by Charlotte Ahlin our guest Author courtesy of fueled.com
There was a time, long ago, when phones just made phone calls, and we all had to find other devices to occupy the rest of our time. Now, thankfully, there’s an app for everything—including finding a new hobby. If you’re looking for a new source of stress relief that’s a little more fulfilling than Angry Birds, then here are some choice apps to help you find your new side passion:
How to Make Origami
Remember that one kid in middle school who could turn any scrap of paper into a beautiful crane? Well, How to Make Origami will teach you designs that could make that kid’s head spin. The name may be a bit straightforward, but this app does indeed make the Japanese art of paper folding as sleek and simple as can be.
It’s the perfect app for beginners, with over 80 free designs and step-by-step instructions. The app even provides a 3D animation to illustrate each fold in detail. And origami isn’t just about recycling paper: the practice prolongs attention spans, develops logical reasoning, and fine tunes your fine motor skills. And if you’re sneaky about it, you can probably practice right at your desk.
Skyview
Astronomy may seem a bit daunting as far as casual hobbies go, but Skyview makes it easy for even the most novice of star gazers. You just point your device at the sky, and Skyview identifies which stars, constellations, satellites, or planets you’re looking at (and yes, it only works outside, because your phone can’t do literally everything for you).
So it’s basically Shazam for the stars. And the app doesn’t just tell you what’s directly in front of you, because Skyview has a time travel function that can show you what the sky will look like at any date in time. You can set reminders for celestial events, track the sun or the moon at all times, and even spot heavenly bodies in the middle of broad daylight – no telescope required.
Daily Yoga
Maybe you roll your eyes at the idea of getting touchy feely with a whole room of people, or you tried it out but the poses seemed too hard, or you just never had enough time for downward dog. Daily Yoga is here to change that.
It’s the number one downloaded yoga app, with over 50 yoga session and over 500 poses in its library. Your yoga workouts can be anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes long, and you can pick your difficulty level and your focus, as well as scheduling training plans. You can even pick the music to go along with your yoga video. It’s so incredibly customizable, you’ll have no excuse not to dust off your yoga mat and give it a shot.
SketchBook
Drawing and painting are some of the most tried and true classic hobbies. So why not get back to basics? And don’t stress if you can barely even draw a stick figure, because SketchBook is designed to be easy for people of all skill levels. You can even snap a photo of your doodles and color them in SketchBook, since every adult needs a customized digital coloring book.
SketchBook offers over 10 preset brushes and pens, multiple art layers, and pressure-sensitivity, so it works just like a real pen or pencil (but it’s way easier to edit your masterpiece when it’s not on paper). It even has snazzy tools like the magic wand selection, to give your iPhone doodle a Photoshop finish. All you need is a stylus or a finger to whip up a piece of art.
AllTrails
If you’re looking for a hobby that’ll get your blood pumping in the great outdoors, then you could do worse than the number one ranked outdoors app for the iPhone. AllTrails covers everything from hiking to biking to good old fashioned exploring, and the maps even work offline, if you’re looking to try out some uncharted (and out of network) territory.
The app collects over 50,000 trails, and it’s curated by over 3 million real-life hikers, so you know that you’re getting the most up to date and insider info. And you can find driving directions to the trail closest to you in a single click. Select favorites, read reviews, share trail secrets with your friends—this app have everything you need to take you from indoor person to full on mountaineer.
There’s no limit to the hobbies you can find hidden away in your app store. These five aren’t the end-all be-all, but they’re certainly a solid start for finding your newest passion project. So whether you’re looking to conquer the wilderness or just fold paper into some really relaxing shapes, take a chance and try out some of these new hobby apps.
[su_box title=”About The Author” style=”soft” box_color=”#ffff99″ title_color=”#333333″ radius=”6″]Charlotte Ahlin is a writer, actor, artist, and born-and-bred New Yorker. She recently graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Creative Writing. Now that she’s out in the so-called real world, she’s thrilled to be writing articles for Bustle, working as Associate Artistic Director for Fat Knight Theatre, crafting plays and drawing pictures.[/su_box]
