Advancing a career can bring rewards, fulfilment and a sense of purpose as well as achievement. But it can also, potentially, play havoc with your downtime.
If you find yourself in a perpetual whirlwind of deadlines or juggling too many demands at work and home, it may feel that carving time out to explore your interests is impossible. But switching off and focusing on something entirely different to your day job is invaluable to your own wellbeing and may even complement the skills that you demonstrate in the workplace.
We hear from ACCA members on how they make time to enjoy activities that help them to rebalance, refocus, and renew.
Siobhan Blackwell FCCA, director, trading business management, TD Securities, Ireland, and mountaineering enthusiast
There are moments on climbs where you literally feel like the only person in the world. You're surrounded by complete stillness, a beautiful landscape towering over you – no cars, nothing.
Pushing for a summit is often a miserable experience. It's the middle of the night, it’s 20 below zero, I'm exhausted, I'm trying to manage this lifeline of equipment and I'm usually dealing with altitude sickness. There's this little moment when I ask myself: 'What am I doing?'. But then I look back down to see the little lights at base camp way off in the distance and I realise how far I’ve come. So I say to myself: “Let's try 10 more steps, and if that feels okay, do 10 more”.
No matter how tired and emotional you might feel, you just need to dig deep for that final stretch, and the sense of accomplishment at the end makes it all worthwhile.
Samuel Munzele Maimbo FCCA, vice president for budget, performance review and strategic planning, World Bank, US, and painter
My father advised me to take up a more traditional profession but in recent years, I have rediscovered my love of painting. Since resuming, I haven’t put my brushes back down again.
In fact, I don’t think I could keep up with my work if I didn’t paint. It helps me resolve issues; painting forces you to look at things differently. And if I make a mistake, I know I can paint it over again.
Félix Manso García FCCA, regional CFO, Aon, Dubai, and athlete
I love endurance sports. Ultra-trail races – which cover more than 100km and involve 9,000m of climbing – require you to train your body and your mind, to develop the mental strength to push past limits and overcome challenges and fears.
Ultra-trail has strengthened my discipline, focus, self-motivation and resilience, and competing in team races has allowed me to hone leadership techniques such as collaboration, motivation and support.
Emma Hinchey, founder and CEO, The CEO Centre, Australia, and multi-talented musician
Since moving from Ireland to Australia, I’ve rekindled my love of Irish folk music. I play the accordion and tin whistle, as well as sing, and I’m a member of five different groups performing at pubs, clubs and community and cultural events.
Celtic Sounds, a group I founded in 2021, is a modern reimagining of traditional Celtic songs, and we’ve performed to sell-out audiences at the Adelaide Fringe, Australia’s largest annual arts festival. I’m also part of Kelly’s Wayke, a band formed at a friend’s wake; we’ve just released our second album. And I sing with choral ensemble Gospo Collective, and play the accordion with the Celtic Music Club and the Adelaide Accordion Orchestra.
Clodagh Monks FCCA, CFO and co-founder, Clearword, Ireland, and artist
I have always loved art and I think it’s a calling that’s embedded into you; you’ll never really walk away from it. During Covid times, I started going back to painting in a big way and I found pastels to be a medium that worked really well for me. I paint landscapes mainly.
I see beauty in little things. Sometimes, I have an interest in a particular snippet of land, or a corner of a field, not knowing what draws me to it until one day, I see it in a certain light. It can sing to me and then I can't ignore it until I express it in pastels.
Painting is my downtime and my meditation time but it also allows me to look at things from all angles and in a different light. I think I carry that into my work as well; I like to interpret situations in different ways and plan, but also I feel ready to face any change or uncertainty that I encounter in my role.
See Monks’s work on Instagram at @clodaghmonksart.
Val Baynes FCCA, chief financial officer, ICE Group, Ireland, and rugby player and coach
In my first year of working in Australia, I was one of an expat group that founded the Sydney Irish Rugby Football Club. It started as small, grassroots stuff – playing touch rugby in a park on Sunday mornings. Now, there are hundreds of players and the club is in the NSW Suburban Rugby Union.
When I got involved, I didn’t know it would give me a new set of skills that would ultimately benefit my career. But it lent itself brilliantly to managing teams and dealing with larger organisations. In my experience, doing extra-curricular activities pays benefits that may not be immediately evident.
I've since relocated to Ireland but rugby is still a big part of my life, although you are more likely to see me coaching these days.
Rocky Lok FCCA, former CFO of KFC Hong Kong & Macau, educator and harmonica player
The harmonica is an extension of the human body. You learn to ‘blow’ and ‘draw’; it’s like yoga, tai chi or qigong, where you learn to control your breath and interact with your peripherals.
I’ve played in the King’s Harmonica Quintet since 1987, performing in more than 30 cities around the globe. Over the years, many customers, vendors and colleagues have attended concerts in which I've performed.
I often have my harmonica in my jacket pocket and like to play at social events or trips. Music can be an ice-breaker; people are interested in finding out more, and sharing my love of the harmonica has brought a lot of networking opportunities.
Since retiring as a CFO, I've shifted into education. I talk about my experiences as an accounting professional and I give lessons to promising harmonica players. Music teaches me how to relax, stabilise and balance myself.
