What do brokers do to unwind?

Playing sport

We’re a big basketball family. We were involved with the Blackburn Vikings for probably 30 years overall. I was treasurer there for 15. And all the kids played there.

They have a veterans comp on a Wednesday night, which I play with my sons, which is a nice release for me (and for them, I’m sure!). We stick around and have a beer after the game, so it’s a nice social thing.

I also like playing golf and I love a glass of good red wine. I love Rockford Basket press, a Barossa Valley shiraz. It’s not a cheap wine, but it’s very, very, very good.

Setting boundaries

I only work in the office. Generally I don’t work from home. I don’t leave work until I’ve done what I want to do for the day, so when I go home I’m switched off.

I’ve got a three-year-old and a five-year-old, so when I get home, I want to be present for them. I try to keep work as work and home as home and I find for me that helps a lot. I personally find having that separation of work and home a really good way to operate. I don’t mind working from home a little bit a day here or a day there, but I think not blurring those lines [is important].

Quality time

I’VE GOT an eight-week-old and the second I give her a cuddle, the world’s issues disappear. So that’s working pretty well at the moment.

I also like to kick the footy with my son who’s four, nearly five. That seems to work pretty well, too. He loves his footy and he’s pretty happy to kick the footy when I get home from work, assuming the sun’s still out.

Triathlons

I do triathlons. I competed in the Asia-Pacific Ironman (triathlon) in Cairns and finished sixth in my age group and qualified for the World Championships, which is being held in Hawaii on 26 October!

[I’m] generally training somewhere in the realm of maybe 15–20 hours a week, which is a lot. I get that. But you obviously don’t start there; you build that up over the course of four or five years, so your body can handle it.

To be able to achieve as much as you want, both inside and outside of work, you do need to plan.