Leadership Unplugged is an interview series where our team at Cultiveit features the work recovery habits of senior leaders. Our aim is to enable more people to develop a practice of High Quality Time-Off in their day-to-day lives.
Name: Phil Wilkinson
Title: Litigation Associate, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
Favorite High Quality Time-Off Activity: Cello & Vocal Performance
What is your go-to High Quality Time-Off activity? Why?
Prelude from Bach’s 3rd Suite for solo cello at a small recital Phil organized in Miami.
Music is the hobby that I’m most dedicated to and most steeped in. I’ve studied cello and vocal performance ever since I was about five years old. I was very lucky to have had an aunt who is an accomplished cellist and chorus teachers in my elementary school who started me at a young age. My Aunt Anne is also a luthier: someone who makes stringed instruments: violins, cellos, and violas. She got my sister and I involved in cello and viola, helping us hone our creative sides. Having built that foundation from a young age and remaining passionate about it for many years has made it a part of my life that I'm constantly trying to cultivate, nurture, and improve upon.
HQTO has five different attributes: 1) active, 2) intrinsically satisfying, 3) disconnected, 4) stimulating to the senses, and 5) fuels growth. How does this activity embody these characteristics?
Music definitely involves all five.
Let's start with Intrinsically Satisfying: I have always been enamored with music. It’s an aspect of life that's so different from my day-to-day job as a lawyer: going to the symphony or learning a new piece stimulates a different part of my brain. It also allows me to connect with people that I otherwise wouldn’t have. When I studied abroad in Zaragoza, Spain in high school, I brought my cello all the way across the Atlantic to continue performing. There, I met an amazing pianist who was studying in the conservatory and was willing to perform a recital with me. Through the process of preparing and practicing all those hours, we learned a lot about each other. Neither one of us had a first language in common, we had to speak Spanish to communicate with each other. But music was another universal language we shared in common. It was a beautiful way to connect with others and build a sense of community with people that I otherwise would not have had a reason to connect with.
Singing “Los Peces en el Rio” with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.
In terms of Disconnected: when you're really performing a piece, it's a full body experience. Your mind is in it, your body is moving. I think that mind-body connection is so sublime. Especially when you're performing with someone else—what you're expressing weaves together with what they're expressing. it's such a spiritual, all-encompassing feeling that's different from the fleeting, surface level experience of scrolling through Instagram or Twitter. Through that lens, it’s also Active and Stimulating to the Senses.
In terms of Fueling Growth:
Connections with people is a really important part of it. Music can build community, which is necessary to living a fulfilling life. The U.S. Surgeon General has said that we are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness in America, and I'm sure in other countries too. A lot of that might be fueled by the rise of digital technology and social media that has a tendency to isolate people. The pandemic exacerbated all this. I’ve read that societies with more robust social lives and community interconnectedness have longer life spans. So investing time in building community can actually have positive health effects as well. Thinking about growth in terms of how we're not only bettering ourselves alone, but how we're bettering ourselves through forging deep relationships with other people: music is one of the really important ways that I do that. I’m so very grateful for it for that reason.
What is an example of a moment when you were under stress and HQTO helped you recover?
Excerpt from Bachianas Brasileras at a small recital Phil organized in Miami.
Sometimes, you're in a really busy time at work, there can be a tendency to say, ‘You know what, I'm going to cut everything else- other priorities- out of my life, I just have to focus on work.’ But the nice thing about having a valuable hobby or other commitment outside of work is that it forces you to be more efficient with your working hours because you have to make time for your other commitments.
When I was in my first year of law practice, I was at the City Attorney's office in San Francisco and had one of my first big motions to write on my own. There was a lot to cover and I probably didn't leave myself enough time to finish drafting, get it proofread and citechecked before submitting. That same week, I also had a concert with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus that I sing in. As the deadline for the motion was approaching, our concert deadline was also impending, so I went into extreme focus mode. I had committed to both of them and had to find a way to make them both work. I sang a solo in the concert. It was amazing: my family and my chorus teachers from elementary and high school came out to hear it, it was a total success. I was really proud of myself and I had a great time. But I still had to finish drafting the last few paragraphs of the motion.
Right after the concert, I changed into my pajamas, and pulled one last late night to get the motion done. So even though this experience wasn’t de-stressing, per se, I actually think that if I hadn't done that concert, I probably wouldn’t have been as focused and efficient in drafting the motion. I would have also missed out on the gratifying experience of the concert. I’m trying to build habits early in my career centered around optimizing the time I spend on work so that I have time to nurture the other passions and commitments in my life. If I didn’t have that, work commitments would likely fill up all my time. Aspiring to strike this balance helps me keep a broader perspective about what's important in life; work obligations aren't the only way to achieve fulfillment.
How do you plan for HQTO on a daily, weekly, and annual basis?
I think for me since music has been a part of my life since I was so young, I've become accustomed to always integrating it in my schedule. I'm always thinking ‘who can I play with? Who can I reach out to to schedule a reading session or what course can I join?’ It's always on my radar, as I derive a lot of pleasure and fulfillment from it. I think if you're new to an activity, find a teacher or a buddy who you want to practice with and make a set time every week to play with them. Put it in your calendar. You need to have some form of accountability. My approach is to find other musicians and to be really proactive about identifying places and dates that we can get together and play. It’s even better if we can plan a small recital to play for friends, which will give us something to work towards. Music is something that I derive a lot of internal pleasure from, but there's also a pleasure of sharing it with other people. Set up a small concert for your friends, take a video and share if with your friends on Instagram. Part of the joy of music is sharing it. You're doing this for your own personal enjoyment, but it's also to spread some joy to others.
What advice do you have for others who are seeking to build intentional work recovery practices?
Phil’s elementary and high school chorus teachers at his first San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus concert.
Make a concerted effort to engage in your practice with others who share your hobby, or invest in a teacher. I think when you talk about “high quality” activities, you need someone to help give you direction in terms of how to tackle it, especially if it’s a new hobby. If it's something that's very complex and there’s a lot of room for growth,finding a teacher can be a really worthwhile investment. If you feel like you don't have the means, community groups can be a great way to tap into a support system of like-minded people who want to work on your hobby. I think that also plays into one of the rationales behind why I think High Quality Time-Off is important to me: to build a sense of community and nurture other parts of your soul that aren't nurtured by your work life. It’s the spiritual side of your soul.
Maybe this means investing in a teacher, or taking a few hours to research community groups that you could engage with, like your local community orchestra, chorus, a running club, a hiking club, a political group, a pottery studio, etc. and setting aside an amount of time each week or each month. It’s about consistency.
What other HQTO activities do you enjoy and/or want to try out in 2024?
I love going to the gym every day, going on urban hikes around San Francisco and getting involved in local politics. I love the Bay Area and there's a lot of beauty around here in the vibrant neighborhoods and surrounding parks. Getting outside and connecting with your friends is one of the best ways to clear your mind. Just feeling the fresh breeze on your face and the sun on your skin reminds you of all the beauty that's out there. It helps you keep perspective. You're one little worker bee in toiling away in your corner, but there's this huge universe out there; don't get too stressed out or succumb to tunnel-vision. Remember to look around and smell the roses every once in a while.
Want to support your team with intentional work recovery? Learn more about High Quality Time-Off learning & development sessions here.
Want to nominate a senior leader for the Leadership Unplugged series? Send us an email at hello@cultiveit.io.
