15 hobbies highly successful people practice in their spare time

REUTERS/Rick Wilking

The most successful people know there is more to life than simply eating, sleeping, and working.

Everyone needs to enjoy some downtime every now and then, and making the most of your free time by taking up a hobby can even help make you more successful.

Playing a musical instrument, for example, can stimulate your creativity, analytical skills, and fine motor skills.

For a little inspiration, here are the hobbies of 15 highly successful people:

Richard Branson plays chess

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Branson is well-known for his adventurous side, and you've likely seen many a photo of the Virgin Group founder kitesurfing and hanging out on the high seas. But perhaps his favorite hobby is far more of a mental activity.

"I think chess may just be the best game in the world," he writes on Virgin's blog. "It combines the greatest aspects of many different sports — tactics, planning, bravery and risk-taking — plus you can have a cup of tea and often a stimulating conversation while you play!"

Branson says he's likely played thousands of games in his lifetime, and he tells The Telegraph afternoons on Necker Island are always spent on the beach, oftentimes playing chess with his kids.

Jack Dorsey hikes

In 2011, when Dorsey was running Twitter and Square full-time for the first time, the cofounder told the audience at Techonomy 2011 that, to get it all done, he gave each day a theme. This allowed him to quickly recall and refocus on the day's task once distractions were out of the way.

Dorsey said he would dedicate his Saturdays to hiking.

Meryl Streep knits

The award-winning actress says she loves to knit, and she's even said to have hand-knitted the shawl she wore in the movie "Doubt."

Streep admits that she spends much of her time on set knitting and finds the hobby to be therapeutic: "For me it was a place to gather my thoughts and understand the contemplative (life) ... it's a sort of clearing out place."

In fact, tons of celebrities, especially actors who have plenty of time to kill on set between takes, love to spend their free time knitting. The list includes Julia Roberts, Ryan Gosling, and Christina Hendricks.