Love (To Accomplish) In The Time of Corona

There are already countless articles, podcasts, blog posts and WhatsApp messages talking about things to do, read, watch, listen to, download and think about during this period of COVID-19 lockdown.  There are also countless articles, podcasts, blog posts and WhatsApp messages talking about how we should practice not doing anything during this period as well.  It can all be quite confusing, kind of like when you read an article from a reputed source about how milk is good for your bones and then, on the same day, come across another article from a different reputed source about how milk gives you cancer. In life, I’ve found that it works better to abstain from letting any external sources over-influence my decisions and, ultimately, try my best to make choices based on what just feels right for me.  This is exactly what I have been doing for the past 1.5 months during this period of forced quarantine.   

And, right now, what feels right to me are scheduled windows during the weekdays and planned projects during the weekends. Sounds boring, right? Possibly, however I am just someone who thrives off of a healthy amount of structure and productivity.  It makes me feel grounded and somewhat in control during a time when most of us have zero control over the current situation in the world. Also, without structure it is easy for me to revert back into my default thought and pattern settings which typically includes worrying about the future while watching a mindless show on Netflix, a combination that rarely leads to anything positive.    

I also enjoy giving myself focused professional projects and accomplishing them.  I experience a deep satisfaction when I picture something in my mind and watch it become a reality, no matter the size of the project. An example of a past experience of this was when, while sitting in my home in Delhi, I pictured myself at my favorite restaurant in Brooklyn having celebration drinks with my friends after finishing the full New York City marathon.  A year later this image became a reality when I was slugging down well earned mojitos at Bogota in Park Slope with 10 of my best friends just after running 42 kilometers through all five boroughs of New York City. Re-living the journey from thought to actuality, just makes the joy deeper and the rewards, in this case the mojitos, taste so much better. 

So yes I am a nerd who likes structure and to create projects and complete them. Thank God that I’m already married or there is a strong likelihood that this statement would steer away any ‘carefree’ potential partners. And my wife, who happens to be carefree, has already accepted that she married a complete ‘Type A.’ So while this period of lockdown comes with many personal and professional challenges, I’m enjoying the opportunity to be in one place for many days in a row and focus on a few projects that I’ve been thinking about for awhile.

This is what my daily COVID-19 lockdown schedule looks like on weekdays:

§  Morning (7:00am – 9:00am)

o   Workout

o   Meditate

o   Write

o   Breakfast

§  Late Morning (9:00am – 1:00pm)

o   Personal project time

o   Answer emails

o   Grade GISB assignments

o   Lunch

§  Afternoon / Evening (1:00pm – 7:00pm)

o   GISB online classroom sessions

o   GISB student interactions

o   Answer emails

o   Dinner

§  Night (7:00pm – 11:00pm)

o   Family time

o   Relax with a book, show, movie  

On the weekends, I’m less structured but ensure to block out a few windows for a nature walk, art activity and definitely a couple of solid, uninterrupted hours for my personal project. With this schedule, I’ve been able to accomplish the following during this lockdown period:

§  Completed 2 Drafts of A Book – My 2020 New Year’s resolution page in my journal has only 1 resolution listed, ‘Write Book.’ I’ve been thinking about writing a book on helping people create their dream jobs since I was asked to deliver a TEDx talk about the same subject in 2017.  I had even written a few rough chapters during a trip to the mountains in late 2017, but could never find the time or headspace to really focus on this project. What I didn’t realize was that I required a global lockdown in order to finish the first, and now second draft, of a story that I’ve been wanting to document for years.

It takes time to write a book. I used to think that I would spend my weekends at Taj Tea House and let the words seamlessly flow from my heart, to my head to my fingers and onto the screen of my laptop until the book was complete.  However, I’ve read and now experienced that the amount of time when creativity is at its highest is 2 hours, beyond that the creative juices can begin to diminish. And when writing something where every word matters, 2 hours can mean only a few paragraphs so imagine how long it can take to write a 200 page book.  And this doesn’t include the time required to edit, so a pandemic or a sabbatical was needed for me to actually make completing my one and only 2020 New Year’s resolution a reality. 

§  Organized the ‘My Documents’ Folder – I’m not a hoarder when it comes to materials but I am a hoarder when it comes to documents, both physical and electronic.  I keep all of my old notes, cards, letters, e-mails, files, presentations, e-books, pictures, etc. assuming that I’ll require them at some point. Because you never know when you may need to pull some information off of a 2003 MLS All-Star Game marketing plan.  Guess I’m just nostalgic about my journeys with people, projects and organizations and sometimes like to go back and re-visit them so the thought of throwing away old personal letters or deleting professional files just feels hard.

However it is definitely not recommended to be a hoarder and obsessive about organization at the same time. This slightly schizophrenic behavior leads to me getting irritated every time I see the ‘My Documents’ folder overflowing with files in no particular order and, yet, not willing to do anything about the situation.  I committed to changing that and spent many hours over multiple days going through every file and creating a system of folders and sub-folder to ensure everything goes into its right place. When I finished, someone from the outside would still see a computer and wonder why I have a file folder called ‘Thoughts from 1995’ however, to me, I know that something major has happened. I now love opening up my laptop and going to ‘My Documents’ and just proudly browsing around. Come on, don’t tell me that you have never organized a messy closet and then opened it up from time to time just to revel in your hard work. 

§  Adapted to Village Life – For many, ‘adapting to village life’ may not seem like much of an accomplishment however for me it takes genuine effort. My wife and I were meant to fly to Sydney, Australia on the 13^th of March for a work trip and to celebrate my 40^th birthday. However, due to COVID-19, we cancelled our trip and came over to a friend’s farmhouse in a small town called Lonavala which is a 2 hours drive from Mumbai. The home is gorgeous, set in a picturesque area surrounded by greenery and hills.  There are fresh fruits and vegetables growing in the garden outside and literally no noise anywhere from within at least half a kilometer from the home.

For someone who has grown up in Southern California and for the past 20 years lived in London, New York City, Delhi, Pune and now Mumbai, I’ve always felt that I am a person who thrives in large metropolitan cities. That the cramped quarters, multitude of noises and vibrant energy make me feel at home and never thought about what it could be like to live in a village or suburbia.  However, this experience has slowed me down and I’ve made an effort to just relax and enjoy the beauty of a nature and a different pace of life. In real terms this looks like going on long nature walks, picking vegetables from the garden and enjoying the silence within and around me.

There is this constant debate of whether we are meant to ‘be’ or  to ‘do.’ While I believe both are important, I actually feel that, at times, I can ‘be’ while ‘doing.’ When I am writing my book, drafting this blog post, reading a spiritual text, practicing yoga, or anything that nourishes my soul, I truly feel like I am ‘be-ing’ and not ‘do-ing.’ These activities provide the same sort of results as I believe ‘being’ is meant to do, which is re-charge my energy, warm my heart and bring forward a feeling of grounded connectedness. So my advice is to always check in with yourself and act or (don't act) in a way that just feels right without getting influenced by other people’s version of how you can best fill your precious hours during this lockdown.