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We live in an age where we have constant, unending entertainment at our literal fingertips 24 hours a day, and yet most of us leave our scrolling or streaming sessions no less stressed and burned out than when we started.

Science is conclusive about why this is. Aside from the ways those activities basically put us on an endless cycle of dopamine hits and dissipation, our brains and psyches are just naturally more stimulated and satisfied by actual hobbies that require actual effort. So why the heck don’t we choose those instead?

There are 3 main reasons people choose low-skill activities over fulfilling hobbies that require effort:

There’s no way around it: We humans are inherently goal-oriented, and that thirst for an actual accomplishment is quite literally written in our DNA. That’s why idle scrolling or binge-watching a show just for the sake of it tends to leave us feeling totally unsatisfied. The only real reward is having burned through some time.

On the other hand, studies have consistently shown that hobbies requiring effort, whether a physical pursuit like hiking or a project-based hobby like learning an instrument, are vastly more fulfilling, have more mental health benefits, and can even be protective against things like dementia later in life.

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This is partly because most of these activities let us enter what’s called a “flow state,” a sort of perfect midpoint between a challenge and one’s abilities that yields that feeling of being so locked into an activity that you lose track of time — not in the way you do when you’re transfixed by the addictive scroll of TikTok, but rather because it’s so satisfying.

Studies have shown that “flow state” activity basically stops anxiety and depression in their tracks, even if the activity itself is kind of stressful. Every hiker, for example, will tell you that there’s almost always a point in the hike where you’ve simply had it and want to hurl yourself off the nearest cliff. Regardless, you still come away from it talking about the hike like it was the best day of your life. It’s us hikers’ most annoying attribute by far!

But if we know all this is true, why do so many of us still blow off these effortful hobbies in favor of ones that don’t really do anything for us but kill time? Psychologist Dr. Max Alberhasky wrote that it ultimately comes down to three things.

1. The time required feels overwhelming.

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For many of us these days, especially if we struggle with anxiety or have any form of neurodivergence, the time required for a lot of hobbies feels downright daunting. When you’re spread thin, the prospect of actually, say, learning to play the guitar, a skill that takes literal YEARS, can feel like a prison sentence.

Experts say the key to these situations, whether it’s something like a hobby or just a task like cleaning the kitchen, is simply to get started. Dr. Alberhasky suggested actually setting a timer for five minutes and making a rule that you’re allowed to quit after that five minutes if you want. This will trick your brain into feeling less anxious about getting started, and you’ll likely find you want to extend that five minutes of guitar practice.

: 11 Low-Energy Hobbies That Don’t Take More Than 15 Minutes Of Your Time

2. They want short-term gain or instant gratification.

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This is human nature with basically everything, but the simple fact of the matter is that virtually no form of instant gratification is actually satisfying. If it were, you wouldn’t be reading this article about why a hobby is better than streaming another show in the first place.

In the end, this is a mindset shift, and accepting that a hobby is going to take time for a payoff to show up is the first step. But more importantly, Dr. Alberhasky said, is priming yourself for the pride and excitement you’ll feel when you finally reach the finish line. It will be worth it, and the more you remind yourself of this, the more motivated you’ll be.

3. They feel pressured to commit.

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Signing up for a language class or buying a series of pottery lessons locks you into a commitment to something you might end up hating, and that can feel like entirely too much effort, especially if there’s money involved.

It’s sort of like a pre-emptive strike against the “sunk-cost fallacy,” the psychological concept in which we tend to stick with a toxic job, a broken marriage, or a house we hate because we don’t want to lose the effort, time, or money we’ve already invested in it. A lot of us attempt to avoid this with hobbies by just never getting started.

But here’s the thing: All of this is a choice, and if you hate the hobby you’ve chosen, you can just… quit! Dr. Alberhasky said simply giving yourself permission to bail can help get you over this hump.

Sure, you may be out a bit of money or time in the end, but if that were truly a disaster, you wouldn’t have committed to those expenditures in the first place, right? So don’t let them keep you from trying something you’re interested in. The worst-case scenario is that it helps you narrow down the hobbies that really DO light you up.

: 11 Indoor Hobbies That Are Good For People Who Don’t Like To Leave The House

John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.