has all the supplies you need to get crafty!
5. Blogging
In my entire lifetime, I have never thought writing could be my professional career. I grew up working with numbers and visuals plus I was never a big fan of reading. However, blogging has pathed a new journey and it feeds my introverted soul – finally a place to let go of my thoughts, ideas and aspirations! As an introvert, you may sometimes find it difficult to express yourself to others or discuss your trail of thoughts for everyone to understand. Everyone is busy listening to the extrovert in the room instead.
I no longer explain myself to everyone else, they’re clueless of what I do for a living. In fact almost everyone around you does not have to know that you have a blog. It can be liberating to many! Most introverts will love this privacy.
Everyone has a topic they can talk about for hours. Do you know what is yours? For me, it’s about doing what I love most – remote working, earning a living online and having a location independent lifestyle. You can start your own blog to write about a hobby you have e.g. knitting, baking, hiking, bike riding or even sleeping. Make it informational or fun for others to relate.
Passive Marketeer is where I started my journey. I’m thankful I’ve learned SEO to speed things up and get more readers like you onboard.
6. Learn a new language
Have you thought of moving to another country? Maybe you’re into k-pop or love the idea of sunny Portugal? While most people in Portugal can speak English, most people in South Korea can’t. Some trouble there! Lucky for you, learning Korean is pretty easy and I can still read Korean just after watching a 10-minute video on YouTube 4 years ago. Unlike Mandarin, Arabic or Japanese, learning Korean is relatively easy for speaking purposes.
If you’re into learning new cultures, consider learning a new language in your free time and maybe turn it into a hobby. Who knows, you might just build a career out of it. You also have another branch of topic to talk about when meeting new people with the same interest. I know how difficult it can be for an introvert to start a conversation with a stranger at a friend’s gathering, so I got you.
7. Build programs
Are you into coding? If you’re a tech geek, consider building programs as a hobby. You can build games, websites and apps. WordPress is a good place to start your programming journey and have fun using coding languages like PHP, CSS and HTML. Regardless if you already have an existing WordPress website, you can understand better here. I’m not into programming but on some days, I really wished I knew some things or two about HTML and work on making my blog nicer (it’s getting there!).
Programming is being adopted into schools and younger kids are learning it simply because it’s the future. Your test products can be sold. It is a huge hobby of its own as it can take a large chunk of your time but with enough grit, you can be making so many amazing things and help the internet world to be a better place (cross fingers!).
8. Listen to podcasts
This might sound abnormal to you but not everyone likes to listen to music. Especially after going through a difficult day and all you need is a hot bath. For introverts, we have drained all our mental energy talking to others for the past 9 hours in the office. Some of us actually want to do more but find it difficult to even move. I am a huge fan of productive downtime. Back then, I found that on my way home from work, I was more inclined to listen to podcasts. It felt better than switching on the radio or playing music. I am a huge fan of Jay Shetty’s podcast and think it’s nice to tune in to his insights on life after a long day – and realize that the world gets us!
If you’re like me, you will enjoy listening to podcasts even as you make dinner. There’s something about it that makes you feel like someone in the room is talking to you – and that’s enough for introverts. We sometimes don’t need real humans to interact with.
Alternatively, if you’re into producing content but do not prefer showing your face on camera, you can become a podcaster yourself and talk about things that resonate with other introverts!
9. Make money online
One of the best things you can do online is to earn money. It’s funny to say it, but it can be a hobby. It’s quite similar to searching for furniture you like just to flip it and make profit – you don’t need it for personal use. As I enter my late 20s, I realize that I need to work really hard today and save money to be able to retire by 40 or sooner.
Fair to say after 4 years of working, this dream is not possible with the regular 9 to 5. While I started my online money making journey out of a need rather than a want, I have soon discovered that I love money and enjoy learning new things just to make more of it. It’s fun! Learning how to use Etsy, Pinterest, Canva and making websites can be challenging but enjoyable. It will buy my freedom soon, I hope the same for you.
10. Gaming
Playing games is definitely one of the popular hobbies among introverts. In December 2021, Twitch had about 7.5 million active streamers – who knew? Infact, this is a drop from their 9 million peak early in the year. Joining communities and meeting others alike can be fun, especially when you don’t have to meet them in person. Introverts work best online! Most gaming platforms also pay you to play so it can be rewarding to upskill.
If you’re looking to build a home office with a modern look and ultimately, comfortable seating, Autonomous has it all. The SmartDesk collection is something you can’t find anywhere else. I just love the heavy abstracts made by real artists. You can also place their GamePods in your lawn and flaunt off your new gaming setup to your nosy neighbors.
11. Online dating
I know, it can get lonely sometimes if you’re an introvert with not so many friends. Introverts still deserve someone to love and snuggle with, we actually make great partners. So if you have never tried it, consider going into online dating. It is a less daunting way to meet new people and if everyone is honest, you get to filter what you think you like and skip a ton of work. We don’t have that much energy for outings anyway. I’m thankful that I married someone I knew for quite a while as pure friends. He’s quite similar to me and we knew our quirks well before dating (I never looked very friendly to be honest). Don’t give up!
Bottom Line
There’s so many things an introvert can do when it comes to building hobbies online. From the comfort of your own home, you get to try an array of activities with little to no investments, until you’re finally sure you want to go all out. It’s a true privilege to no longer have to go out to have fun. If you’re unsure what hobby to go into, try finding out what you like with a quick quiz. If you’re interested to make passive income from some of the hobbies listed above, I explained some of my favorites in another article.
If you’re new on my site, welcome to the club, buddy! I’m always happy to help another introvert. Sincerely, Abby, Passive Marketeer’s recovering introvert.