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I have a single person WhatsApp group, that I use for jotting down my ideas on the go.

At the outset, it doesn’t look like a life hack.

But it is.

Because, a lot of us spend a lot of time on WhatsApp. Then why not use it for our favour, instead of it using it?

Notes.
Ideas.
To do lists.
Documents.
Shopping lists.
Sharing yourself pictures from phone to computer and vice versa.

The list is endless.

Because, the hacks aren’t the real magic.
The real magic is to use the tool in your advantage, that is designed to take advantage off your time.

The keys to creating good content are a lot: consistency, authenticity, listening to your audience, etc.

However, the one that very few people see, is perseverance.

The ability to continue when you have no one watching you.
The discipline to show up when people aren’t still showing up for you.
The dedication to continue when everyone else has given up on you. But not you.

We need good content.
And good content comes from content creators who have lived through that experience.

The way we live our lives and persist at is, is exactly how our content would fare. No better, no worse.

Those who are “successful” will be surprised at this question!

Because they don’t see themselves as successful or arrived.

The best success, is to be work in progress. Always.

I need to spend more time with myself.

Need some space to think about my plan for next one year.

Need more of me time and free time and even productive time.

Here’s the bitter truth: You don’t need more time. You need to get to a place of accepting yourself.

And when you do accept yourself, here is the harder question: Can you spend 5 minutes with yourself, daily?

Sometimes, more is simply a matter of priority.
Every single day.
And then, less also makes sense.

More time, more than time management, is a function of choosing to waste time and choosing to not waste time.

When you schedule your time to waste, you get more focused in your time to be more productive.

When you schedule your time to be focused, you distance the things that distract you.

Rinse and repeat, for everything you do.

Time management, is simply an art of choosing balance.
Every single day. Even when (especially when) it is easy to lose that balance.

We are often told to talk to ourselves, as it makes things clearer in our head.

A thing to consider in this conversation, is: What if we listen as well?

To your own thoughts.
To your feelings.
To your emotions when you are not feeling good.
To your emotions when you are feeling awesome.
To your emotions when you are feeling easy.

Talking is hard. Listening is harder. To yourself, even harder.
However, the most meaningful conversations happen only when we listen.

Not a person in particular, but the traits they embody.

And by that means, I look up to a lot of people.

Mr. Ratan Tata. Captain Gopinath. So many others – who are my mentors and don’t even know they are my mentors.

But they are traits.

More than anything else, I look up to books.
They are the best friend we didn’t think we need.
Only till the time they arrive and we realise we did need them.

I look up to books. And never look down on myself after looking up to them.

As we get older, our number of best friends tend to decline. But the existing friendships continue to nurture really well.

Beyond those very few friends, here are some best friends everyone must have:

1. Books
2. The ability to sit with your own thoughts
3. Journal to note down your thoughts, ideas, feelings, emotions.

Beyond people, becoming your own best friend is indeed one of the most beautiful things you will do to yourself.

1. Do not panic
2. Do not take actions while panicking
3. Take some time to understand why you are feeling these extreme emotions. And what you can do to mitigate them.

The rise in markets comes with equal certainty of falls. The goal is not to panic, the goal is to reach a place where you logically regulate your emotions so they don’t decide what you will feel.

The king (your mindset), when stepping down from the throne (while reacting to stock market crash), isn’t a king anymore.

Our biggest problem is that we want everything tomorrow.
That success.
Those million followers.
That sculpted body.
Fourteen best friends.
Fame and fortune.
Even transformed parents!

Most good things in life take time. If it didn’t, imagine how much you and I must be “having”, without having the effort that took to get there.

The only tomorrow worth waiting for, is to make your actions 1% better each day.
Everything beyond that, is an endless chase for nothingness.