My WFH Story: Why the lockdown was an answer to my prayers

Sometime last year, I was telling my wife that I seem to spend so much time commuting from home to office in a city like Mumbai, and that my physical presence in the office adds absolutely no value to the work that is getting done. So we should do a 2 month experiment by shifting to Goa, take a nice sea facing apartment and run my business from there. Get up in the morning at 7 am, go for a walk along the beach, go swimming, do some meditation, have breakfast….then at 10 am, start the laptop and “office” comes to life. At lunch time take a break, sit down with my wife and have some hot lunch, back to work after lunch…and then in the evening shutters down at 7 pm. Spend the evening reading books, listening to music, going out to a restaurant or to a theatre. The vision was that the time saved in commuting could be put back into family time. And all my work can actually happen over email, video calls and phone calls.

Well, so the lockdown, in a way, has answered my prayers. I seem to be doing exactly the above except that I am not in Goa with a sea-side apartment, but in my very home….and of course one can’t go out to a restaurant or theatre on account of the Lakshman Rekha. But besides that, work is getting managed quite well…and I am getting ample time to pursue non-work passions.

I am investing a lot of time in reading books. Finished reading Carlisle’s “The Acquirer’s Multiple”, a book on stock market investing philosophies and frameworks. And another book by Hector Garcie on “Ikigai”, a book around having a purpose to life, and healthy living. Right now I am reading “1% Windfall” by Rafi Mohammed.  I am also enrolling at the “Buffet Online School” to understand investing in more details. Besides reading, I am spending about half hour every day listening to a spiritual discourse on “Srimad Bhagavatam”. Once that gets over, next on my list is “The Bhagavat Gita”. While I have read both these books earlier, each time someone narrates it to you….it seems to give you a new perspective.

Yoga and regular walks continue… atleast one of these two, happen every day. Also have been playing chess with my son. The last time I played chess must have been with my dad…like 30 years back. Every now and then…my son manages to drag me for a game of chess. While I like to watch movies, I prefer to watch them in a theatre. I find myself very impatient watching a movie or a serial on the small screen. I also like poetry. Have read “Rashmirathi” by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and have heard the poem on YouTube (the entire poem runs into about 3 hours of listening time). I have heard it a few times in the past one month. The poem glorifies the character of Karna from the Mahabharat. Very inspiring and a very powerful recital.

And of course, the icing on the cake is music. I have been listening to music, and I have been working on my bathroom singing skills. Nothing brings more joy to heart or makes one feel relaxed as a nice soothing song…..”Sangeet man ko pankh lagaye, Geeton se rimzhim ras barsaye”. I have been listening to a lot of music and trying my hand at karaoke singing. I have regular karaoke singing sessions with friends (over Zoom) and with the family at home. And of course, I have also recorded a few songs…if only to continue with the delusion that I can sing well…

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.