All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. It drives you mad too.

Hobbies are a great way to take a break from the monotony of the workweek and destress while you socialize, learn and promote personal development. Depending on what hobby you enjoy doing, there can also be some residual benefits that can help agents improve their businesses.

Whether you’re using your passion for photography to showcase listings or networking with potential clients over 18 holes at the golf course, taking time to pursue a hobby may pay off in the long run.

Don’t have a hobby? No worries, here are a few that you can try out.

Photography 

It’s fun and, in many cases, therapeutic to get outside and snap photos of anything and everything that catches your eye.

For an agent, honing the craft of photography can directly translate to improving your business. Understanding different angles and lighting can take any batch of listing photos to another level. There is also a massive community around the hobby that you can network with and possibly generate leads from.

If nothing else, it could be a nice gesture to snap a “closing” photo with your clients at the end of a transaction that you can then send to them as a possible gift.

Gardening 

Think you have a green thumb? Gardening may be for you. It’s another hobby that offers several mental and emotional health benefits. Spending time planting and growing anything is a relaxing and rewarding activity that doesn’t have to break the bank to start.

Gardening skills can help if you’re working with clients to spruce up their curb appeal with flowers and other decorative plants. Perhaps you can make great fruit and vegetable gift baskets for your clients to continue fostering a working relationship.

At the very least, being knowledgeable about plants and gardens can help you spark a conversation with a homeowner that may lead to getting some new business.

Golf

Any form of sports is a great way to maintain physical health while also promoting socialization, community and competition—-all of which are important for agents.

Golf stands out as an excellent option for agents to use for networking and closing deals—a lot of business is done on the golf course. It also provides a great opportunity to nurture relationships among colleagues and clients with significant amounts of quiet time in between swings to hold conversations and get to know each other better.

An added benefit is that it’s a sport that most demographics can play.

Learning a New Language 

Learning a new language in your spare time can be a fun and beneficial hobby. Besides improving memory, problem solving and multitasking, learning a foreign language is a great way to connect with other people across different cultures and ethnicities.

Being bilingual or multilingual is a trait worth its weight in gold across practically any industry. In a relationship-focused sector like real estate, it can also give you an edge with clients and your colleagues and management at your brokerage.

Agents, what are some hobbies that you enjoy doing in your down time?

Jordan Grice is RISMedia’s associate content editor. Email him your real estate news to jgrice@rismedia.com.