National Post - Financial Post Magazine
PRIORITIZING BALANCE: TOP 40 ALUMNI SHARE HOW THEY STAY PRODUCTIVE
What happens to us if we never get bored? Journalist, tech podcaster and author of Bored Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self, Manoush Zomorodi recently asked this question in a TEDTALK. The short answer: we become less productive and creative. It turns out, taking a break and truly unwinding with no distractions is when the brain enters something called default mode and gets busy connecting disparate ideas, solving problems, and setting goals.
“Creativity and the ability to come up with new ideas is a leader’s superpower,” says Top 40 alumnus, tech entrepreneur and past Next Gen Dragon Nicole Verkindt. “You have to create the space to re-energize and enable that.”
Here Verkindt and three of her Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 peers share how the pandemic has helped them slow down and their favorite ways to unwind and recharge.
*Note: Conversations have been edited for length
NICOLE VERKINDT, founder and CEO of OMX (2019 Top 40 Honouree) PANDEMIC LESSONS
Two weeks into the pandemic was the longest period in 10 years that I’d gone without traveling. It was a massive shock to the system. I felt I had been in a state of fight or flight for so long, not just because of all the things that come with starting a business, but because of being constantly on the move. I realized working while not constantly moving has a big impact on how you feel. I still believe in travel and being at events and connecting with people in person, but there are so many more tactical things that don’t require that.
ON CARVING OUT PERSONAL TIME
I’m a big fan of downtooling for a few weeks, usually at least at the start of the New Year and then again in the summer. I’ve gone to yoga retreats where there’s no cell phone service. I read books, step back, look at my goals. During the work week, I try to sleep far away from my phone. The first few hours of the day, I go outside. In the summer, I run or cycle, and in the winter, I snowshoe with my dog. I also believe in batch work and schedule blocks of time where I’m only focused on one thing, such as setting strategy or writing a proposal. That’s made a big difference for me. Constantly switching makes me feel that I’m just responding to everything as opposed to proactively working on growth or new things.
FAVORITES WAYS TO RELAX
I have a huge library and books everywhere in my house. I like historical fiction and biographies. I recently finished Miss Dior, about Catherine Dior, fashion designer Christian Dior’s sister, who survived several concentration camps during the Second World War. I also like getting outside, hiking, skiing, riding horses.
BRUCE ROTHNEY, chairman and CEO Barclays Canada (1999 Top 40 honouree) PANDEMIC LESSONS
As I’m sure for most, the COVID slowdown has been a powerful opportunity to reflect on what is most important. For me, I’ve come to conclude that if you can truly connect and try to be a bit in service of others, it does yourself and your soul a whole lot of good. I’ve been trying to read a bit about spirituality, and clumsily trying to meditate. There are some great apps like Chopra that Ive tried to incorporate into my morning, a then a bit of self reflection at night. I think about what the day was like, how I hopefully connected and supported others, most importantly my amazing wife Lisa and my three daughters Katelyn, Stephanie and Mackenzie. I’ve still got a lot to learn.
ON CARVING OUT PERSONAL TIME
In the last little while, I have tried introduce a bit more balance in my life, with structured breaks and vacations. I speak daily via chat with a close group of six close pals — “Fab 6” – who have been a great source of connection and learning through COVID. I’ve also learned a lot from our younger Barclays team members, who innately
understand the importance of work/ life balance. My daughters also really understand quality of life — they are going to change their careers a few times, but what’s important is to support and connect with
others — this is the true essence of life. Like a lot of things, your kids influence your own thinking, too.
FAVORITE WAYS TO UNWIND
I hope to one day learn how to play guitar properly – it’s been a 20-year journey – and being from Winnipeg, I feel a duty to learn. I like to sing — badly. My daughters love to sing, and we all sing together in the house. They all came home during COVID and we are were up every morning doing fun things. My middle daughter Stephanie decided we should have an Olympic party in March. So we all got dressed up like Olympic athletes and had activities in our house including going down the stairs on a toboggan, like the luge. Think Home Alone. My vices remain an unreasonable appreciation of wine, scotch and bourbon. And even though I remain terrible at golf, it’s a zen-like experience that my wife and I love doing together.
POONAM PURI, professor of law, director, Investor Protection Clinic, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University; corporate director (2005 Top 40 Honouree)
PANDEMIC LESSONS
The pandemic has shown more than ever the need to have work/life balance. During lockdown, we saw the lines between work and personal time blur almost entirely, which leads to burnout and ultimately lower productivity and less happiness. That said, as much as working from home blurs the lines, it hopefully gives the next generation more flexibility in how they structure their days and weeks.
ON CARVING OUT PERSONAL TIME
In these past two years. more than ever, I have purposely made time for myself. I’m deliberate about it. It’s there in my calendar and it doesn’t get moved.
FAVORITE WAYS TO RELAX AND UNWIND
I get outside and get active. Hiking, cycling and going for family walks with our dog Wally. Afterwards, I feel happier, more relaxed, more focused and ready to tackle my next project. Recently, I was in Cape Breton
Island for a cycling, sightseeing and hiking trip. It’s a beautiful part of the country. I spend my downtime with my kids, husband and my mom who turned 80 at the end of December. Prior to the pandemic, my middle daughter and I would walk over to a local art school for a ceramics class. I want to do something like that with each of my daughters. It’s a fun way to be present together. I also listen to audiobooks. I like biographies because it allows me to go deep into someone’s life. I like to bake and at night I’ll look at recipes to help me go to sleep. But the next day, if I have to choose between exercise and muffins, I choose exercise.
MIKE KATCHEN, co-founder and CEO Wealthsimple (2017 Top 40 honouree) PANDEMIC LESSONS
The past two years have been intense for everyone in different ways. For me, it impacted a lot of my habits and rituals, which was disorienting and made it too easy to always be on. Midway through, the stress did take a toll on me, and forced me to reevaluate how I was protecting my mental and physical health. In response, I started making small changes to my routine, like turning a Zoom call into a phone call so I could take a walk outside. Getting outside everyday is really important to me. I also made an effort to get back to my good habits and rituals, like scheduling unstructured thinking time. Overall, I try to be more intentional with how I spend my time.
ON CARVING OUT PERSONAL TIME
Like for most people, becoming a parent definitely re-oriented some of my priorities. The best way I’ve found to carve out time for everything is to block my calendar. I try not to take meetings before 10 a.m. or in the early evening so I can spend time with my kids. I also like to schedule unstructured thinking time — an hour or two in the morning — to read, write, and think. Giving myself the space to ideate and think is something I discovered a few years into my career and has become very important to me.
FAVORITE WAYS TO UNWIND
I definitely try to get outside as much as I can. Being in nature fills me up and helps me recharge. Camping, canoeing, sitting around a campfire with friends and family. I’ve also always been passionate about music and playing the guitar, and recently started getting back into it.