Guest Post Article
As you know, I frequently feature writers who are looking to get their blog posts published. Here is another article I found interesting, especially since my dad was into woodworking and was very good at it. His beautiful creations still grace my home. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this post by James Draper.
Five Reasons Why You Should Get Into Woodworking This Year
Woodworking can be much more than a profession or a hobby. It’s, for a lot of people, an art that has serious impacts on your body and mind! Many people find it a relaxing and productive activity for their overall development. Planning, starting, and finishing a project can be a major improvement for your physical health, as well as for your focus and determination.
If you’re a woodworker already, then you have plenty of reasons for loving your job. If you are brand new, or still thinking about getting into the handy craft world, here are some reasons why you should start this year:
1. Health Benefits
Woodworking is not only good for your body but for your mental health, as well. If you suffer from stress or anxiety, this activity will certainly refresh your mind. An easy-to-do woodworking project will instantly boost your mind and self-esteem by diverting your attention from destructive thoughts. There are also plenty of studies that show that this art is perfect for slowing down depression related problems. Refinishing, for example, is an easy and very effective solution – from the first sanding process all the way up to completion, you’ll love every moment of it. Coming from a personal side, woodworking can really be a natural boost.
2. Focus Improvement
It can, sometimes, be a dangerous activity, one that involves complex and strong power tools that require focus and extreme attention. Make sure safety is your main priority – you can easily check for tool options that regard safety and efficiency at the same time.
But believe me, a simpler and safer woodworking project will greatly improve your focus and concentration, a benefit that will definitely help you in other areas of your personal and professional life. It will also help you gain confidence in yourself and in your skills, and change the way you look at smaller insignificant tasks of your daily life.
3. Better Planning and Organizing Skills
Truth be told, many people are not able to do proper planning of their time, which can greatly affect their quality of life, as well as their health. A woodworking DIY project requires you to follow a step by step process, in order to finish a workpiece. This way, you’re bound to think ahead, from the start, like what materials you should choose, what tools to use, among other things. If you’re able to accomplish simple tasks, you may carry on with more complicated woodworking projects and reach a point where making a wooden chair from scratch is peanuts. Transfer that improvement to your daily life, and you’ll notice how much more motivated you are in tackling boring and monotonous tasks.
4. Helps Replacing Bad Habits
We all know it is very easy to acquire a bad habit but extremely difficult to get rid of it. Since woodworking projects require dedication and a great deal of time, you won’t end up with that much mental space to think about your bad habits. A lot of rehab clinics have introduced woodworking to their patients, showing great results, especially in drug addiction situations.
5. Profitable
Believe it or not, it’s a tremendously profitable hobby. Since you’re able to build any piece of furniture (with enough practice), you avoid purchasing one at a DIY store for a much higher price. If you build it yourself, the costs are much cheaper, and since it encourages creativity, which allows you to keep improving your skills, you’ll reach a point where the outcome’s quality is so good you can actually sell them! That way, you’ll balance the costs of materials, energy, and time and even get some extra cash. Trust me, you’ll start with a simple chair and in a couple of months, you’ll already be working on a customized table to your sister’s parents-in-law. That will not only bring satisfaction but will keep your creativity alive, so remember, the more art pieces you make, the more creative you become.
In a Nutshell
There are a lot of reasons for liking woodworking, and there are also many benefits that this hobby brings into your life that you might not really think about. Woodworking can really turn you into a better problem-solver. It’s an activity that will make better use of your downtime, as well as making you capable of giving amazing gifts to people you love! I’m sure they will be received with much love since it comes from your own hands.
Lastly, there is something amazing about being able to use your mind and your body to produce a project from start to end – almost like the primitive nature of our ancestors. It will surely give you the opportunity to make decisions, think, design, and change a pile of wood into something greater! Once you see that you can produce something of value with your own hands, it will fill you with excitement and the desire of accomplishing many other things. So, one question remains: What are you still doing here?
(Just a note, these are two creations that my dad made.)
