Zohab Zee Khan Interview

Easy tips to help relieve daily anxiety, fear and worry

Time to Write aims to highlight the importance of putting pen to paper, as research has shown this to have positive impacts on one's overall sense of wellbeing – some of the key findings were:

• Over 1/3 of Australians never or rarely write about personal thoughts, notes, ideas, feelings or memories
• Australians who handwrite personal notes, multiple times a day, report a greater level of general life satisfaction than those who don't
• Those who handwrite their thoughts, notes, ideas, feelings or memories are 2.5 times more likely to feel relieved of anxiety, fear and worry than those who type out these feelings

This year's campaign focus is on Brilliance Poetry, a form of writing that encourages people to seek out the best attributes about themselves and increase self-esteem – you can find more information on Brilliance Poetry here.

Interview with Zohab Zee Khan

Question: What is the Time to Write campaign?

Zohab Zee Khan: It is a month long campaign aimed to get people who don't usually write to write. All whilst promoting wellness.


Question: Why did you decide to promote the Time to Write campaign?

Zohab Zee Khan: I'm passionate about putting pen to paper. I live to spread a message of conscious thinking and betterment so being involved in this campaign was a no brainer. The time to write campaign aligns with my views on the power of the written word, and it makes me happy knowing that people who usually wouldn't write are writing. The more we write, the better we get.


Question: What positive impacts does writing have on your wellbeing?

Zohab Zee Khan: There is countless research out there about the effects of writing on wellbeing. But personally speaking, writing gets me aligned. It clears my head and helps give my life direction. When we have a direction we have wellbeing. It's a beautiful thing.

Question: How can we start writing to benefit our own wellbeing?

Zohab Zee Khan: Go get a book, a pen and just start. I know it sounds simple and that's because it is. Also every Saturday and Sunday this month Officeworks around the country are sharing some of my favourite wellbeing writing exercises. So maybe this weekend can be a wellness weekend.


Question: What is Brilliance Poetry?

Zohab Zee Khan: Brilliance Poetry is a way to celebrate yourself whilst mastering poetic techniques. Brilliance poetry is something that I do with all ages of people and it always goes down a hit. I believe that when we celebrate ourselves it's easier to celebrate others as well.


Question: How else do you relieve daily anxiety, fear and worry?

Zohab Zee Khan: I am on the road eleven months of the year, so keeping myself balanced amongst the flux that is travel can be hard. That's why I meditate, write and exercise daily. I also have a group of friends that are only a phone call away. Having a strong support network along with a good routine is my key to a well lived life.


Question: What's next, for you?

Zohab Zee Khan: Next week I'm off to the Pakistani Himalayas for two months. I'm going to be motorcycling through the mountains whilst finishing off my next poetry collection. It's all quite exciting.


Interview by Brooke Hunter