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Work from home is here to stay.

Which makes it more important to have non-work spaces and time.

Working only at a fixed place, not dining table or bed; wearing work attire to get into the zone; calling out specifically “this is my work time, this is my family time, this is my reading time;” trick the brain to get into and outside the zones. And help us live our life in a more balanced manner.

More we grow our power to adapt, the change becomes less of a challenge.

Imposter Syndrome isn’t reserved for a few. Almost everyone suffers from it, multiple times during their lifetime. Thus, coming up with a process is the way to deal with it:

1. Helpful vs best. You cannot be the best in world yet whatever you do and know, use it to help people
2. There will always be someone better than you. That automatically takes off a lot of load
3. Try not to be the imposter that you were. Being a little better than yesterday is the best progress. You’re giving yourself time. That’s the best thing

For anything that is recurring, process is power.
PS: You aren’t an imposter or a hollow human.

It’s February 2020. Just a usual autumn morning. Just the usual dread before going to work. Just the usual impossible desire for having permanent work from home.

March 2020. Wishes granted. Welcome Work From Home. No more offices. Waking up three minutes before meetings. Life couldn’t be happier!

March 2021: We somehow miss office. Not the meetings and doodlings (perhaps that even). Rather the cafeteria conversations, wisdom on walks, and talks while table tennis. 

Work is still being done, but only work is being done. The spaces that we used to enjoy, are the spaces we do even more work in!

It is a threat, if we keep waiting for the time to get back to office – which might never happen in the same manner before.
It is an opportunity, if we replicate those casual conversations even while working from home.

Knowing each other in weekly catch-ups. Or book club meetings. Or any other activity that is a “scheduled meeting” beyond work.

A year back, almost every company had a challenge to deal with: WFH.
Fast forward to a year later, almost every company has a low hanging fruit to catch: Engaging their teams. 

As always, we get to choose.

What is the best way to offer help to someone suffering from Covid?

Some Don’ts:

• Don’t send them a positive forwarded message
• Don’t send them #goodvibes
• Don’t give them examples of how someone else was positive when they were infected.

People don’t need positivity coming in from someone else, they just need to be acknowledged.

Thus, some do’s:

• Check on their fever and oxygen levels every morning
• Ask if there is something they need help with 
• If they do, helping to arrange that help even if we can’t help directly, is the best help!

The best way to offer help during such mentally and physically tough times is to give them the space to just be, while letting them know that you’re there!

A lot of people sadly don’t. We end up labelling them as bad listeners, while in reality, we haven’t been able to listen to what they’re saying.

If we know what we are talking about and we speak well, bingo! However, if we do not speak well but are aware of what we are talking about, learning storytelling would take us places!

Here comes the biggest part: We speak well but we don’t know what we are talking about: People will be drawn to us at the start however will fail to respect us. It’s worse than not speaking well, because the one who doesn’t, knows that they’re on a journey of learning.

Awareness of what you are talking about, or the awareness that you know you don’t know what you’re talking about, is bliss. People always sniff the one who isn’t real.

I’m addicted to YouTube.
I’m looking forward to F.R.I.E.N.D.S. reunion (we all are!)
If I start watching reels once, there is nothing stopping me!

Habits that stop us from doing productive work. Habits we believe we have no control over.

What if we delete the apps? Or turn off WiFi at a specific time daily, no matter what? Or build an empowering self image?

To exercise control over an addiction, exercise control over it.
Sounds simple, not easy. Just like all valuable life advice :)

When you’ll do things their way, they will be happy. And so you kill your own happiness to make them happy.

However, they still don’t get happy. Guess what happens? You aren’t happy either.

Why not do what makes you happy?

If you’re getting it right for others, you are certainly not getting it right at all.

The past few days have been severely unpredictable for everyone. No one is certain  when a more stable time will arrive.

For those of us who are not directly in the jobs of helping someone through our work, we begin to question the purpose  of our work:

Why am I selling luxury products while so many people are dying? What’s the purpose of me ordering from Amazon to put someone else’s life in danger? Should I even think about marketing?

All of this is true. And very human.

However, here’s the flip side: Your work helps people be optimistic about the future. Your work helps thousands of families gain employment. More than anything else, your work is an example of staying true to your responsibilities while taking care of everything else. That’s huge!

All of us cannot and need not be on the front line. Being in line with your thoughts and reality is as powerful.

Asking for help is a powerful thing. It shows we are ready to go beyond ourselves. 

However, keeping it open-ended and expecting “any” help is shutting all doors for help.
Stuck in career? Do you want help with referrals or want mentorship?
Having a feud with parents? Do you need help with solving it or do you need help with how to figure out living on your own?
Feeling hopeless? Do you need hope or do you need someone just to listen to you?

When we are specific in seeking out for help, we make it easier for the other person to help us. And for ourselves to be helped.

When you’re alone, it is super important to pay attention to your thoughts.

What am I thinking about? Why am I thinking only what could get worse? What if I expect good things as much as I anticipate bad ones? What else could this mean? 

It turns out, what we end up doing in the world is largely a product of what we end up thinking in solitude.

In solitude, our attitude builds up. In lack of it, we’re just a product of succumbing someone else’s product of solitude. Last thing we’d signed up for.