Hey, Friend! Welcome to My Scrawlbook! Here I log my thoughts about anything and everything that I believe could be of some use to people like you and me.
📝 15-May-2022
Let’s not use a napkin when we can use a handkerchief.
💚 Earth.
📝 31-March-2022
Tasks are not gonna finish until one’s last breath. Things will always gonna be there on that to-do list.
Holding back those non-career things that one wanna do, hoping that someday they will have all the time in the world, doesn’t make sense to me.
📝 10-February-2022
Some things seem so hard to start. Here, let’s say starting with coding.
Acquiring even a working knowledge there can seem a mountain of work.
But then one writes first line of code.
Then a few more.
And then the journey of 0-2-1 begins.
Matter of time, one who didn’t know a line of code earlier now gets full-page ready from scratch.
Then, few months of consistency and practice.
One gains the expertise to code full sites and apps.
And then comes a point when that thing doesn’t feel work anymore but a cakewalk. Not all times though but most of it.
And that’s when one starts really enjoying.
Isn’t it incredible how a thing that seems so daunting once is so joyful now?
Oh, again, a time will come then, when people will say: “Oh! You are gifted.”
And at that point you know: You have cracked it!
📝 8-February-2022
“…. is gifted” – This statement takes away all the credit for hard/smart work one put into mastering something and achieving excellence.
No one came gifted. Worked. Got where they are.
Yes, some are more privileged than others, but privilege doesn’t take to places; work does.
📝 5-February-2022
Some people mistake one’s humility and simplicity as a flaw rather than strength.
Way forward to it? Well: Get well soon!
📝 31-January-2022
Most cars (technically) allow to drive at well beyond 120 Km/h.
Is it always possible to drive at 120 Km/h?
Does that mean we shall always drive at 120 Km/h?
More often we fix targets for self, KRAs/KPIs/OKRs, and all sorts of fancy goal metrics at that 120 Km/h. The max out.
That, I believe, is the No. 1 cause of (so-called) failure.
📝 27-January-2022
Sometimes, when things ain’t going at expected pace, we just need a little reminder: Rome wasn’t built in a day.
📝 14-January-2022
Simplicity has no limit.
No one is ever gonna complain that you have made that thing too simple for them.
📝 7-January-2022
Who is a good manager?
One who never makes you feel like they are the manager and you are working for them, but with them and you are as important to the team as they are. Not otherwise.
Not a rule, of course. Just another opinion!
📝 24-September-2021
Sometimes, it’s best to let your work do the talking.
📝 18-September-2021
Best breaks are those that are unplanned. Often joyful.
📝 13-September-2021
Not all people wanna grow or plan on big ambitions. And that’s okay.
In every area of life, we find people who are never ready to listen or learn to anyone. They think they know all they need to know. And that there is nothing to add. That’s okay too.
In that case, I believe that we better not waste our time to push those guys further. They are happy with where they are and with how much they have grown in life. Nothing wrong with that, right?
📝 12-September-2021
No.
We all can use this word more often than we think possible.
Without feeling selfish.
Without feeling any guilt.
Without feeling like a slacker.
This simple word—No— if used wisely can save so much time.
Free up so much of the “busy” schedule.
And get us all the time we need to pursue aspirational and joyful activities.
Let’s say “no” more often to all the activities and work that are not really important and don’t bring back any value.
📝 8-September-2021
We feel despair because we have felt hope earlier.
And every time passes by.
If we keep moving forward, we surely see a new ray of hope again.
We just have to make sure we do keep moving forward.
📝 5-September-2021
It’s a long-long journey.
📝 21-March-2021
Question: What builds the most stress?
Answer: When you give your very best, exceed expectations of everyone on the board, and then someone still says to you to be “even better” next time.
Net Result: Mental health suffers. Performance suffers. The organization overall suffers.
Can we do this? : Encourage each other to do their best and do NOT instantly “raise the bar” further when they do. Let them have some space and set their “bar” themselves.
📝 13-March-2021
Done + Good = Good-to-go-live!
It’s better be Done + Average/ Good/ Better/ Great/ Excellent than PerfectButNeverDone.
Got to learn this while working on a new web project. That’s scheduled to go live in Jan. But the thrust for perfection made it took long, then longer. Even Feb passed.
Enough of perfection.
Now, gonna release a version that I think is good enough, working, but not perfect.
Done + Good = Good-to-go-live!
📝 10-March-2021
Excuse vs Cause-
Excuse: May find thousands of those. Still not enough.
Cause: Only one is enough.
📝 26-February-2021
Days are never long enough.
📝 29-January-2021
Why let others tell us what’s our cup of tea and what’s not?
We want something >>> We work for it >>> We get it.
That’s it.
Unfortunately, not all people we meet are supportive. They try to tear our endeavours apart. They try to tell what we are capable of and what we are not. How can they? They can’t without our permission. And we are not gonna give it to them.
Fortunately, many people we meet are good and will support us in our endeavours. Those are also the best people we can look up to for help, guidance, and advice. Those are the ones we can share our happiness with and also on whose shoulders we can rest upon in moments of distress. That’s why the world is still alive. At least, I like to believe so.
In the end, only we can decide what’s our cup of tea and what’s not.
And yeah, there is more good than bad out there. Always.
Keep Doing Good Stuff
📝 25-January-2021
A quick view on “pleasure” I have been thinking for a while now:
❌ Pleasure is all mine.
✔️ Pleasure is all shared.
Anyway, going forward, I am gonna use “Pleasure is all shared.”
Giving it a thought, I think you will agree with me that most of the time you have the pleasure of anything, it was only because you have the occasion to share with someone, no matter who.
So, pleasure is all shared.
📝 9-January-2021
We’re never too old to be a child again. We’re never too grown-up to rejoice in child spirit.
📝 1-January-2021
2021 onward, let’s prioritize one of the most vital yet most ignored aspects of a healthy work+life: Sleep.
This year, if someone would have asked me my top priority: I’d say, “sleep better and sleep more.”
In the haste of getting more done, get more waking hours, and do more of what feels good, I have done huge injustice to my sleep schedule, especially in the post-lockdown time.
I am going to make an effort to change the sleep schedule for the better, not as a new year resolution but building a good habit and a more healthy lifestyle.
I feel it’s high time we start giving sleep as much importance as we give to our food and other health choices.
If I can make only one appeal on New Year, it’s to urge everyone to have a consistent sleep schedule and get adequate sleep.
Once you have a proper “sleep diet,” most things will get fixed on their own.
On that note, Happy 2021!
Keep Doing Good Stuff
📝 27-November-2020
Having empathy for our colleagues-
At the workplace, most of the work we do is not independent. It has elements that need to be taken care of by other members of the team.
Often, when work at the end of our colleagues is not completed, for any reason, it’s the easiest thing to blame them for the missed deadline.
Is blaming your colleagues the right thing?
I believe no.
As team members, we must have empathy for the people we work with.
We must make an effort to have a chat and see what they are going through, especially when working remotely.
They might be sick.
They might be too overloaded.
They might be going through some sort of personal issues we don’t know about.
They might have got a much-urgent thing back home they can’t turn their back on and have to leave the work urgently.
The fact is: We don’t know their situation.
Such reasons are endless.
But the point is that we must make an effort to understand their situation before marking any remarks against.
In the win, all are naturally together. A true team stays together, even in the face of a lost game, and come out stronger.
Let’s be together and Keep Doing Good Stuff
📝 15-November-2020
Art lives forever and always, there are people who care for art.
Also, there are people who love “Printed Art” and there will always be.
Even at a point when we get to a point of 100% internet penetration, we’re gonna see art in printed form.
And I think that’s the way it should be. After all, not all things can be experienced digitally.
📝 12-November-2020
If you didn’t get that important project done right, worry not. The world has got you covered.
Sometimes experiments just go wrong and it’s not for all times that things go as planned.
Blame nobody.
📝 15-September-2020
You are a unique writer too.
A note to self and to those who are seeking some inspiration to write:
There are many writers in the world, but no one has the words that only you have. Cause your experiences, perspectives, style, and way of thinking are uniquely yours.
Other people have similar ideas, yet the ways you deal with those ideas are different.
Whether you’re an aspiring writer or an amateur writer, a professional writer with so-so experience or an unprofessional writer, the world has got the attention that your words and unique ideas deserve.
So, don’t be afraid to write and spill your experiences in open and share a piece of your mind.
And yeah… don’t worry about it to be perfect either. None of us has got perfect words. Authentic expression is more important than the perfect word choice.
Write. Create. Express.
Let your words wander around the world; inspire a few, ignite a few, and make some timeless wisdom immortal.
📝 12-September-2020
Only lucky ones of us fail-
Not all people have the opportunity to fail in life, embrace change, deal with a setback, move on to achieve a goal they set for themselves, and have true taste of what it means to win.
So, if you have ever failed, you are one of the lucky ones. Because, a life without a setback would be like a plain road; really boring!
I am also one of the lucky ones.
Keep Doing Good Stuff
📝 4-September-2020
Nobody can let you down unless you allow them to.
📝 4-September-2020
Why journey is the reward?
Success involves less of winning and more of learning.
Less of destination and more of journey.
Destination is momentary while journey is lasting.
In the end, experiences matter more than achievements.
That’s why journey is the true reward.
📝 23-Auguest-2020
The creativity that is unique in you doesn’t need validation from everyone.
Creativity means different things to different people. I have got my own taste and preferences. You have got yours. Others have got theirs.
That’s why when we do any work of creativity, be it “creative” writing, painting, create a music playlist, tell a story, a piece of professional writing, or anything else, some people like it, some don’t. Some people love it. Others found it tragic.
Well, it’s natural.
It’s not that they’ve got something personal against us. It’s just that their interests and choices are different.
Also, it doesn’t mean that we’re not creative enough. We all are creative since we’re born. And beyond that, we all are continually learning, evolving, and growing.
While the ground for improvement is always there. Yet, that’s not mean we’re not good enough. We always are.
The creativity that is unique in you doesn’t need validation from “everyone.” You’re unique. So is your creativity.
Keep Doing Good Stuff
📝 27-July-2020
Sometimes, I badly wish that we could go back to a world free of internet, Wi-Fi, smartphones and all other high-end devices.
Sometimes, 24*7 connectivity becomes so suffocated that I feel it next to impossible to find even an hour of calm time.
I know the tech-enabled world we are living in has done so much for us, especially during now when most of the things depend on it, damage done to lives, peace, and mental sanity is hard to measure.
These questions make it more clear:
Can we switch-off our phones for 2 hours at a time during the day?
Can we spend a day without internet?
Can we manage without WhatsApp?
Can we leave email unopened for a day?
Can we imagine a day when we are not called by someone not so dear in the late evening?
I am quite sure, for most of us, answer will be no.
It’s unfortunate that we need things like digital detox these days.
Ironically, this thought is also shared online, via internet.
Off.
📝 7-July-2020
50% of the time work from the office + 50% of the time work from home seems to be the best probability and breakthrough for a better future of working and living.
📝 16-May-2020
Chasing perfection in pursuit of excellence-
We all are humans and we all make mistakes in life, at work, and around all other choices that we have to make.
Well, that’s okay if we learn from them. Else, what’s the point?
Embracing imperfection in pursuit of excellence is the sure way to move forward.
Keep Doing Good Stuff