How High Performers Unwind: 5 Experts Share the Habits That Help Them Reset

Success often comes with an increasingly crowded mind.

Business owners, executives, creators, and other high performers spend much of their day solving problems, responding to requests, and making decisions. Even when the workday ends, it can be difficult to stop thinking about the next project, conversation, or deadline.

Unwinding does not always require an elaborate wellness regimen or a week away from work. In many cases, it begins with a small habit that creates separation from professional responsibilities and redirects attention somewhere healthier.

We asked five business leaders and wellness experts to share the habits that help them step out of work mode, recover from demanding days, and create more calm in an always-connected world.

1. Build an End-of-Day Ritual

One reason people struggle to relax is that the workday no longer has a clear ending. Phones, laptops, and remote-working arrangements allow professional responsibilities to follow people into nearly every room of the house.

A consistent transition ritual can help. This might involve taking a walk, changing clothes, preparing a drink, putting devices away, or spending a few quiet minutes planning the following day.

The specific activity is less important than the signal it sends: work is finished for now.

Paul DiBrito, CEO of Kats Botanicals, believes natural wellness products are most useful when they are treated as one component of a broader routine rather than an instant solution.

“People sometimes look for one thing that will immediately switch stress off, but I find that a consistent sequence works much better. I like to create a clear transition at the end of the day, step away from screens, slow the pace down, and make wellness products part of an intentional routine. The ritual itself tells your mind that you no longer need to operate at full speed.”

A repeatable routine also removes another decision from the day. Instead of wondering how to relax each evening, the person already knows which activities come next.

2. Do Something That Is Purely Fun

High performers frequently approach their free time with the same mindset they bring to work. Hobbies become goals, workouts become performance metrics, and even vacations can turn into tightly managed itineraries.

Play provides an important counterbalance because it does not need to produce a professional benefit. Games, lighthearted competition, and shared experiences can pull people into the present moment without requiring a measurable result.

Joe Horan, who works in sales and business development at Jumper Bee, regularly sees how games and attractions can change the energy of an event for adults as well as children.

“Adults often arrive at an event thinking they are there to supervise, network, or make sure everything runs properly. Once they actually join a game or activity, you can see them become more present. They laugh, compete, and forget about their phones for a while. Play gives people permission to stop being productive and simply enjoy where they are.”

The activity does not need to involve a large event. A board game, arcade visit, backyard competition, or casual sport can provide the same mental change of pace.

3. Use Social Media With a Purpose

Social media can be a source of entertainment, connection, and inspiration. It can also keep the mind overstimulated long after the workday has ended.

The difference often comes down to whether someone opens an app with a specific purpose or begins scrolling without deciding what they want from the experience.

People can make their feeds more restorative by intentionally following creators who make them laugh, teach them something interesting, or share subjects they genuinely enjoy. They can also remove accounts that repeatedly create anger, comparison, or anxiety.

Nicolas Mauro, co-founder of short-form video intelligence platform Virlo, says boundaries are especially important for people whose work already requires them to spend significant time studying social media.

“There is a major difference between going online to watch something you enjoy and handing your attention over to an endless feed. When I want social media to be downtime, I try to choose the type of content I am there to see. That could be comedy, sports, travel, or something completely unrelated to work. Intentional viewing feels very different from opening an app and losing an hour without realizing it.”

This approach does not require abandoning social media. It simply turns consumption into a conscious choice rather than an automatic response to boredom or stress.

4. Take Care of the Physical Basics

People often search for a psychological solution to stress while overlooking the physical conditions that make stress harder to manage.

A lack of sleep, irregular meals, dehydration, inactivity, and excessive caffeine can all leave someone feeling more reactive and less capable of handling ordinary pressure. Under those circumstances, another productivity tool may not address the underlying problem.

Dr. Jonathan Spages in Florida recommends examining the body’s basic needs before looking for a complicated wellness strategy.

“You cannot separate mental performance from physical health. When someone is sleeping poorly, skipping meals, barely moving, and relying on caffeine to get through the day, the body is already working from a difficult position. Before adding another advanced routine, I tell people to look honestly at their sleep, nutrition, hydration, and movement. The fundamentals may sound simple, but they affect how resilient you feel.”

Not every feeling of stress has a straightforward lifestyle explanation. Persistent symptoms and serious health concerns should be discussed with an appropriate healthcare professional. However, protecting the physical foundations of health can make everyday pressure easier to navigate.

5. Choose an Absorbing Offline Hobby

Many people finish a workday on one screen and attempt to relax by moving directly to another. They watch part of a video, answer a message, check the news, open social media, and continue dividing their attention among several inputs.

An absorbing offline hobby offers a different kind of rest. Reading is particularly effective because it directs attention toward one story, subject, or fictional world for an extended period.

Brent Moeshlin, CEO of Quality Comix, has maintained an interest in comic books since childhood. He says part of their appeal is the opportunity to become fully immersed in something removed from everyday responsibilities.

“Reading comics gives me a chance to focus on a completely different world for a while. You are following the story, studying the artwork, and reconnecting with characters or memories that have nothing to do with the problem you were handling earlier in the day. That kind of focused attention helps quiet the mental noise in a way that fragmented screen time usually does not.”

The right reading material does not need to contribute to someone’s career. A graphic novel, mystery, biography, travel memoir, or favourite childhood book may provide more meaningful distance from work than another title about leadership or productivity.

Recovery Should Be Intentional

High performers do not necessarily experience less stress than other people. In many cases, they face more decisions, greater uncertainty, and heavier demands on their time.

What they can control is how deliberately they recover.

An evening ritual, playful activity, curated social media feed, stronger physical foundation, or absorbing book will not eliminate every source of pressure. Each habit can, however, create a clear break from work and give the mind somewhere healthier to direct its attention.

Calm does not always arrive once the schedule becomes easier. In an always-on world, it often has to be deliberately practiced.