“The boardwalk kind of represents a boundary between work and mental rest. That’s where I disconnect the most personally. Ideally without Wi-Fi.”
“I disconnect when I leave the yard. For the first few kilometres, I still think about it a little, but it doesn’t take long for me to unplug. We work hard to be able to get away and it’s a constant battle to take time for camping weekends and have a good time. My staff is aware I don’t want to be the first one called when there’s a problem.
Taking time off is mandatory. That’s why I manage to maintain a top-notch mental balance. I’m not easily destabilized because I can disconnect through the hobbies I have.”
“I’m a seasonal camper. When I arrive there in the evenings I completely disconnect. It’s amazing how refreshing it feels. My battery gets recharged and we have wonderful moments as a family.
I made the decision that yes, I will spend some time with my children, and don’t judge me about the fact that while I’m at the campground on weekends, my father is working. That’s his choice. He doesn’t want to hire staff and that’s fine. He’s happy to work.”
“We’ve been going there since I’ve been a kid, and this is pretty well the only place I could disconnect from work, like totally shutoff because once you’re up there, it’s about six hours from home, so you can’t do any chores. It’s a great family event for memories and it’s good fishing. It’s a connection you can have with your kids that you wouldn’t get working at home. It’s a change of scenery, which you can’t put a price on. You totally shut your brain off and turn the alarm clocks out and just have fun. It’s a place I’ll go for the rest of my life, but I could never be tired of there.”
“My bicycle tours are a way to disconnect from work, even though I check my messages and talk to my associates every evening. I’m also a triathlete and participate in triathlons for fun. I sign up every year to set a goal for myself and motivates myself to swim, cycle and run. […] I aspire to be a man of sound mind and body. Fitness is important for my mental health.”
“These are 1000 books I have to read. I’ve fallen behind since I arrived on the farm. Reading has always been very important to me, but it requires discipline. I used to read a lot back in the days. Now I realise how much I miss reading. The emergence of the Internet must’ve taken its toll. I need culture and beauty more than ever. It’s an essential escape for me.”
“Hiking up Mont Saint-Hilaire is a way to decompress and stay focused on my breathing; being in nature, in the forest soothes me. I’m a man who protects and values natural environments.
Every season, I go on a 2–3-day trek with my friends to unwind. It’s a good time to loosen up and be in a place where you can say what you want without inhibitions. These moments are important to sort out certain imbroglios and have a good laugh!”
“On Sunday morning when we woke up at our cottage, this is what it looked like. I found that while I was having my coffee, enjoying the moment, without any farm-related stress, there was nothing. It was just me and my partner, peaceful, no one was bothering, didn’t know what was happening in the world, no COVID, didn’t hear about anything.”
“It’s a moment of well-being and happiness for me, being in the forest. It has always been my release valve on the farm, something that helps me feel good. One day, if I have children, these are the values I want to transmit to them, an appreciation for nature.”
“Woodworking is a passion, a hobby that I adore. It’s wood that we’ve chopped from our lands, that I transform into furniture. What I love about working with wood is that I’m competing with myself; it’s a challenge that I set for myself. I’m not competing against anyone, so it removes stress that we can experience on the farm.”
“This photo represents balance. After a long day at work, a little kayaking trip soothes me inside. I’m a very intense person, I’m athletic but I realized that through it all, I never take time to rest. Kayaking allows me to move at a leisurely pace and to find peace. I’ve noticed that I sleep better when I engage in this type of activity. The next day my energy level is different. It brings a lot of positivity to my professional life.”
“I went on this hike just when I needed to escape. I wasn’t feeling well at home, especially when I was in the process of deciding to sell my animals. I needed to find myself, to give myself the right to exist as a man and not only as a farmer.
There’s a lot of gratitude that comes with having the privilege and the health to be able to do this. Often when I go hiking, I feel very lucky. I thank life, I thank life for giving me the physical and psychological capacity to be able to do these kinds of activities. I feel so much when I get to the top of the mountain, I feel free.
We have to plan these activities, you have to be able to prioritize them because otherwise, you will keep postponing them and putting them at the bottom of the list. I had to let go of the guilt of not working and not being at the farm of a few days.”
“Taking time off away from the farm with people who are important to us allow us to recharge our batteries and take our minds off things. Taking advantage of the off season to catch up.
It was my son’s first-time snowshoeing. This photo shows an important aspect of me that has greatly diminished due to my involvement in the business. I mean, my great love of outdoors and sport. In the future, I want to dedicate more time to these activities.”
“Part of the things I’m starting to appreciate now more, is being able to do something totally different than the farm. Now that I have more time, I choose to make trails through here and I try to go walking through there at least a few times a week.
It’s far enough from the house that you don’t realize you’re still part of the farm. It’s a good way to experience something other than growing crops. I don’t have to go on anybody else’s property to do that, I can do this free activity.
Because you’re in the woods, you’re not looking at fields, you’re just concentrating on the growth that’s happening and it changes in front of you.”
“I really can get into the moment when I’m away from the farm and doing these activities. Enjoying the better things of life, little bottle of wine, some saucisson and some cheese and really for me it’s about disconnecting, it’s about when I leave the farm… snowmobiling is that getaway for me.”