Ten Odd Questions I Answered About Myself

I asked myself some strange questions recently, ones that don't usually come up in a normal conversation about work. I didn't plan the answers in advance. Reading them back afterwards, I noticed they group together in ways I wasn't expecting, so I've laid them out that way here rather than in the order I originally answered them.

How I actually recharge

What's a sound that instantly makes you feel like yourself again?

A guitar rip, or something gravelly in a vocal. I know it sounds like a stereotype for someone who listens to a lot of rock and indie, but it's true. There's something about the rawness of it, nothing too polished, that just feels like coming back to myself.

What's a smell that immediately sends you back to a specific memory?

Baked goods, usually. Baking is one of the things I use to relax at home, working through something methodically, no thinking involved, just following a recipe step by step. And saltwater air. I'm based in Bournemouth, and getting to the beach whenever I want is one of those things I genuinely feel lucky to have, day to day.

Where do you do your best thinking?

Hengistbury Head, most of the time. There's something about that walk along the headland, sea on one side, harbour on the other, that clears my head in a way sitting at a desk never manages to. I don't go there to think about anything specific, I just walk, and somewhere around the halfway point whatever's been unresolved usually untangles itself without me forcing it. Otherwise it's the kitchen, mid-recipe, when my hands are busy enough that my brain finally has room to actually work through something.

What I've learned to let go of

When was the last time you were wrong about something and genuinely glad you were?

Most of my work and personal life is built around learning new things and challenging myself, so I end up wrong fairly often. With friends, family, even colleagues, I've learned to move past treating that as "wrong" and treat it as "learning" instead. I love that shift, even when the thing I was wrong about is completely random.

What's a version of "success" you used to want and don't anymore?

Success was never really about fame for me. It's always been about working hard enough to be proud of myself, and for the people around me to be proud too. That, alongside a job that genuinely makes me happy, is already where I want to be. The ladder matters less than that feeling does.

What actually satisfies me

What's something you're excellent at that you secretly find a bit boring?

Organising my day. It's a real necessity in marketing, and there's a genuine satisfaction in getting everything to line up, all the meetings, all the moving pieces. But getting there is painstaking. It makes me happy once it's done. Getting it done is the boring part.

What's the most oddly satisfying part of your job that would sound insane to someone outside the industry?

Design, honestly. I'm a sucker for it. Typography lining up exactly to spec, a photo landing in exactly the right place, a video cut so smooth you can't even see the edit. Things like that are deeply satisfying to me in a way I don't think I could fully explain to someone who doesn't do this kind of work.

What I keep for myself

What's something you've photographed, written, or made that you've never shown anyone?

Poetry. I work through a lot of my emotions that way, it's my form of journaling, and I love it specifically because it's just mine.

Who's someone you've never properly thanked for shaping how you work?

Honestly, all of them. My family, my colleagues, my college lecturers, everyone I've met who's shaped how I see things and how I ended up here. It's never just one person.

If your work ethic were a weather pattern, what would it be?

Spotty, honestly. Some days are genuinely good, some days are a bit more scattered. But it always ends up sunny by the end, because I remind myself I have the privilege of doing a job I love, one I've actually worked hard to get to. That reminder isn't automatic. It's something I do on purpose, on the harder days especially.