After volunteering to write a newsletter about how hobbies make me a better lawyer, I did some research before I started to write.  It turns out dozens of lawyers and other professionals have written about how their hobbies make them a better lawyer, doctor, and other professional.  Every example I found focused largely on how skills learned and honed through the hobby translated to the courtroom, the operating room, or other high-stakes environments.

Hobbies are Skills-Building

There were some entertaining and inspiring stories from lawyers specifically.  They discussed how the meticulous planning, mental mapping, and strategy required for flying planes, surfing, and solo climbing translated to planning for trial or another big hearing, mapping out long-term litigation, and maintaining composure even when those around you are not – or when your environment is shifting.  They discussed how solo travel and playing poker reinforced and sharpened their abilities to read their opponents, understand subtleties in tone and gesture, and evaluate and manage risk.

This is exactly how I first conceived of writing this newsletter.  I planned to discuss how snowboarding, moving target practice, and solving puzzles have helped, and continue to help me hone the traits and skills I employ in my own daily litigation practice.  And there is research to back this up across employment sectors.  Researchers at San Francisco State University found that employees who engaged in creative hobbies scored 15–30% higher on job-performance rankings than those who did not.[i]

A Different Direction

Although some of my hobbies have helped me hone my traits and skills as a litigator, I knew I had to pivot when I hit a roadblock trying to tie my love of dance to my skills as a lawyer.  So I zoomed out a bit, and found what I think is the more compelling reality: hobbies make me a better lawyer for the same reasons that hobbies make us all better people!

First, let me define “hobby”, and then we’ll do a quick dive into the psychology and other takeaways.

“Hobby”: a regular, voluntary activity pursued for pleasure or relaxation rather than for financial gain or as a primary occupation.

Compelling Psychology and Medicine?

Data compiled from major observational studies across 16 countries demonstrate that older adults who consistently engaged in hobbies also reported better health, greater happiness, fewer symptoms of depression, and higher life satisfaction compared with adults without hobbies.[ii]

More recently, emerging evidence suggests that hobbies which are mentally, physically and/or socially stimulating are linked to lower risk and less severe chronic diseases in old age, including conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.[iii]  It’s important to note that “association” is not “causation,” and I’m not aware of any evidence (yet) demonstrating a causal relationship between hobbies and lower risk or severity of disease in old age.  But the research is fascinating, inspiring and driving a new push to study dementia-related and other neurodegenerative diseases—whose victims have largely had to suffer without much aid and certainly without a cure.

Zooming back out, the evidence regarding hobbies benefiting mental health and well-being is clear!  Hobbies offer us a break from our daily routines and chronic stressors.  Volunteering our minds and bodies to enjoyable activity or leisure, particularly when done in community, contributes to a better mood, lessens the impact of stress and anxiety, builds important skills, and leads to greater confidence, a stronger sense of self, and a stronger community.

So, do you have a hobby?  It’s a good personal move and a smart professional move also.

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Sources

[i] A. Sifferlin, Bring Creative Outside of Work Makes You Better at Your Job, TIME (Apr. 16, 2014 8:00 PM EDT), https://time.com/65487/bring-creative-outside-of-work-makes-you-better-at-your-job/;  See also K. Eschleman, et al., Benefitting From Creative Activity: The Positive Relationships Between Creative Activity, Recovery Experiences, and Performance-Related Outcomes, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychol. (Apr. 17, 2014), https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12064.

[ii] H. Godman, Having a Hobby Tied to Happiness and Well-Bring, Harvard Health Letter (Nov. 4, 2025, 7:41 AM), https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/having-a-hobby-tied-to-happiness-and-well-being; see also UCLA Health, 3 Proven Benefits of Having a Hobby (Nov. 4, 2025, 7:41 AM), https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/3-proven-benefits-having-hobby.

[iii] T.F. Hughes, et al., Engagement in Reading and Hobbies and Risk of Incident Dementia: the MoVIES Project, Am. J. Alzheimer’s Dis. & Other Dementias 25, 432 (2010), https://doi/10.1177/1533317510368399; see also T. Matsumura, et al., Hobby Engagement and Risk of Disabling Dementia, J. Epidemiol. 33, 456 (2023), https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.JE20210489.