Why procrastination isn't so bad after all!

From the time I joined college, I have mastered the art of procrastination bit by bit. Of course it wouldn't have been possible without the help of my college mates. Small motivational speeches like 'lite lena yaar' and 'chill maar', have strengthened my resolve to postpone work from time to time. I've perfected the art of working just before the deadline, however complex the job at hand may be. 

Now that, I am now out of college and have started working, I have started understanding how this habit can be a real pain in the ass. 'Deadlines are sacrosanct’ takes a whole new meaning at work. Not turning in work in time, can lead to embarrassing situations and frustration. Even if you manage to complete the work before the deadline, the quality of work is nowhere close to the expectation. Thanks to all the free time I get as a result of procrastination, I have been thinking why do I really procrastinate?

It's mostly one or a combination of the following four cases:

1.    There is a lot of time on hand

2.    The task is too mechanical/boring

3.    There is lack of clarity in the task to be done

4.    There is shared responsibility on this job and no one is working

Case 1 & 2 are the easiest to tackle. In fact, I realised procrastinating here actually helps. If you know, what is to be done exactly, it's best to just leave it till the end. We all know, how our efficiency levels shoot up just before the deadline. The mundane jobs are best done under the pressure of a deadline. In the pressure might make you think out of the box and you may find an efficient way of doing it. That said, a quick estimate of the time required for the job doesn't hurt and you can plan it accordingly.

Case 3 is a real problem. I have been struggling to do one such task from quite some time now. I have made many half-hearted attempts to do it but to no avail. Asking your boss/colleague might seem like a good idea here. But as in my case, this is not always possible. My boss wanted me to figure out how to do it, since he didn't know it! After almost a month of squandering away my time aimlessly, I resolved to give two hours of my undivided attention to the task, before completely giving up. And voila, it worked! Even if I don't have a complete solution, I have an idea which can be bounced off. 

Case 4 is not less problematic either. Here, your managerial and people skills are put to real test. Sometimes, just a small push is required to get the work rolling! But, we are scared to initiate, lest the entire burden falls onto us. Either way, I think it's best to take the plunge. If the team catches up, well and good. If they don't, then you can still take some credit for having tried at least. That's still better than not doing anything at all.

All this idle rambling (or shall I call it brainstorming?) brings me to the conclusion that procrastination isn't all that bad after all! If I tackle the tricky one's on time, I am in safe zone :)

Bas itna sa khawab hai ;)

Some dreams are beautiful even when you know they may never be fulfilled. Dreams transport you to a place you truly wanna be, even if its for a short while, the feeling is worth it. Do you dream of owning your place? Decorating it the way you want? I do it!

Following are a few things I'd really like to have in my house:

1. Whites. Lot of whites.

I want a major part of my house to be white. White marble flooring, white curtains, white sofa, white flowers...and so on. I do understand how terribly difficult it is to maintain such a place. (And hence its so awesome to dream - you don't have to worry about cleaning)

2. French windows! And Balconies too.

Nothing like natural lighting. I would want my house to have windows/balconies on all four sides. All of these windows will have beautiful curtains. I would love to have a system where on the push of a button I can change the setting of my bedroom from broad daylight to darkness -  for when I feel like sleeping in the day. à la Cameron Diaz's hpuse in The Holiday.

3. Big Bathrooms. Like real BIG.

I love bathing. I love the personal space I get in there :P The bathroom should have a huge tub. And ample with a bookstand nearby.  I would like a bathroom with glass walls. (Of course it should be such that no one can see inside from outside!)

4. A room full of clothes. Every girl's dream.

Do I have to explain?

5. A Sit-out or a Terrace.
Who wouldn't love to sleep under the stars once in a while?

A nice, cozy swing where I can sit and read or listen to music. A small bed where I can sleep out when the wind is blowing, the sky is starry or simply when sleeping inside is too boring!

What's your dreamhouse like? Can I take a peek?

And a couple of pics....

White + Glass :)

Who wouldn't want a Beach House!

Decision making: Arrrghhhh

Do you go back and forth between options, analyzing, over-analyzing them? Do you feel that you have finally decided to go with one option and at the very next moment decide to chuck it, because someone convinced you to do otherwise? Do you talk to a lot of people about it and end up feeling confused and frustrated?

Well, then you will understand what I go through very often. I reallllly need to learn to decide.

Decision making has never come easy to me. I am fickle. I over-think. I over-analyse. I am not necessarily the kind of person who needs to go with the best option. I will be content if my criteria are met. But, then the problem lies in deciding those criteria. In deciding which one I prefer over the other. At various points different criteria seem more important. 

Currently, I am facing a couple of such decision making problems. I am in the middle of deciding whether I should go for a single occupancy room or a double occupancy room in a 2BHK in Mumbai. Its a decision hinging upon my preference for privacy and peace of mind over potential money saving. (There are a variety of other criteria which make me tilt from one side to another).

Some things I have learnt from my past experience:

1. I have realized the final decision is always on me and I can decide to do what I want if I really wish to, of course might have to put some more effort into it. 

2. More the number of people you ask, more is the confusion. Of course, this doesn't mean you don't ask anyone. Do ask people but only those who will completely understand your situation and are known to make rational, sound decisions and more importantly people you trust. Also, do ask people who will directly get affected by your decisions (don't forget your parents!)

3. Give a deadline to yourself and decide by then, come what may.

4. Once decided, do not regret if it goes wrong. Work to make it right, adjust. No point thinking what if you had taken the other option. Always remember - whatever happens, happens for the best.

5. Go with your gut. More often than not its right.

So now, I am gonna use my fundae to solve my problem.

Chalo happy decision making! (I know its never happy >.<, but still...)

Looking back at IIM C..

What did I gain from the past two years? Was the MBA worth it?
I don't have a clear cut answer, but I'll let you decide when I finish.

I joined IIM Calcutta as a fresher. In my previous post, My journey so far, I had mentioned about the life at Joka after a good 7 months into the MBA program. But I feel, there is much more to add to it after the completion of the program. Trust me there is a lot and this post may not do justice to it but I will try to cover as much as I can or till I till I get bored, whichever is earlier (Both cases, you will surely get bored bwhahaha :D)

As I mentioned in the earlier post, that campus life here is quite different from the undergrad one. Reasons being simple - people here are more focused as to what they want from here (or at least pretend to be). It's a much diverse set of people (Yes, engineers dominate and girls are few (It's IIM C)), by diversity I mean the age difference, the work experience, international exposure etc. This makes you act in a certain way. It forces you to try to fit in, and when people do that, they need to change. I will speak for myself from now on. After two years, I feel I am a new person altogether. If you ask my BITS friends to describe me using five adjectives and compare the same with IIMC friends, I am quite sure, they won't match - in fact some might even be opposites (I should probably do this). Of course, the core me is still the same - that's never going to change.

So how have I changed and why? I am outgoing, confident, comfortable around new people, hardly do not take time to open up. These are some qualities almost everyone develops here (at least applies to freshers) There might be multiple reasons for this - firstly, there was a conscious effort from my side to bring about this change plus its a pretty important. The culture is such. You interact a lot more with seniors, take their help for    placement prep,you work in teams for every project, you work in clubs etc. Dramatics was a big contributor for this change, it was something new for me. However bad or good the actor I may be it still gave me the confidence that I can go onto a stage and speak rehearsed lines in a certain manner without being boo-ed. It was a great confidence booster. The international exposure (no, it isn't just another jargon) helped a great deal. I went to Hong Kong for my intern and then traveled around Europe for a term as a part of a student exchange program. The experience has added new dimensions to my thinking. Has made me far more confident that I can deal with new situations, new people and manage on my own.

There are changes which I did not envisage. Changes, which I want to change back.  I have become lazier(!), impatient, leave-it-to-the-last-minute sort of person. I wasn't like this before. I do understand, campus life makes people lazy etc. but its relative, sometimes I feel I have become lazier than most people around me. I have become disorganized and have developed a do-not-give-a-damn-attitude. Things I will consciously try to change going forward.

With these thoughts, I now embark upon a new journey - a completely different one. I have numerous hopes and aspirations from myself and the world around me. Lets see how it goes :)

All the best to all the people embarking on a new journey!

Random Musings

I wonder how many blogposts have this as their title. Leave alone posts, there will a  handful of blogs named Random Musings. And I don't have a point. It was just a random musing.

Simple yet profound

I asked him it's been so long, do you still love her? Do you still feel the same way?

He said, "I don't know if I still love her. It may not be the same. But I know one thing, I feel happy when I talk to her:"

It was the most simple answer and yet I got to know everything I wanted to. Love is too simple yet we make it so complicated. :)

Maslow, you made me think!

So, I was in Goa last week. Yes Goa, for a vacation. Yes, with friends. And now you can go green with envy :D. I just love Goa, I have spent 4 best years of my life there and I am still head over heels in love with it. Actually, probably its not Goa, its the sea, the beach, the sand, the waves, the sun, the stars, the wind and all of it together with friends which makes me go week in my knees. Recreate this setting anywhere and I will be as satisfied as a well-fed puppy. Oh, and this reminds me what I really intended to write about. Most All of my MBA friends would have read about the famous Maslow's theory of needs and all most wouldn't remember it, not all the stages at least. Frankly, even I didn't. But now I have read about it in-depth. And you'll ask me why especially since BS is the least read/remembered/bothered about course in the whole of MBA.I'll tell you why 

Lets rewind to last week.

Place: Vagator Beach (the secluded part)

Time: Twilight. Just post sunset

Date: Don't really care

Scene: The wind was blowing hard and ruthlessly. The tides in the sea were so haphazard it felt like it was playfully teasing me and following wherever I went. The sun had left the scene, leaving behind a sky so pink, you'd wonder if God was gay. The stars were already all over the sky. And, of course, how could I forget the cashew-like moon glowing proudly as if it had reclaimed its kingdom back from the sun. (Fyi: Cashew's a Goan specialty, if you didn't know already). The sand was blowing in all directions, a thin film was deposited on our bodies. I apologize for going too much into detail and hence taking time to come to the point, but trust me, its essential. Unless you can feel even a bit like how I felt that day, you will not be able to appreciate my new found respect in theories far left behind. I forgot to mention my second love - my music (First love being beaches if it isn't so clear yet) We were an assortment of five friends; and I say assortment because each one of us is so very different and were especially in a very different thought sphere. In the midst of all this, I felt like I am the most satisfied person on earth. No worry in the world. In fact, I remember my mind was clear, empty, devoid of any thought or feeling, when I was walking along the shoreline with my phone and just one line playing repeatedly on my mind - Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. (Yellow by Coldplay). This is surprising because it rarely happens with me. I am a thinker, I cannot stop thinking no matter how hard I try. I find it difficult to sleep immediately as I lie on my bed however tired I am, since my brain doesn't just let me! Anyway, so as learned men say, I was in a state of meditation. That's when I remembered the self-actualization stage - the fifth stage in the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. (Yes, I eventually started thinking) I couldn't feel hunger or cold (though I should have!) I did not feel scared of the waves. I did not bother how late it had  become. Moreover I did not care, what xyz thought about me or what my friends were upto. It was all pointless. I just wanted to be with me. Do nothing. This was self-actualization state for me. Or possibly a step ahead, if there's  even something above that! 

Maslow says, only when your needs in the earlier stages, namely, physiological,  safety, belonging, esteem are met, you can reach the last stage of self-actualization. It surely didn't go that way for me. It can be argued that none of these things, I was in dire need of. I had had a meal sometime in the morning, I was wearing clothes, not enough to guard me well but surely I wasn't shivering in cold. I did not care about people, because they were my friends and hence I could feel the way I felt. But, there have been numerous saints in our Indian history who have been able to rise over all this. So its not impossible. Maybe there's more to it than the theory so simply narrated to us.

Even though it seems like, I am confused, I am actually happy about the fact that yes, its possible to rise beyond certain things or people and feel absolutely light even when there are thousand problems around you. :)

PS: Do listen to Yellow - Coldplay. Its soothing.