Finding Fulfillment Outside Of Work: Hobbies And Passions For Executive By Claire Fitzsimmons

When you’re focused on developing your professional life, the idea of hobbies, even passions, might feel like something that other people do. It’s easy to hold on to a perception that leisure activities are indulgent, even wasteful, particularly when your schedule is already overflowing. All your resources – your time, your energy, even your mental space – is taken up by professional obligations, and the idea of adding yet another thing to your days might feel exhausting or unrealistic.

But research shows that hobbies and passions aren’t just something for “downtime”. Wellbeing benefits identified in a 2022 review for Lancet Psychiatry ranged from increased resilience to better social support. Other studies indicate that hobbies can sharpen leadership skills, fuel creativity, ease loneliness, and even prevent burnout.

Here are five actionable ways to prioritise hobbies and your passions that complement your work life and can support you in becoming a better leader by Claire Fitzsimmons the co-founder of wellbeing company, If Lost Start Here.

Reframe Hobbies as Professional Development

If you’re struggling to see the value of hobbies, know this: research suggest that they help you perform better at work. A 2014 study from San Francisco State University found that employees who engaged in hobbies were more likely to come up with creative solutions at work. Another finding was that people who participate in creative pastimes like painting or gardening were more likely to help colleagues. 

Actionable Tip: If you need to give your hobbies some professional weight, you can schedule them as “creative thinking time” in your calendar or brand them in another way that encourages you to see their value. You’ll need to find the intrinsic motivation though for them to stick so choose something that genuinely appeals to you.

Use Hobbies to Strengthen Your Emotional Agility

Emotional agility, coined by psychologist Susan David, is the capacity to identity and work with your emotions and is critical to leadership from navigating teams to building trust. Activities like journaling and yoga encourage emotional awareness, while visiting museums has been shown to increase empathy. Hobbies can also be a safe space to experience and release our emotions, which in turns helps us better able connect when we’re back at work. 

Actionable Tip: Identity an emotion you’d like to cultivate and a hobby that would give you the opportunity to explore it. That might be courage or excitement, meaning you’d chose something at the edge of your comfort level. Or something about how your emotions are impacted by others in which case you might choose something at a group or team level.

Leverage the Stress-Relieving Power of Play

High-pressure jobs can lead to chronic stress, which can impact our capacity to show up at work. One study of female surgeons found that leisure pursuits lowered stress, fostered resilience and increased overall wellbeing. Hobbies can reconnect you to a sense of play – and even joy – in turn strengthening a “learner’s mind” and giving you a restorative rest from eternal productivity.

Actionable Tip: Choose a playful hobby that releases endorphins, such as dancing, paddleboarding or roller skating. You’ll not only be increasing joy, but also learning to be fully in the moment, giving you a mental health break from work. 

The key here is not to feel guilty about hobbies: if you’re constantly questioning whether you are using your time wisely this can actually be anxiety inducing and counter wellbeing benefits.

Build Community Through Shared Interests

Being a leader can sometimes feel isolating, even lonely, but hobbies can provide a sense of community and camaraderie. Outside of work hobbies such as joining a book club or signing up for a pottery class can strengthen social bonds, which in turn is linked to better mental health and productivity. Within work you might find that you connect better with coworkers around shared interests, deepening connections that you already have.

Actionable Tip: Seek out a local or virtual group related to your interest, and don’t be afraid to try out a few to find what fits. 

Model Work-Life Integration for a Happer Workplace

You might feel the pressure to show how hard you are working but modelling that fulfillment can come from both work and leisure shows your team that a whole life approach can be possible. By integrating your passions, you’ll help foster a healthier mindset and happier workplace culture, showing that life isn’t just about chasing achievements but also about prioritising your everyday wellbeing. 

Actionable Tip: Share your hobby with your team or colleagues, not as proof that you have it all but as evidence that you are willing to step into trying and holding healthy life boundaries. Whether you’re hiking or baking make your commitment to hobbies inspire others to do the same.

The key with hobbies is to find something outside of work that you find enjoyable. You don’t want to feel like you’re adding more to the day and participating even more in hustle culture and the pressure to be busy all the time. Rather choose something for enjoyment, that returns a sense of joy to your life. 

You don’t need to allocate a huge amount of time to hobbies too. A study published in 2021 showed that wellbeing increases with free time up to about 2 hours – when benefits level off. Around 5 hours wellbeing declines though this affect is mitigated when people passed it with others in a way they found meaningful – such as exercising, group activities or pursuing a hobby (scrolling socials had the opposite affect). 

If you’re still struggling to fold in hobbies, try approaching the occasional weekend as a vacation, seeking out anything that helps you feel relaxed and gives you a break from your daily routine. Happiness researcher Cassie Holmes found that applying this vacation mindset – even to one of your weekend days – helps you return to work with more satisfaction and positivity on Monday.

The most important thing you do for your work life this week might take place outside of the office. Explore how hobbies can help support your professional life.