Video summary

Hobbies That Actually Help You Slow Down & Enjoy the Journey :)

Main summary

Key takeaways

Lifestyle

Key idea

  • Pick hobbies that naturally slow your pace and help you enjoy the journey—whether you’re tired, busy, or don’t have the energy to “game hard.”

1) Leisurely MMOs (example: World of Warcraft Classic)

How it helps you slow down

  • Progress at a natural pace instead of rushing to “advanced content.”
  • Find satisfaction in story-following and exploration rather than efficiency.

What the creator focuses on

  • Collection quests: hunting and collecting items (e.g., pelts) to unlock loot/experience.
  • Exploration: discovering new places because it grants experience and feels like there’s more beyond each hill.
  • Enjoy multiple playstyles:
    • When tired after work: explore, talk to NPCs, and do simpler quests.
    • When you want intensity: play modes like hardcore, where pulling too many mobs can lead to tense, high-stakes failures.

Realistic weekly schedule

  • Morning session: about 45 minutes after waking up early (noted: gym at ~5am, then WoW).
  • Evening session: once or twice a week when the family is asleep.

Mindset

  • Accept slow progress (e.g., it may take a year to reach level 60; currently level 10–11).

2) Long-running RPGs (story-first, hundreds of hours)

Core approach

  • Take time to do side content: extra dungeons at the end, monster collection targets, and side quests.
  • Expect the game to take months, and treat slow completion as part of the experience.

Persona recommendations (story + consequences)

  • Played Persona 4 Golden on Vita as a first Persona experience.
  • Enjoyed:
    • Narrative consequences and multiple endings
    • The need to read/linger instead of skipping scenes to fight faster

Xenoblade focus

  • Making progress in Xenoblade Chronicles (played/available via Switch).
  • Notes that multiple Xenoblade titles exist on Switch, and each offers hundreds of hours.

Why portable matters

  • Plays on the go because family life limits time at a desk/console.

3) Tabletop role-playing: Dungeons & Dragons (and building a system)

Long-burn creative project

  • Wanted to run a D&D-style story but struggled to find a group, so created a system to attract new players.
  • Spent months on weekends designing mechanics and writing a story document: ~373 pages.

Their customized setup

  • Simplified mechanics significantly.
  • Created own classes and races, each with unique racial/class abilities.
  • Designed starting loot and planted plot hooks and special objects.

Group-building & schedule

  • Posted on Facebook to find a local group.
  • Found 5 players; about to begin the third week.
  • Runs sessions Sundays, about 3 hours.

Session structure

  • Session zero: players meet around a campfire, fight a big forest monster, and bond.
  • Next arcs:
    • Travel to Brimbleton
    • Town asks adventurers to clear ogres from local mines

Adventure premise & branching decisions

  • The group includes a special elf who can summon powerful forces.
  • Story includes a choice to rescue or alienate the elf, with serious consequences.

GM workload

  • Most time-consuming part is writing/preparing and reviewing sessions week-to-week to follow players’ actions and adjust the story.

Ongoing play between sessions

  • Uses a text thread where players role-play scenarios while traveling between towns—like a lightweight ongoing campaign during the week.

Game/system name

  • Their system is called Prima Via (“first paths”), framed as an onboarding-friendly first approach to tabletop RPGs.

4) Fantasy reading for relaxation (screen-free, slow pacing)

Shift from “self-improvement books” to entertaining stories

  • After leaving academia/corporate-focused reading, a friend recommended Red Rising.
  • After a quiet weekend, they started and became hooked.

Reading as an alternative when you’re low energy

  • Suggested if you:
    • want to relax without staring at a screen,
    • don’t have energy to gather a group,
    • or need an easier wind-down activity.

Reading routine

  • Reads 1–2 chapters a day (or during the week) to enjoy the story gradually.

Series recommendations

  • Red Rising: drama and emotional intensity (“good cry”).
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl (DCC): lighter, comedic, easier to get into.

Personal benefits

  • Feels more refreshed than mindlessly browsing game storefronts and ending up stressed.

Current “on deck”

  • Mentions Malice as to-read.
  • Wife is reading Akata Witch (uncertainty about whether they want to read it too).

Notable locations, products, and speakers

Locations (in stories)

  • Brimbleton (D&D campaign town)
  • Forest (session zero setting)
  • Mines (ogre takeover location)

Games / series

  • World of Warcraft Classic (MMO example)
  • Persona 4 Golden (Vita)
  • Persona series (general)
  • Xenoblade Chronicles and other Xenoblade titles on Switch
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl (reading)
  • Red Rising (reading)

Tabletop

  • Dungeons & Dragons
  • Custom system: Prima Via

Sponsor / product

  • O-Station (battery organizer/charger with USB-C; comes with AAA/AA batteries)

Named character

  • WoW character: Lunacia (human paladin)

Original video