Even the most powerful leaders of the world have found time for their hobbies and families to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They do not need to be bored or boring.

As of last weekend, Donald Trump has played golf 302 times since took over the helm as US President. Barack Obama modified the South Lawn tennis court of the White House into a full basketball court. He played competitive basketball with former College League A players and volunteered to coach his youngest daughter Sasha’s team until parents from other schools complained.

Vladimir Putin has churned out photos of him hunting, fishing, practising judo, playing ice hockey and much more. Xi Jinping has kept a relatively low profile in this regard but is widely known as a football fan.

In sharp contrast, our Chief Executive Carrie Lam wants to project herself as a work machine. When asked how she would de-stress, she told the South China Morning Post: “I do nothing except work.”

Any experienced human resources managers would have reckoned such a statement as a symptom, if not a subconscious scream for help. An unhealthy working style is nothing to be proud of. It is evidence of poor time management, failure to delegate and work life imbalance. Lam has often been grumpy and impatient on camera. This might as well be a mark of her driving herself into the ground.

There is a large body of research that shows overwork is counter-productive, regardless of the reasons behind it. Impairment of mental acumen is almost an inevitable adverse effect. In the extreme cases, it may even lead to karoshi, or death by overwork. The problem is more than a personal choice of an ambitious 63-year-old mother of two. Much more is at stake as Lam’s day-to-day decisions will have long-lasting impacts on the wellbeing of 7.5 million Hongkongers, many of whom have already been questioning both her judgements and competence as the head of the Special Administrative Region.

To make matters worse, Lam added: “I don’t even spend time talking to my husband these days.” One would expect her immediate family members to have intervened. According to Lam, the exact opposite has happened. They are in total support of the way she conducts herself.

Ironically, this is fortunately not what our education authority has been instructing our youngsters. The Education Bureau’s teaching resources on “Personal Development and Healthy Living” includes “A Story about Time Management and Setting Priorities.” The story is meant for senior secondary students. It reads:

“Mr Ho went into his classroom with a large empty jar. In front of his students, he started to fill the jar with some rocks about 2 inches in diameter. He asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed.

Then Mr Ho poured some pebbles into the jar. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. Again Mr Ho asked his students if the jar was full. They nodded. Mr. Ho picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand fills up everywhere else.

Mr Ho said, ‘This jar represents your life.’ The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, and your children. The pebbles are other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles are things like your job, your house, or car… And the sand is everything else that is immaterial.”

Teachers are supposed to conclude at the end of the lesson that: “By learning time-management skills, students can improve their productivity, leaving them more time to enjoy extra-curricular activities or hobbies. It is best to learn time management as early as possible, so students can begin implementing them every day.”

Lam has apparently put the sand and pebbles into her jar first, leaving no room for the rocks. She has in effect advertised herself as a bad example for the younger generation.

Senior officials including the Chief Executive are supposed to visit a Health Department doctor for body check every year. The next time she calls, it will be her government physician’s duty to dawn on her that, unlike what Lam has claimed, toiling long hours are not the same as dedication and commitment.

(Andy Ho is a public affairs consultant. A former political editor of the South China Morning Post, he served as Information Coordinator at the Chief Executive’s Office of the HKSAR Government from 2006 to 2012.)

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