It has been both my experience and observation that CFOs have the most mentally demanding and stressful jobs of all functions in a company. I would be interested in hearing what other CFOs do for down-time, recreation, or just plain stress relief. What do you do to keep your sanity?
Discussion Of How Stressed-Out CFOs Relax
Answers
Years ago, when I was a young pup, I would rock climb, race motorcycles or travel in order to get away from work. Things that completely absorbed my attention. I found that if I couldn't turn it off 100%, I couldn't relax. By helping me turn off work, these seemingly stressful pursuits were actually very relaxing.
Now that I have two young kids I see that the whole
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John, I can feel your pain. We have six kids and it certainly gives a dofferent perspective to the stresses of work.
Ben, I like to unwind by reading a good book, writing, and spending time with the family. Attending the sporting events my kids are in is a favorite thing to do. I also spend some time with a youth group of 16-18 year old boys and that is a nice "release" as well.
It goes without saying that my time with my daughter is key to my downtime. The time that we spend together is a great recharge. To satisfy the Type-A, competitive side of my personality, I have a pretty regimented cycling program. I race on a pretty consistent basis from February through September. It's all part of finding the balance to counter the significant office efforts....
Definitely find a happy place or hobby that you love. We go sailing and the minute we cross the bridge and turn into the marina, my crazy work week vanishes into thin air and I don't think about work again until Sunday night. I've taken up Scuba Diving and find this to be the same thing. When I enter the water, the last thing on my mind is a P&L or a strategic initiative!
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Human Capital