Walpole: In a world where we’re always available, how do you separate your personal time from your work time?
As a young man without a family or a mortgage, and with few other responsibilities, I have been through periods of running Makers Cabinet where it has become completely all-encompassing. The work has dictated my time, emotions, and even affected personal relationships. MC is my baby, and the partnership with my Co-Founder Odin is a marriage. During difficult periods, I found it very hard to unwind and switch off. After years of burning out, through therapy, I decided that I needed to make the business work for me, rather than it being the other way around. Now I’m very focused during the weekdays, which allows me to ignore as much as possible outside of work hours. I allow things not to happen and to follow up when it suits me better. I’ve realised that the world does not end if that email does not get responded to tonight. I have found that this is actually far more productive, and I am able to still be opportunistic but more considered in my approaches, with far fewer spelling mistakes in emails.
What’s one thing you do after the workday to help you unwind?
I always look forward to jumping on my bicycle and cycling home. My bike is my prize possession, and being on a bike is pure joy. I love to listen to music as I weave through the traffic and race the lovely new cycle paths across East London.
What activity do you do in your time away from the office that helps you relax and recenter after a stressful week?
To unwind, I draw a few times a week. Sitting down and focusing on something in front of me has a transformative effect. It is one of the times I feel most present. Sometimes I will go to life drawing classes and other times I will sit in the park or a café with some relaxing music. With all the pencils I have collected and sharpened over the years, it is only natural to use them.
What’s something you’ve read, listened to, or seen in your spare time that’s helped you at work?
A pivotal book, was Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard (the founder of Patagonia). He demonstrated to me the importance of creating a business which values profit alongside many other principles that I share. It showed me that businesses can be vehicles for change; they are the places we spend most time, so they should be enjoyed, and we should make the businesses work for the planet and not the other way around. His approach to running his company has truly inspired us at Makers Cabinet.
After home and the office, where’s your favourite ‘third space’?
One of my favourite places to spend time outside of work is the Dalston Curve Garden. It is a community-owned green space where I am most able to enjoy the changing seasons – an oasis whilst living in the East London concrete jungle.
Best reason you've had to turn your Out of Office on recently?
I recently spent a week in Baja California, Mexico. I went to stay in a friend’s villa with a load of Californians. It was incredible to sit on the beach watching them surf alongside humpback whales jumping in and out of the ocean, all the while my OOO auto-reply shielding me!
