Imagine a different working day in London. One with a few moments to hear your own voice, see the world through someone else’s eyes and make sense of what is going on around you.
Between the commute, back-to-back meetings and a lunch break spent scrolling, creativity can feel like something we will get round to when we have more time. But poetry can fit into the day we already have.
With more than 30 years’ experience in HR, I know how consuming corporate life can become. As someone with ADHD and autism, creativity has been an important way for me to express myself and navigate working environments. At 40, balancing my career with raising two children, I realised I was making little time for myself. Rediscovering poetry brought enjoyment and connection back into my life.
Here are five small ways to find space for it in yours.
1. Find your voice before opening your inbox
Before the working day begins, read a short poem out loud. You could do this over breakfast or before checking your phone.
Take a moment to hear yourself speak and breathe fresh life into words somebody else has crafted. There is no need to perform or find the “correct” interpretation.
Try the same poem the next morning. Put the emphasis on different words and notice how its meaning changes for you. One small poem can give you something new to think about each time you return to it.
2. Swap one track on your commute for the spoken word
On your journey into work, exchange one song or a few minutes of your usual podcast for somebody reading a poem or sharing a spoken word performance.
Listen to the rhythm, the pauses and the experience behind the words. You are being offered a window into somebody else’s world, which may be very different from your own.
Whether you are on the Tube, on a bus or walking to the office, this is a chance to direct your attention somewhere new before the demands of the day begin. If you work from home, try it before sitting down at your desk.
3. Open a meeting with a different kind of conversation
Imagine joining the first Teams meeting of the day and hearing a short verse about uncertainty or change.
Someone else’s words might capture a feeling you have struggled to explain. They could offer a starting point for discussing what a new project or change at work means to the people involved.
If you lead a team, choose a short poem relevant to the conversation and invite colleagues to reflect on a word or line that stands out. Give people the option to speak, write a response or simply listen. Connection needs room to happen without anyone feeling put on the spot.
4. Give yourself five minutes with a pen and paper
At lunchtime, put your phone down and write for five minutes.
Feel the pen moving across the page. Write whatever comes to mind: what you have noticed, what has frustrated you, what you are looking forward to or what feels unfinished.
Do not worry about rhyme, spelling or whether any of it sounds like poetry. A stream of thoughts is enough.
You may find feelings, ideas or questions on the page that you had not noticed were there. You can keep it entirely private. The value is in giving yourself space to express what the morning has held before stepping into the afternoon.
5. Take a moment of connection home with you
When you get home, try reading a poem with someone you love. It might be a verse about kindness with your children, something funny with your partner or a favourite poem shared with a friend.
Ask which line they liked or what it made them think about. A small moment together can become something you return to, perhaps even a family ritual.
My grandpa introduced me to poetry when I was little. After he died when I was six, it became a way to express myself and remember him. Those early moments with words have stayed with me throughout my life.
None of these ideas needs to take long. Over a week, those few minutes create opportunities to connect with yourself, people you have never met and those around you.
For me, poetry is an economy of words, rich with meaning. It has a place in everyday life, including working life. It was never just about passing an exam.
Have you found your poetry yet?
Dr Kate Jenkinson is the founder of the Poetry in Business Conference. The third annual conference takes place online on 12-13 November 2026. Lush co-founder Mark Constantine is a speaker, with Lush as the main event sponsor.
