~~ Twenty for Twenty – February and March Journey ~~

Yes, I know am late in posting this!!

And its a long read – so brace yourselves!!

I always thought WFH would help me finally achieve a lot more things that I normally don’t get a chance to or time for – I always thought I’d gain those extra 4 hours that I always spend travelling to and fro office and I can productively use it to do so many things like read more, watch stuff on TV, write more, zentangle more, finish that draft of the novel, exercise more, walk more, take care of myself, help mom, spend more time with the daughter and etc etc… But what I had not expected was that, though not entirely, but most of those 4 hours, I’d still spend glued to the laptop trying to wrap up multiple more things at work.  Sometimes I even have my lunch glued to my laptop – I am not super proud about it. Hmm, it’s so true that grass is always greener on the other side, right? I do know that it’s all about setting those healthy boundaries for a better work-life balance wherever you are working from, home or office (it was also one of my goals this year), but at times like these, when everyone around is trying to cope up and enhance their applications to cater to COVID-19 restrictions, the work-pressure is no less.

Having said that, if given a choice and a chance in future, I’d like to still continue WFH when and if things return to normal.  I’d still opt for it just to avoid the travel. The constant back ache and body ache that I used to have due to the long travels are now missing (and of course, I don’t miss them at all) *Touchwood* . I felt different (good different of course) after a few days of WFH and it took me a while to realize that the difference was, in fact,  the absence of the constant aches in my body. 

Anyways, February and March have been quite interesting – isn’t it?  What with appraisals, bonus, the new facility movement(which sadly has added half hour extra both in the morning and evening to my travel travails from and to office), the Corona Virus scare, the scary numbers increasing day by day in India, the lockdown, the deaths, the sanitization necessities, the WFH, the “Am I audible?”,  “Are you able to see my screen?” and the sudden-cooker-whistling-in-the-background-during-a-call saga! Every year, we feel the that months just whizz by, and this year, it seems like the time has taken this concern seriously and has opted to move as slowly as possible so we can savor every single minute of the not-so-great-so-far year!

I know – that this might not be of interest in the light of current events – but I still wanted to go ahead and post about how I fared in the past two months…

20 for 20 – Career

Work life balance: Though I managed to keep the checking of emails/chats beyond working hours at bay most part of February, I couldn’t do it in March due to the WFH.

Get certified: There was progress (not huge) in February and I was able to complete an easy online certification. But no progress as such in March.

Appreciate often: Doing it as applicable 🙂

20 for 20 – Reading/Writing

Blog at least once a month (2/12): I did blog in February – but did not in March(blame the WFH :P)

One Blogathon per year (0/1):  Haven’t dared to start this yet.

Finish the draft of novel: Haven’t dared to start this yet.

Reading challenge(12/20): I know I know.. I wouldn’t say I completed 12 full fledged books or novels. Probably the actual count would just be 2 so far. The rest are short stories by Jeffrey Archer that I read back to back in February – they were just a couple of pages each, but goodreads shows them up as separate short stories, hence the skewed count.

Sync the external blog space with all the posts: Haven’t started this one yet.

20 for 20 – Others

Travel/Vacation :

Take a break per month to unwind – even if for a day (3/12) –  I did take a break as and when I thought I needed one both in February and March. This is something I am going to continue doing.

Explore local weekend getaways – try visiting at least 5 new places close by (0/5) – None in February and March. Just homebound and trying to stay safe 🙂

Plan proper vacations – Try to cover at least 2 from my bucket list (0/2) – Had finalized April/May to cover at-least one of the bucket list places. Now that is on hold. Probably is going to be on hold for a while, isn’t it?

Health :

Meditate: Thanks to the lockdown – everyday as soon as I wind up from office work, we all sit together and meditate for 5 minutes. Peaceful silent 5 mins of the entire day 😛

Walk at least for half hour every day – Again, thanks to the lockdown -I try to spend atleast half an hour walking every day – 24/366

Squeeze in 10 mins of yoga every day – Again, thanks to the lockdown – 7am to 8am or 7pm to 8pm has become the yoga hour of my day though I haven’t been able to do it diligently every single day – 18/366

Drink more water – This is something that I have been missing on since WFH. Need to consciously drink more water.

General:

Stay strictly offline after 10pm – Go to bed at a reasonable time  – 15/366 – I have not been doing this regularly 🙁

Declutter – Let go of unwanted stuff – I finally cleared one of my old bags with a lot of unwanted old receipts/documents. Many more such bags to go.

Watch a movie per week – 2/53 –  Movie – Flight

Go to a stand-up comedy show (0/1) – Nothing planned yet.

Resume dance classes – Restarted classes, however, the dance teacher went to her hometown before lockdown and hasn’t returned yet. There have been no classes since then 🙁

In addition to the above – I did strike something off my bucket list this year though I had not planned it to happen upfront. It happened by chance and made it all the more memorable 🙂

January – I always wanted to share stage with my daughter and dance with her. We both love dancing and we keep dancing together at home, but there was this teeny tiny wish to go on stage – Done 🙂

February –  I always have wanted to participate in a marathon – took part in a 3km fun run – with the Mr. and the daughter.

March – Work from home – Every mommy out there probably relates to the need of being able to work remotely – so she can just spend that few extra minutes with the family. I always was looking forward for an opportunity to WFH (though there are a lots of cons to it too).  Though it did not happen in the way I would have liked it to, I am trying to make the most of the time that I gain especially now where there’s no morning chaos, no rush to catch the bus to office, no rush to come back home, no travel and most of all, even if I feel tired at the end of the work-day – its still good-tired 🙂

As we have stepped into yet another month with quite a few uncertainities, let’s just bear in mind that “This too shall pass”.  Lets be positive about the current situation and move forward a day at a time!!

Before I wind up from this long boring post – can I ask for just one thing?

Please stay indoors and please stay safe!!

~~ Twenty for Twenty – January Journey ~~

If you have read my December blogathon posts, you are probably aware that I had/have aimed for twenty simple (ahem) goals for this year 2020.

The main reason I declared it here in this space was to make sure I was accountable to providing regular status updates even if you are not interested to know 😛  I knew that if I was accountable somewhere  – I would be pretty diligent in tracking things and would not end up taking it easy 😛  – Having said that, it’s not that I am not accountable otherwise – but I have always noticed that when it comes to taking care of myself or putting my own happiness first, I don’t take it very seriously. Most of us are like that, isn’t it? Hence the need to be accountable somewhere.  Most of the stuff in the goal list actually is about prioritizing myself and my own happiness over other things – and since its not an inherent inbuilt quality yet, I hope to cultivate it slowly through these goals.

So even if you want to or not want to know  – here’s how I progressed in January with these goals….

20 for 20 – Career

Work life balance: Though I have not completely let go – I have taken the first step towards consciously not checking work emails/chats until I reach office. At times, if I am expecting some important communication, I still do it. But not daily anymore.

Get certified: Learning progress towards getting certified was not as expected in January. Need to invest time over weekends.

Appreciate often: Doing it as and when applicable.  Will continue doing it.

20 for 20 – Reading/Writing

Blog at least once a month (1/12): January post

One Blogathon per year (0/1):  Haven’t dared to start this yet.

Finish the draft of novel: Haven’t dared to start this yet.

Reading challenge(0/20): Though I did pick up a book to read, haven’t completed it yet. Reading “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe” by Douglas Adams.

Sync the external blog space with all the posts: Haven’t started this one yet.

20 for 20 – Others

Travel/Vacation :

Take a break per month to unwind – even if for a day (1/12) – I like to believe that I am that optimistic person who keeps looking for that light at the end of tunnel in every situation – but then at times, I do get overwhelmed, frustrated and go into a “God, why only me” mode. I took a day off to rest after such an overwhelming week which resulted in a sleepless night pondering over every personal and work related situation that was frustrating me.  The day I took a break, I switched my phone to aeroplane mode for almost the whole day –  slept most part of the day, picked a new book to read and spent quality time with family. That’s all I needed and I felt quite refreshed by evening. Its so important not to get lost in the process of being on top every single thing in life. Its so important to know that the to-do’s can wait for a day. Sometimes this kind of break is what the body and mind needs and craves for and we need to listen to it and take that break – after all, we are not well-oiled machines to just keep going on and on 😛

Explore local weekend getaways – try visiting at least 5 new places close by (0/5) – None in January

Plan proper vacations – Try to cover at least 2 from my bucket list (0/2) – Yet to plan the actual destination and dates. Months have been finalized.

Health :

• Meditate: Has been difficult. But I have been doing it on and off throughout the month. Need to bring in consistency.
• Walk at least for half hour every day – 14/366
• Squeeze in 10 mins of yoga every day – 3/366
• Drink more water – Been doing it diligently on weekdays. Its the weekends that I waver away, need to keep a check.

General:

• Stay strictly offline after 10pm – Go to bed at a reasonable time  – 10/366
• Declutter – Let go of unwanted stuff – Haven’t dared to let go of any stuff yet.
• Watch a movie per week – 1/53 –  Movie – Arthur
• Go to a stand-up comedy show (0/1) – Nothing planned yet.
• Resume dance classes – Restarted classes, however a note to self: Be regular 🙂

Did you set any goals for yourself this year?  How are you progressing? Do let me know 🙂

~~ Three movies ~~

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Hey all! My first post of this year!  I really can’t believe we are almost at the tad end of the first month of this new year already!

Have been meaning to post this from quite some time now, but haven’t been able to narrow down the movies to just 3.  Even if I proceed to tweak it to list the favorite genres that I have watched so far, its impossible to list only 3.  There are just too many movies in each genre to mention!

So I decided finally to stick and choose from movies I watched in the past year (2019) and list 3 movies that stayed with me for a while after watching it. So here you go –

• Vanilla Sky(English) – It is a psychological thriller with no scary, chilling scenes or ear splitting screams – yet leaves you in a daze and a confused state at the end that you want to watch it again to understand if you interpreted the whole of it right. I felt so only for a few movies and this one made me all curious. I read a lot about lucid dreaming and related scientific research for a few days after watching this movie. Do watch and let me know if you got as confused as I did 😛
• 99(Kannada) – I very rarely watch Kannada movies. Not stating it proudly, of course. There are quite a few good movies out there and this movie(though I know its a remake) restored the faith that I need to make it a point to watch more regional movies. I had heard about ’96’ Tamil movie quite a bit and it was on my to-watch list, however, when I found the Kannada remake of it Prime – I didn’t want to wait any further. Though I would have preferred to watch the original first, I still went for it. I absolutely loved the movie. It made me quite nostalgic. It also succeeded in tugging at the heartstrings.  There are cute yet poignant moments throughout the movie and the pure love on either side just made me wonder “If only” at times.. but then few relationships are only meant to end so and just remain beautiful in memories, the essence of love is lost otherwise.  I am waiting to watch it in the original Tamil version. I am sure its a treat to watch as well.  Of course, a must watch!!
• October (Hindi) –  Now, I don’t think most liked the movie. I recommended it to my brother and SIL, and they were not very happy with the recommendation (I think). Well, Its sad. Its melancholic. Its mostly silent too. But its innocent, soulful, ethereal and overwhelming too. The portrayal of selfless silent love is just beautiful. The movie stayed with me for a very long time. I didn’t expect it to, but it did. Do go watch it and don’t blame me if you cry your heart out (BTW, I cry for every other movie as you might already know from this post(to be synced) of mine, so am not to blame here)

How about you? Do you want to list your 3 favorites?

20 for 20 - Others

Twenty for Twenty - And here goes the rest of the 12 Goals

Travel/Vacation :

• Take a break per month to unwind – even if for a day (0/12)
• Explore local weekend getaways – try visiting at least 5 new places close by (0/5)
• Plan proper vacations – Try to cover at least 2 from my bucket list (0/2)

Health :

• Meditate: Meditation can be intimidating for me as my mind is always buzzing with thoughts.  I am planning to use the first 10 minutes out of my travel time to just close my eyes and think about nothing - difficult, I know - Lets see how it goes.
• Walk at least for half hour every day (0/366)
• Squeeze in 10 mins of yoga every day (0/366)
• Drink more water

General:

• Stay strictly offline after 10pm - Go to bed at a reasonable time (0/366)
• Declutter - Let go of unwanted stuff
• Watch a movie per week (0/53)
• Go to a stand-up comedy show (0/1)
• Resume dance classes

I have a journal (a sort of bullet journal) where I track a lot of stuff - but then, even there, I felt, it was not tracked diligently this year. The main reason I wanted to post these goals out here was to have some kind of accountability - which I hope to maintain this time. 

There you go, seems simple enough goals to me.. but will have to wait and see what the new year brings :)

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20 for 20 - Reading and Writing goals

Twenty for Twenty - Reading/Writing goals: 

Blog at least once a month (0/12):

Now, this depends on you :) The more you leave comments, the more I feel encouraged to write.

One Blogathon per year (0/1):

Blogathon as such is hard. One who takes it up, knows the effort that goes into it. Writing every day takes a lot of determination and of course, effort.  Irrespective of other commitments and responsibilities in life, you need to resolve to write daily during a blogathon. Since this is something I want to do each day of my life - a blogathon helps me with the discipline aspect of it. I don’t plan the content beforehand. Sometimes I don’t even proof read. So when I do a blogathon, the content I post is straight from the heart, those raw emotions, those pent up thoughts, the real me -  it is such an interesting experience when these emotions get flushed out every day. And to top it all, the pure joy that every single comment on each post of blogathon brings is something I look forward to – Now, who doesn’t want to experience a month of smiles, right?

Finish the draft of novel:

For those of you don’t know – I have already self-published a set of short stories. I have been meaning to publish a proper novel from so long. Have written mere ~5000 words. I need to commit to finish at least the draft of this one in 2020. If I haven't completed the draft by start of November 2020, I will need to attempt nanowrimo.

Reading challenge(0/20):

Goal would be to read 20 books this year. I’d want to finally pick the ignored books that beckon me from my bookshelf. I also ought to charge and sync my Kindle regularly, and of course read a few short stories there.

Sync the external blog space with all the posts:

From a few years now, I have made it a point to post there first before I even post here. That way I don't have to worry about syncing later on. Syncing is hard. I am yet to sync a few very old posts and ensure I add all the relevant blog links in my newer posts to link these old posts. I plan to dedicate some time for this work, this year. I also want to jazz up my external blog space a bit - so yeah, that too.

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So these are my resolutions in reading/writing category! How about you?
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And before I forget, a very merry Christmas to you all :-) Hope big ol' Santa delivered all your gifts :-)

20 for 20 - Career goals

Twenty for Twenty- Career Goals

Work life balance:

My morning is chaos. The first proper breathing minute I get for myself is when I board the bus to office around 7:45am. The first thing I do after I buy a ticket is check my mails/chats (Its already noon in Australia, so there's already lot out there waiting for us to come online). This helps me prepare mentally for the day ahead. Yep, not good. I was worse earlier, I used to check emails/chats as soon as I’d wake up. I have now somehow managed to restrain myself until I board the bus. At times, I just start responding immediately and then, there's no stopping after that. Same cycle repeats when I start home in the evening as well and this time with my teams here. I am not proud of this. I want to be able to let things be and deal work stuff only in working hours. I am in awe of people who know how to draw this line. I also appreciate people who do not have this urge to check and respond to emails or chats on a holiday - you are on a holiday after all. I currently don’t draw a line. I want to do that. A small step at a time to practice the much needed detachment and balance.

Get certified:

I started learning something new this year. I hope to get certified in that area of expertise in 2020. Wish me luck  :)

Appreciate often:

Refer my last point of this post.

~~ Twenty for Twenty ~~

Yep, that’s what I am planning to call it.

If you haven’t guessed, I plan to aim for twenty goals for the year 2020 (and hence the name of the post). Yes, I am brave that way, even after failing miserably in few of my goals this year, I still want to go ahead and set up some goals for the year that’s to come. I do want to address the things that I couldn’t achieve this year. 20 is a huge number, yes, but the plan is to keep the goals as simple as possible. As I mentioned in my learnings of this year, I am also not going to be rigid about it, and if there’s a goal I am not enjoying enough, I am going to strike it off my list as I move forward.

I wanted to make sure I put it in writing here in this space, so that I am accountable to provide a regular status update.  I am going to be mindful to ensure that the goals are simple enough, doable without much fussing about required and doesn’t in itself add pressure or chaos to my already-busy-life. One of these past years –  I was too optimistic and had set myself up for a goal of reading 40 books a year and though I did complete it, towards the end, it turned out to be a chore due to other pressing responsibilities in life. I realized that year that I need to enjoy a goal I set, rather than doing it for the sake of doing it. And though I set manageable goals last year – it was still a miss on the most.  

I am doing something different for the coming year – I am segregating my goals into different categories – Health goals, Career goals, Personal goals, Vacation & Travel goals, Writing and Reading goals. I am also planning to ensure that I update here once a month on where I stand on these goals. It will help me reflect, be flexible and strike off/add goals as necessary.

How about you? Have you planned anything yet? Do you want to join me and list out your own Twenty for Twenty? If yes, then good time to start thinking about it and when you have clear set of goals, go ahead and post it on your own blog  Needless to mention, I’ll be happy if you let me know about it and I’ll be the happiest if you tag this post, so I know there’s one more soul like me who never gives up on setting up goals 

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