#ThinkfullyHabit: Have a bit on the side
Is it better to specialise and focus on one thing or broaden your activities and interests? It turns out that having at least one stimulating hobby or interest outside of work, or more than one area of focus within your work, is likely to increase your career success.
Researchers following the career of 40 scientists in different fields over two decades found that scientists who worked on several problems and frequently changed their area of focus or were involved in more diverse projects were more successful than their counterparts. A related study also found that the most successful scientists were significantly more likely to have a serious interest or hobby outside of their work.
“Our age reveres the specialist, but humans are natural polymaths - at our best when we turn our minds to many things. ”
WHY?
You might think that having a serious interest or hobby could detract or take away from the energy and effort available for your work. The opposite is true. Having diverse interests can interact positively; unlocking solutions and creating new opportunities.
Take the example of Florence Nightingale, the Victorian nurse who professionalised nursing, established its reputation and is known as the founder of modern nursing. Her main focus was in medical knowledge and medical advancements. She was less known for her serious side interests in statistics and data visualisation. Her visualisations spearheaded her lifelong campaign to improve poor sanitation and avoid unnecessary deaths. It was this integration of visualisation skills with medical knowledge that brought about the social reform in healthcare which Florence Nightingale is famous for today. She was also the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society.
The key take away is not to have a wider interest or hobby that stays on the side. It is having a wider interest or hobby on the side that becomes integrated with who you are and what you do. If you’re stuck, perhaps one of the most positive things you can do is ask yourself: "What can I learn from my other interests to help inspire new ideas? Other interests can provide a rapid form of fresh inspiration and give rise to ideas that can be adapted to help get us unstuck. If you haven't got a side interest? It's probably time to get one, or foster a side project, join a working group outside of your typical activities – basically, anything to diversify how you spend your time and energy. Use it to shake things up a bit, inspire for new solutions and integrate interests as fully as possible. Our brains love to make new connections – we’ve just got to provide the stimulus to allow that to happen.
REFERENCES
Root-Bernstein, Robert & Bernstein, Maurine & Gamier, Helen. (1993). Identification of scientists making long‐term, high‐impact contributions, with notes on their methods of working. Creativity Research Journal. 6. 329-343. 10.1080/10400419309534491.
Root-Bernstein, R., Allen, L., Beach, L., Bhadula, R., Fast, J., Hosey, C., Kremkow, B., Lapp, J., Lonc, K., Pawelec, K., Podufaly, A., Russ, C., Tennant, L., Vrtis, E., & Weinlander, S. (2008). Arts foster scientific success: Avocations of Nobel, National Academy, Royal Society, and Sigma Xi members. Journal of Psychology of Science and Technology, 1(2), 51–63.