The Tingley Advantage Inc.

Improving the Way You Do Business

Hobbies Make You a Better Businessperson

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Quick Facts

  • Hobbies are not just a pastime – they support the development of soft skills that are beneficial to our careers.
  • Creativity, the ability to see things from a different perspective, and confidence are just three of the key benefits we reap when we invest in our hobbies.

Detailed Analysis

As we enjoy the summer months and – hopefully – prioritize some rest and relaxation as part of our routine, it’s an excellent time to focus on, or discover, our hobbies. Far from being ‘just a pastime’, hobbies can actually help us build some of the soft skills that are essential to our success in the workplace. As with most things leading to our overall well-being, our careers and businesses are beneficiaries of our own self-care. In fact, an article in the Harvard Business Review notes that three critical soft skills are supported by our hobbies:

  • Creativity: This is perhaps the most obvious of the three, in terms of how hobbies can help us – especially (but not only) if our hobby is a traditionally creative pursuit like art or music. But how does this help us in business? LinkedIn reports that creativity is the most sought after soft skill in 2020. Creative thinkers can bring new perspectives to problems and challenge conventions (these skills are especially valuable during times of upheaval, when business as usual is not an option).
  • The article sees perspective as something akin to empathy, or the ability to take the perspective of another person. The arts in particular can be helpful with this soft skills. Additionally, hobbies give us the perspective that comes with creating space between yourself and the everyday problems you may face during your workday. This space supports the ability to ‘zoom out’ and see things from a different, or most holistic, angle, enabling us to bring more strategic and long-term thinking to the situation. Perspective is also an important tool in stress management, enabling us to place our work stress into a broader context thus making it easier to manage.
  • Confidence is a keystone habit. It enables us to build other skills – both hard and soft – that we may need to adapt to changing workplaces and changing times. Hobbies enable us to tackle challenge in a relatively safe and low stakes environment, helping us build our resilience muscles.

Although these three benefits of hobbies are particularly notable, just about every hobby can net us some soft skills benefits: reading, writing, and drama can support the development of our written and oral communication skills; technology hobbies can hone hard technical skills; puzzles of various types support mental acuity and problem solving; team sports and activities promote collaboration and leadership; volunteer work builds empathy. All hobbies give us a positive sense of humility and lifelong learning.

Regardless of whether you enjoy running, gardening, reading, coding, playing baseball, practicing yoga or tackling the crossword in the New York Times, your hobbies are a worthwhile investment.  

How Are You Sleeping?

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Quick Facts

  • Sleep disruption takes a toll on our professional success as much as it does our personal happiness.
  • Lack of sleep has been shown to reduce the quality of our work and create problems in our professional relationships.
  • Determining the causes of our sleep problems and implementing solutions can get us back on track.

Detailed Analysis             

How are you sleeping lately? During this trying time, reports suggest  that sleep may be yet another casualty of the pandemic and the consequent change in our social and work structures. Most of us are familiar with the toll a lack of sleep can take on our mood and general happiness – but often we bring a ‘push through it’ attitude to these challenges, refilling our coffee cup to keep us going. After all, there’s work to be done. But what about the toll a lack of sleep takes on our work? There are two serious impacts sleep deprivation can take on our success, and that of the teams we manage and lead:

Quality: Lack of sleep has a myriad cognitive impact, including poorer decision making, reduced ability to focus, and increased errors. Quite simply, when we are not sleeping, we are less able to do our jobs efficiently and effectively.

Relationships: How well do you deal with disagreements when you are tired? Research shows that tiredness is correlated with increased anger and hostility, especially in circumstances where frustration is high. Given the many adaptations we’ve been asked to make in recent months and the unavoidable challenges that come with rapid change, lack of sleep increases the likelihood that we’ll act – and react – in ways that could have a detrimental effect on our relationships with peers and teams. So, what can we do? After all, sleep problems are in issue even without the added stresses of the current moment. Fortunately, there are some simple tips we can implement that are proven to help with sleep difficulties:  

The Problem: Disruptions in Schedule.

The Solution: Establish – or re-establish, your sleep schedule. Choose a realistic bedtime and stick to it.

With schedules disrupted and work from home the ‘new normal’, our usual sleep routines may have suffered. We may be waking and going to bed at different times, working later than usual, or shifting our working hours to accommodate childcare, home schooling or elder care responsibilities. Often as adults, we assume we can easily adapt to less predictable sleep and wake hours, but research shows that adult benefit from a regular bedtime.

The Problem: Too many screens.

The Solution: Shut down an hour or two before bedtime.

With the shift to remote work, it can be difficult to delineate work and personal time. Additionally, with other avenues of entertainment such as gyms and restaurants closed, we may be relying more than ever on technology to fill our spare time. But the blue light emitted by phones and devices is known to disrupt our bodies’ natural sleep cycles. Additionally, information overload can set our minds buzzing, making it hard to wind down at the end of the day. By shutting off our devices at least an hour prior to sleep time, we can decrease some of the sleep-disrupting effects of tech.

The Problem: Too little physical activity during the day.

The Solution: Exercise.

Another side effect of the work-from-home shift is that, for some people, their natural forms of exercise and activity have been removed. No longer do we need to walk to the subway station, go up and down stairs between floors, or walk a few blocks to grab lunch. Additionally, with gyms and other activities shut down, our physical activity may have fallen by the wayside. Evidence is strong that exercise improves sleep, although it may take some experimentation to figure out what time of day works best for you (for example, exercising in the evening might be energizing for some, and a morning workout might work better in that case). Whether it’s a walk or run, a workout video (you’re sure to finds a workout you’ll enjoy on YouTube) or even working more lifestyle exercise into your day (through household chores, walking to do errands when possible, etc.), bumping up your physical activity can help you sleep better.

The Problem: Stress & anxiety.

The Solution: Find a relaxation technique that works for you and work it into your day as often as is realistic.

Stress & anxiety are particularly insidious causes of sleep problems because they can trigger a vicious cycle, where your lack of sleep is causing anxiety, and the increased anxiety aggravates your sleep problems. Disrupting this cycle is critical.  There are a multitude of stress management techniques you can try: exercise, progressive relaxation, deep breathing, walks in nature, and meditation are some of the most common. Whatever you choose, try to practice regularly to keep stress & anxiety at bay.

As always, when your physical or mental health becomes a concern, speak to your medical professional. In addition, the National Sleep Foundation offers these quick tips for improving sleep.