I will not be led astray by emotions.

Simply put: I whiled on and off the Internet for some four hours today before I finally sat down to write. And I already knew what I wanted to talk about but that looming reminder in my head was unkind and stole the fun + charm of typing to figure out what you brain has been up to. Maybe that’s why I was procrastinating. Because writing to me is not writing what I know on the top of my head. But a way to probe deeper, think more, connect dots (if at all) and THINK.

Writing to me is a thinking tool..

Even this was a revelation in itself. Maybe these were the side quests Ali Abdaal talks about in his book Feel Good Productivity.

On to more from today.

Left home before 8.

I have hacked living in Mumbai. If you’ve got the Maslow’s base sorted for yourself, your next need + want + desire HAS to be leaving home before 8. Maybe even before 7 if your family doesn’t consider you a maniac or a drug dealer or a slushie-mix of both. And if you can find a decent cafe, library, park, office, whatever space to park yourself at.

Leave home early. Skip morning traffic. Skip the heat + dust + sweat. Have a sweet chat with your barista and get down to doing things. Any and all things at that. Preferably focused work for some 3-4 hours, before the day starts to day and notifications start pouring in. That’s my ideal morning. Not all are like that. This year I hope more are ideal, than not.

Semester 4 – I made it!

Today was the first day of Sem 4. As I said yesterday – not too keen, but I care enough to do well. So that.

Our Dean is also the instructor for Strategic Brand Management. I think I like her. I like her coursework more than I like her. Wait for the final verdict till Sem 4 Exams happen. Also, she dived straight into studies from the very first lecture. We discussed elasticity, distribution and branding for an hour. And I knew things. And I spoke things I did not know I knew?? Most of it was stuff I’ve picked from being chronically online or have absorbed from random calls + convos I’ve fly-on-the-walled at C4E. I remember going back home with Parry and his friend one night when all we talked was supply chain and distribution. And my brain remembered scattered bits from it. And was able to put two and two together. MAGIC!

In Feb, We will be doing a 3-4 day Lonavla trip for Ad-Filmmaking which is a HUGE chunk of our grade. I want to do a good job with it this time. It’s also going to be our entry in Ad-mire this year. I wanna show the world something they’d remember. For sure. Help me do it, Universe! (Blesses herself)

Then there’s prof Mezzy. He’s our instructor for Digital Transformation in Advertising. I liked him because he was the first person in SOBA to talk – and lay huge emphasis – on rural lives, media consumptions, buying decisions, all that. God knows I have my own set of angst with Premium Business colleges like that. Here’s a midnight LinkedIn rant.

Food + exercise kind of things.

My tweet/X from today says: had coffee for breakfast, skipped lunch. will go home and have prawn curry + rice 😋

This was around 5 PM. It was all good till then.

I tried to do a mini-fast. Go around 18-20 hours without eating. A little beverage, if at all. Thing is: In Gorakhpur, I got into the trappy cycle of always being full. Like FULL. I’d have yummy lunch at home. Then step out and grab a minimum of two snacks. Then hanging out at Bake Brown all the time added to my sugars. Not a healthy habit. And I knew I’d find it hard to break out of.

So I thought: Lemme do a complete fast. Nip it in the bud.

Came home. Had my prawns. Still hungry. Slept. Woke up. Did some calls. Made some bhel at home. Still hungry. Ordered rice bowl + coke. Been 3 hours since I ate. And I think I feel a little hungry again. FRIGGIN MONSTER!

I should get back to my defaults soon. SOON.

Oh and no exercise days so far. Except for whatever little walk happens in and around college. Will fix that tomorrow. Going to wake up and do a quick skating sesh maybe. The idea is to move my body. Whatever feels fun that day. For the first few months at least. And then maybe commit to one form of exercise – gym, run, swim, skate, pilates, idk?

More tomorrow.

Night!

Ps: I am happy I will be putting something put before I sleep. Even thought it is technically Jan 3. I tried 🙂