Great article. I work in New York city in the financial industry and so my days are hectic.

The way I keep the toxins away is through wilderness canoe trips. I enjoy the planning (route, equipment list, menu) as much as the trip itself. Spending a few days paddling and portaging to get to a very remote, beautiful isolated location and staring up at a sky ablaze with stars just takes me away from it all like nothing else. With each trip I learn something new and try to make the next one even better. And for some reason, I remember the trips I went on, even years ago, in great detail (the exact route, what we ate, weather, etc.).

Studying languages is also an interesting and satisfying way to keep the balance — I’m fluent in Japanese (lived there 14 years) and am tackling Chinese on my commute and weekends. Makes life, and you, more interesting.