Even the busiest CEOs need hobbies that restore focus, energy, and perspective. From gym sessions and dog walks to cooking, music, and gardening, these activities support stronger well-being and leadership. Insights from experts in the field explain how simple interests can sharpen decisions, build resilience, and improve connection with others.
- Escape With Comedy and Create BioWars
- Protect Morning Runs for Better Decisions
- Draw Teamwork Lessons From Football
- Bake Bread to Value Consistency
- Basketball Builds Discipline by Example
- Claim Gym Time for Clarity
- Let Silence Sharpen Judgment
- Cook to Foster Trust
- Make Music to Lead Through Listening
- Use Photography to Pause Before Judgment
- Watch Birds to Listen Better
- Restore Fountain Pens to Honor Craftsmanship
- Build LEGO to Renew Creativity
- Practice Yoga to Reset Perspective
- Enter Fictional Worlds and Expand Empathy
- Cultivate Soil for Durable Growth
- Garden to Nurture Healthy Systems
- Explore Books to Broaden Perspective
- Hike Outdoors for Resilience
- Play Golf With Sons and Embrace Setbacks
- Pick Locks to Refine Attention
- Take Dog Walks for Renewal
- Find Balance With Qi Gong
- Swim Offline to Sort Priorities
- Sew to Guard Personal Time
Escape With Comedy and Create BioWars
Two things I do to unwind: watch Family Guy and work on BioWars. Family Guy is pure escape. I don’t need to learn anything from it. I just laugh and shut my brain off before going to bed.
On the other hand, BioWars is my passion project. I became fascinated by how cells communicate, and I wanted to turn cells from our immune system, for example, into humanoid characters with their actual biological abilities. Although this project definitely helped shape my career, working on it doesn’t feel like actual work.
I think having something outside the business that you genuinely care about is so important because it reminds you that not everything or everyone needs to be treated like a KPI.
Gabriel Shaoolian, CEO and Founder, Digital Silk
Protect Morning Runs for Better Decisions
I run early in the morning before the Dubai and California parts of the team are even online, usually before messages start coming in. It started as a way to get exercise in around a schedule that spans three time zones, but it became the only part of the day where I’m not reacting to a client email or a team question. Most of my better decisions, the ones about which client to let go of or which service to cut, show up during that hour rather than at a desk staring at a dashboard. The well-being part isn’t really about fitness, it’s about having thirty minutes a day where nobody can reach me and my brain gets to process things in the background. I’ve tried to protect that window the same way I protect client deadlines, because the one time I let it slide for a month, decision quality noticeably dropped.
RHILLANE Ayoub, CEO, RHILLANE Marketing Digital
Draw Teamwork Lessons From Football
I’ve always been passionate about football since I was a child; my first ambition was to play professionally, although that didn’t come true, the sport has never really gone away from me and it eventually became part of my career when I worked with Inter Milan and later managed Pele’s social media and produced his brand book. One of the greatest things that has ever happened to me was meeting Pele in person. Nowadays I enjoy watching a good match of football, and that’s how I unwind. The lessons that football teaches are the same ones that I apply as a CEO: determination outweighs talent, you have to win as a team, and you need to trust your teammates enough to let them take the initiative. It’s also the way I naturally think.
Yuriy Boykiv, CEO, Front Row
Bake Bread to Value Consistency
Bread baking gives me a form of concentration that is entirely different from executive work. I enjoy the slow mechanics of it, measuring by feel, folding dough, waiting for fermentation, and accepting that the weather changes the outcome. It is tactile, quiet, and refreshingly resistant to urgency.
The lesson is not efficiency. Good bread comes from noticing conditions early and making modest corrections before a problem hardens. That is a helpful leadership discipline during growth. The process also rewards consistency over heroic effort. A few unhurried hours on a weekend restore patience, create a clear boundary from the workweek, and make room for better listening on Monday.
Sherif Koussa, CEO, Software Secured
Basketball Builds Discipline by Example
Basketball. I still play, and I work out every morning. It’s the part of my day that keeps everything else in proportion.
I played football at Penn State, and much of how I think about leadership came from the locker room. Getting on a court reminds me what it feels like to be on a team where your title means nothing. You miss shots, you get beat on defense, and you get right back to it. That’s a healthy thing for a CEO to experience regularly.
It shapes how I lead, too. I’ve never had to announce a rule about discipline or consistency at PledgeIt. When the team sees the person at the top showing up the same way every morning, they see what that standard looks like without me having to spell it out. Example carries further than any memo.
The workout also gives me a clear head before the day fills up with decisions. By the time the first meeting starts, I’ve already done something hard and finished it. It puts me in a better place to handle everything else.
Scott Shirley, Founder & CEO, Pledge It
Claim Gym Time for Clarity
I played in the NFL before I built Simply Noted, and the thing that still keeps me sane as a CEO is getting back in the gym like it’s still training camp. Not for the workout itself, honestly some days it’s mediocre, but for the hour where nobody can email me and my brain isn’t running through patent filings or a supply chain problem with our note-writing robots.
It sounds small but it changed how I lead. I used to carry every decision home with me, replaying conversations at 11pm. Now I’ve got a hard stop built into my day where the body takes over and the noise quiets down, and I come back to the office actually able to hear what my team is telling me instead of just reacting.
There’s also a weirdly direct link back to the business. A lot of my best calls, including ones that shaped how we scaled our proprietary robotics without taking on debt or investors, came to me on a run or mid rep, not at my desk staring at a spreadsheet. I’ve stopped fighting that and started trusting it. If I skip it for too many days in a row, my whole team can tell, and not in a good way.
Rick Elmore, CEO, Simply Noted
Let Silence Sharpen Judgment
Long walks without a podcast or phone are one of my most productive non-work habits. Silence initially feels inefficient, which is exactly why it matters. I use that time to let unresolved thoughts surface without immediately trying to solve or organize them.
Most leadership mistakes are not caused by a lack of information. They come from reacting before the real question has become clear. Walking creates enough distance for patterns to emerge, including where a decision may be driven by ego, urgency, or an old assumption. It also restores a sense of proportion. A difficult meeting can feel enormous at a desk and manageable after a few miles. That reset helps preserve curiosity, patience, and the ability to listen without preparing a rebuttal.
Jason Hennessey, CEO, Hennessey Digital
Cook to Foster Trust
I cook. Specifically, I spend weekend mornings working through recipes I’ve never tried before, usually something that takes 2 or 3 hours and demands full attention. Dough hydration, timing on a braise, adjusting seasoning in real time. My phone goes on the counter face-down, and for that window I’m completely absorbed in something that has nothing to do with hiring pipelines or client timelines.
That absorption is the whole point. Running a company that bridges founders with distributed engineering teams means my default mode is evaluating people, systems, and problems all day. Cooking pulls me into a different kind of problem-solving, one where the feedback loop is immediate and physical.
If I over-reduce a sauce, I can taste it in seconds. There’s no ambiguity, no waiting on a Slack thread. That kind of rapid, tangible feedback resets how my brain processes information, and I come back to Monday calls more patient with complexity.
It shows up in how I run meetings, too. I’ve started giving my team more room to iterate before I jump in with a direction, because hovering over every step in the kitchen usually makes things worse. I prep well, set conditions, then let the process work, and my direct reports have told me they feel more trusted.
Val Narodetsky, CEO, Odesa
Make Music to Lead Through Listening
I enjoy playing, seeing, listening to music and sometimes writing it as well as spending time with my children.
It helps me relax since it requires complete concentration; if you’re mentally planning tomorrow’s agenda you won’t be able to play well. Music causes me to be fully present and that kind of reset isn’t something I can achieve with a podcast or by scrolling through my phone.
It also enables me to be a better leader in three ways.
First of all, it teaches you to be patient throughout the process; you never learn a song all at once, you have to practice, make mistakes, make adjustments and then practice once more. This is exactly how running a company works.
Also, when you make music with others you learn the importance of listening. Good music is produced when you focus on what everyone else is doing rather than just on your own part, and this principle is exactly how I conduct meetings.
When I spend time with my children, it helps me to remember why our work is important—because our business is concerned with protecting families and assisting them in remaining in their homes and communities.
Here is my advice to other leaders: choose an activity that involves using your hands and demands your complete attention, and guard that time just as carefully as you would guard a meeting with a client.
Jeremy Hewett, President and Chief Executive Officer, AccuQuote
Use Photography to Pause Before Judgment
I practice photography because it changes how I move through an ordinary day. I look for light, patterns, and small details that I might otherwise miss completely. Whether I am walking through a neighborhood or traveling with family, composing each image slows me down. That quiet habit brings my attention back to the present with greater appreciation daily.
Photography has strengthened my leadership by teaching observation before judgment every time I respond. My first impression is rarely the complete picture because context often changes meaning. I pause, gather information, and consider different viewpoints before making important decisions. This creative practice keeps me curious and helps me lead with clarity and empathy.
Kyle Barnholt, CEO & Co-founder, Trewup
Watch Birds to Listen Better
I have grown fond of birdwatching during early weekend walks because it helps me slow down. A familiar park feels completely different before the city becomes busy with noise and movement. Instead of chasing long lists of sightings I enjoy noticing small patterns in nature quietly. The real reward is learning how to pay closer attention every time I go outside.
That simple habit has helped me in everyday leadership situations as well. It reminds me to observe first before deciding what something really means. Quiet focus now feels refreshing instead of unproductive and it helps me listen better. I return with a calmer mind ready to ask thoughtful questions without rushing every response.
Chirag Kulkarni, Founder & CEO, Taco
Restore Fountain Pens to Honor Craftsmanship
I collect and restore fountain pens as a quiet hobby. It rewards care patience and precision through steady practice by encouraging calm focus every session. Cleaning an old pen or adjusting its nib requires full attention. That slow process helps me unwind after a demanding day while bringing quiet balance back to my thoughts.
The hobby taught me to value craftsmanship and careful maintenance. Small details often keep great things working well over time with reliable results that last. I bring the same mindset to relationships routines and team culture. Writing with a restored pen gives me space to reflect with patience and greater clarity before making thoughtful decisions that affect others.
Vaibhav Kakkar, Founder and Group CEO, Digital Web Solutions
Build LEGO to Renew Creativity
One hobby that genuinely helps me unwind is building LEGO. There is something refreshing about sitting down with a pile of pieces and focusing on creating something tangible. It engages a completely different part of my mind than running a business. It requires concentration and problem-solving, but it also leaves plenty of room for creativity.
I also enjoy that LEGO does not have to be a solitary activity. You can build with family or friends, and it almost always creates a conversation. People see what you are working on, ask questions, offer ideas, or want to join in.
As a CEO, I think activities like this are important because they give your mind permission to shift gears. I often come away from building feeling more relaxed and mentally refreshed. That carries back into leadership. Creativity, patience, curiosity, and the ability to see how individual pieces fit into something larger are useful skills whether you are sitting at a table building LEGO or leading an organization.
Shawn Riley, Co-Founder & CEO, BISBLOX
Practice Yoga to Reset Perspective
Yoga has become a good way for me to clear my head after a busy day. Work can stay with you mentally for much longer than you expect, especially when you are responsible for a company. Once I start yoga, I am focused on something completely different and that helps me let go of things for a while. I tend to come back feeling calmer. That little reset is useful and it helps me see problems without being so close to them.
Matias Rodsevich, Founder & CEO, PRLab
Enter Fictional Worlds and Expand Empathy
I really love reading. If I can unwind on a weekday evening with a book, that is the ideal evening for me. I think a lot of other CEOs and business leaders primarily read non-fiction books related to business topics like entrepreneurship and leadership, but I actually prefer reading fiction! I’ll fit in the occasional business book here and there, but for the most part what I want to read, and what I actually find benefits me most, is fiction. There is something about entering another person’s world and putting yourself in their shoes that really teaches you the most valuable lessons, and it’s done in a way that’s entertaining and enjoyable. I’ve found that having a love for reading for many years has really broadened my worldview and helped me develop more empathy and understanding, and those things absolutely help me be a better leader.
Eli Zimmer, CEO, Luxaire HVAC Services
Cultivate Soil for Durable Growth
I find gardening gives me a useful relationship with time. It permits careful soil improvement, pruning, and preparation, but no plant can be negotiated into growing faster. That constraint is deeply calming after a week built around forecasts, deadlines and decisions.
This pastime also shapes leadership thinking. Healthy growth rarely comes from pushing every visible metric at once. It comes from tending less glamorous conditions, clear routines, capable people and early attention to small problems before they become expensive ones. Patience becomes an operating discipline and not a passive preference, for lasting results.
Brian Lebeau, CEO, Attic Projects Company
Garden to Nurture Healthy Systems
Gardening is one of the best counterbalances to a fast-moving professional environment. It is deeply practical, but it cannot be rushed. Soil quality, seasonal conditions, watering, and placement all matter, yet no amount of effort can force healthy growth overnight. I find that rhythm both calming and instructive.
The hobby has reinforced a leadership principle that applies to durable organizations, healthy outcomes come from conditions, not pressure alone. Teams need clear roles, dependable feedback loops, and enough stability to build confidence in their judgment. Client partnerships work similarly, because trust accumulates through repeated care rather than isolated wins. Gardening also provides a welcome reminder that maintenance is valuable work. Strong systems rarely fail because of one dramatic event, they weaken when basic upkeep is ignored.
Dawood Bukhari, CEO, Digital Web Solutions
Explore Books to Broaden Perspective
One personal passion that brings a sense of calm outside the demands of leadership is reading, particularly books on psychology, biographies, and human behavior. Reading creates space to step away from operational pressures, reflect without urgency, and approach challenges with a broader perspective. A 2024 study published in the London Journal of Social Sciences, involving 150 respondents, found that reading ranked among the top three preferred stress-relief activities for 88% of managers surveyed. Beyond relaxation, reading strengthens empathy and encourages a more thoughtful approach to decision-making, both essential qualities in leadership. A 2024 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, covering 70 experiments, also identified small cognitive benefits associated with fiction reading, particularly in empathy and mentalizing. For a CEO in the professional learning industry, reading reinforces a simple principle: effective leadership requires continuous learning, but meaningful growth also depends on making room for curiosity, reflection, and life beyond work.
Arvind Rongala, CEO, Invensis Learning
Hike Outdoors for Resilience
One non-work-related passion that brings me joy and helps me unwind is hiking in nature. Spending time outdoors allows me to disconnect from daily stresses, clear my mind, and gain fresh perspectives. This activity contributes to my overall well-being by reducing stress, improving mental clarity, and boosting my physical health. As a result, I return to my leadership role feeling more energized, focused, and better equipped to make thoughtful decisions, foster a positive work environment, and lead with resilience.
Aleina Almeida, CEO, Meridian International Sourcing Group
Play Golf With Sons and Embrace Setbacks
Golf, mostly with my sons. I’m setting up a simulator in my garage so we can play more often.
Golf works for me because it punishes the habits that make you effective at work. Force a shot and it goes wrong. You need patience, and you need to accept a bad hole and play the next one clean. That’s a useful reset for a Quick Start personality who wants everything done yesterday. Four hours on a course also means four hours without a screen.
Marcus Ho, Managing Director, Brew Interactive
Pick Locks to Refine Attention
Lock picking. I trained as a locksmith a while back and enjoyed it enough to take part in a lock picking competition, which, slightly to my surprise, I won. I still get my picks out when I can.
Running a property maintenance business while building Approach a Coach, a directory for finding coaches, tutors and therapists, means constantly switching between very different problems. When I’m picking a lock, I forget about all of it and just feel the pins.
It’s a reminder to slow down and pay attention to the process and the fine details, something that’s easy to lose as a business owner when you’re always moving on to the next thing.
Bradley Bendell MBA, Founder, Approach a Coach Ltd
Take Dog Walks for Renewal
As the founder of a 35 year old small, family-owned business, there is always a lot of work to do, and it can be hard to distinguish work that is truly urgent versus work that needs to be done, but can be deferred for days, weeks, or even months.
One strategy that I’ve successfully used is to be sure to take a break during the day to exercise, which most days means going for a long walk with my dog. I’m an early riser, so I will typically be working by 6 or 6:30am. I’ll work for a couple of hours to clear out emails and handle a number of other daily tasks and then walk about 2.5 miles. By the time I get back, I feel refreshed and the rest of the day is much easier and feels much shorter.
I’ve heard from others than walking is a form of meditation. Whether that’s true or not, it is mentally refreshing.
Steven Rothberg, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, College Recruiter
Find Balance With Qi Gong
Qi gong is what keeps me balanced. I study the Daoist internal arts through a structured online academy. Running a luxury travel magazine alongside a villa business (samastitivillas.com) means constant decisions, screens and time zones. Qi gong is the opposite: slow, deliberate movement and breathing that settle the nervous system and bring me back into my body. The effect on my leadership has been real. I react less and respond more. I notice tension, in myself and in a team, earlier. And I make my best decisions from a calm state instead of an urgent one. It has also taught me patience. Internal arts reward steady practice over years, not quick wins, and that’s a useful reminder when building a business.
Julie Ga, Founder & Editor, This Is Luxury Travel
Swim Offline to Sort Priorities
Outside SympathiQ, the thing that genuinely resets me is swimming. In the water there’s no phone, no inbox and no dashboard, just breathing and rhythm. It’s one of the few parts of my week where I’m completely offline, and I’ve learned to protect that time rather than treat it as optional.
Running a wellness marketplace makes this feel less like a luxury and more like a responsibility. We ask every therapist, coach, dietitian and fitness professional on SympathiQ to show real credentials before they see a single client, because people deserve support they can trust. It would be hypocritical of me to build that and then run myself into the ground.
The leadership benefit is mostly clarity. I often get out of the pool with the answer to a problem I’d been stuck on at my desk. I come back better at telling urgent from important, and calmer in the conversations that matter. I don’t think founders need elaborate routines. They need one thing that’s theirs, done consistently.
— Irina Duisimbekova, Founder, SympathiQ
Irina Duisimbekova, Founder, Sympathiq Ltd
Sew to Guard Personal Time
Sewing for myself is the one hour of my week with no phone, and it is the reason I can stand at the cutting table for the other sixty. It sounds odd for someone who runs a clothing factory, but a Sunday morning at my own machine at home, making something nobody ordered and nobody will grade, is the opposite of my working week. At work every seam is a client’s money and a delivery date; at home a crooked hem is just a crooked hem, and I leave it. Running a factory means every message is someone waiting on a fabric, a sample or a shipping date, and an hour where nothing can be answered is the only way I have found to stop carrying that into Monday. The cost is a missed early call now and then, and I have decided that is a fair trade. If you run a company where people wait on you all day, book one hour a week where they cannot, and keep it like a client appointment.
Abby Perez, Founder, Plucky Reach