Mishal Husain: How I Live A Life In Balance

After rising to fame as a presenter on the BBC’s Today programme, Mishal Husain now works as Editor at Large of Bloomberg Weekend – as well as hosting her own podcast, The Mishal Husain Show. But how does she find moments of calm among the chaos? How do her days begin? And what’s her go-to wind down regime? In our latest issue we meet the British presenter, who is featuring at the Chelsea Arts Festival Blue Plaques Talk Back event next week.

A Life In Balance: Mishal Husain

First thing in the morning I… make myself a Turkish coffee. It’s very strong, probably the equivalent of ten normal coffees. I’ll open the door to the garden and get a bit of fresh air. It has become a ritual now that I have more breathing space in the morning. 

I feel unhinged when… I look at my inbox and realise how many unread emails I have – or worse, ones I’ve read but not yet replied to. Also when I hear people say naan bread, when naan is a form of bread, or chai tea, when ‘chai’ means ‘tea’. 

I feel grounded when… I hear from my mother. She has a very intuitive sense of what’s happening in my life and always reaches out at precisely the right moment. 

I treat myself by… binge watching television: Slow Horses, Shōgun, Ozark. In the early weeks of the Iran war, I interviewed Adjoa Andoh from Bridgerton and then watched three seasons as my guilty pleasure. And eating chocolate Grisbi biscuits. I’m coeliac, and most gluten-free food is awful. 

I let my hair down by… decompressing on a Friday. I have worked shifts for 30 years and for the first time I now have a Monday to Friday routine. I finally understand that Friday afternoon feeling. 

My greatest vice is… my sweet tooth, which is reserved for Iranian nougat, Pakistani mangoes, stuffed dates and a Turkish fruit leather known as ‘pestil’. 

My greatest virtue is… being able to function on very little sleep if I really need to. 

My relationship with my phone is… extremely unhealthy. 

I am grateful for… three healthy children who I hope look at life in a grounded way, and for having found a thoughtful, compassionate, lifelong companion in my husband. 

I really can’t stand… people taking selfies in places of immense solemnity and sorrow. 

I wish I could… draw or paint. I grew up watching my mother sew; both my father and one of my grandparents, who was a surgeon, painted; one of my ancestors in Uzbekistan was a potter as well as a scholar. Much of the work we do today is cerebral or white collar, and it’s easy to lose touch with doing things with our hands. 

Last thing at night I… feel grateful for the comforts of home and my own bed. I’m conscious before I close my eyes of people whose homes are very different. 

I had an aha moment when… I left the BBC and people were so generous about what I had contributed. It give me courage as I started a new phase and a big new professional journey. 

I will pay it forward by… looking out for where I might make a positive difference. 

A wise person once told me… ‘kya yaar karain gay’. My grandmother, Tahirah, was often writing letters or preparing gifts for people who were acquaintances rather than friends or family. I asked her why and her reply in Urdu means, ‘what will they remember?’ Small kindnesses and gestures matter.

Mishal Husain is at Chelsea Arts Festival on 18 September. chelseaartsfestival.com