In this world of social media braggadocio about 24 hr entrepreneurship, side projects and the race to fail so you can succeed, we are constantly battered with that dreaded H word - ‘Hustle’.

However, this post surrounds a different H word - one that is vital to us all and dare I say has become an unfashionable one in this high-speed culture of toxic grinding or competitive extreme regimes - looking at you Mark Walberg. I talk of course about ‘hobbies’.

Remember those?

Those interests we have to enjoy away from work things. A chance to develop a different skill, enhance your well-being and an opportunity to refresh and recharge. Or just nerding over something new with the like-minded. Sports. Culture. Gaming. Whatever.


What’s your H word and how does it help?

This doesn’t dilute your professional ambition nor throw doubt over your work choices - in fact it has greatly benefitted my work at FortyTwo Studio . It allows you to continue with whatever professional or vocational path you are on with added vigour and clarity. Even these pursuits become victims of humble bragging - and I freely admit to being guilty of this - when we make them the source of added competitiveness or success - climbed that hill, made that thing, visited that place.

Just enjoy them for what they are, whatever they are. And if you are a manager or leader of a team, talk to your colleagues about their hobbies and what they enjoy away from work and encourage nay help them to make the time and headspace for them.

We all benefit from it when theres not a Marky Mark list to be seen anywhere.

But what of mine, I hear at least 2 of you ask. Books. Films. Music. Culture - the obvious stuff we love as humans of course but there are few more specific. Family road trips that lead to hills/woods/good food, playing guitar badly (but consistently badly), growing veg (again badly) and I’ve recently picked up painting again after a 20+ years absence and I’m very much enjoying the lack of consequence from it. Good painting or bad painting it doesn’t really matter. The joy of pushing coloured grease around a surface without the need for it work for anyone else but me is liberating and I can guarantee my workday is better for it.

— Mark

mark@fortytwo.studio.

Follow the latest from FortyTwo Studio on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.