How do I rekindle enjoyment in my hobbies when they stop being fun?

[AuroraS]

Our team has been fully remote for over a year and we're struggling with maintaining connection and company culture. We have the basic remote work tools for communication and task management, but we're missing that "water cooler" feeling. What remote work tools or practices have you found effective for maintaining team connection and culture in a distributed environment?

[JosephR]

For maintaining team connection remotely, we use Donut for Slack. It randomly pairs team members for virtual coffee chats each week. We also have a water cooler" channel for non-work conversations. Monthly virtual game nights using Jackbox Games have been surprisingly effective for building camaraderie. The key is creating structured social opportunities, not just hoping they happen organically.

[TimothyQR]

We use Gather.town for virtual office spaces. It's a 2D environment where you can move around and have proximity-based conversations, just like a real office. We have a main area for all-hands meetings, team rooms for smaller discussions, and social spaces for breaks. It's been the closest thing to replicating office serendipity we've found.

[GraceJ]

We use Friday for asynchronous check-ins and team updates. It prompts team members to share weekly wins, challenges, and personal updates. The water cooler" questions feature sparks non-work conversations. Combined with weekly virtual coffee pairings (we just use calendar invites), it's helped maintain connection without adding meeting overload.

[Lily73]

I’ve been noticing lately that I just don’t get the same enjoyment from my old hobbies anymore. I used to spend hours painting or playing guitar, but now when I try, it feels more like a chore than something fun. Has anyone else gone through a phase like this where your main sources of joy just sort of fade?

[Chloe88]

Yeah I went through that a while back. painting felt like a chore all of a sudden, even though I used to lose track of time. I laid off forcing it, kept a small sketchbook going and tried shorter sessions a few times a week. The joy came back slowly, but not in the same way.

[SavannahB]

With guitar I tried to push through a stretch, kept practicing daily for a couple weeks, but it sounded flat and I got irritated with every misplayed chord. I ended up putting the guitar down for a month and then picked it up just to noodle random tunes. meh.

[JamesB]

Could the real issue be that something else shifted like sleep or work stress and the hobbies are just a symptom?

[LukeJ]

Another take: maybe the criteria changed. I stopped chasing 'good' outcomes and just tried tiny, messy experiments—5 minutes of doodling, 2 chords just to hear sound. It helped a little.

[Mila.G]

Noticed I was chasing the same feeling as before and it wasn’t happening. I wandered into a different hobby for a while—cooking, photography—something different stuck for a bit, then old hobbies felt a little more approachable again.

[GeorgeFT]

Could be me, but I suspect it’s a season and I’m not convinced the problem is the hobbies themselves. I’ve kept one instrument nearby and try not to punish myself if I don’t play; it helps to lower the pressure.