Why I'd rather water my herbs than attend another virtual meeting

Since working from home, I've turned my balcony into a mini herb garden. In my experience, the quiet time with my plants is more refreshing than any coffee chat with coworkers. Your mileage may vary, but I find it cuts through the noise of constant emails. It's a small thing that keeps me grounded. Take this with a grain of salt, but I argue management should support hobbies like this for better mental health.

3 comments

3 Comments

simonmoore1mo ago

Isn't there a real risk that favoring personal hobbies over team contact hurts problem solving in the long run? Those virtual meetings, as tedious as they can be, are often where small misunderstandings get cleared up before they turn into big messes. Watering plants is peaceful, but it doesn't help you catch a tone in someone's voice or spot when a colleague is confused. I worry that too much quiet time alone just makes the work gaps wider, not smaller.

daniel_barnes941mo ago

Last month our team skipped the quick daily catch-ups to "focus on deep work", and we ended up with two totally different versions of a client presentation. It took a 45-minute emergency meeting to untangle it, which was way more painful than five short syncs would have been. I've learned the hard way that a little regular contact stops those big time-wasters.

hayes.tara24d ago

See your point about catching tone, but I find the best problem solving often happens after a real mental break. In my experience, coming back from watering plants or a quick walk makes me way better at spotting those gaps in a project, maybe even more than back to back meetings would. Daniel_barnes94's story sounds rough, but I'd argue that's more about a lack of clear written updates than the quiet time itself.