ARC – Avocation Recreation Consult

Avocations (AKA hobbies or pastimes) mean “to be called away” from your main work.

Recreation recreates us—and our ability to do creative work. It also refreshes us for whatever work we do.

Though not central, both avocation and recreation are crucial to:

• our health, both mental and physical
• the work we do
• those who must endure us—and sometimes love us

Yet, they’re not merely a means to an end. They are “autotelic”: serving as ends in themselves.

Like all mammals, we learn by playing.

Yet, some people and cultures (ahem! Looking at you, Americans) face discomfort with this playful side.

Too often, we keep our work and play separate: “I work hard. Then I play hard.”

Better to put play in your work—and work in your play.

In your ARC session, we can grapple with such issues:

• Integration: if / how to mix with other parts of your life:
  • Family (& friends) doing with them vs. time apart
• Avocation -> vocation?
  • Volunteering as a means to explore a new career
  • (How) can you turn your passion project into a profitable one? Or do you risk killing the fun, the passion—and the escape it provides?
• Cultivating opportunities for your avocations and more recreation overall: plan out a sabbatical, a workcation, your “pretirement”…
• How to redesign your main job to allow you to invest effort, focus and time to:
  • reconnect with a hobby
  • explore new recreation/avocation opportunities
• Reflect: what does your recreation and avocation tell you about yourself? Your choices (e.g. your roles and responsibilities, tendencies, how you value, with whom you recreate…) when you’re not bound by a job description, office politics, etc. are much more reflective of who you are—and can become.
  • How can you apply those lessons and preferences to your daily work?

ARC Bio

Stefan Bielski has long mingled his work and play—and encouraged others to do the same.