Beyond #WFH is our initiative to spread positivity and inspire our readers by inviting leaders and friends to share what they do to unwind and relax after they finish their work-from-home and work-for-home responsibilities during the lockdown.
While Covid-19 has had multiple impacts on business and Beyond #WFH is not about business, it’s about self-discovery, things that will give us the strength to get through the lockdown and more importantly for those ‘moments’ that will stay with us for long and beyond this pandemic. PS: We are not talking business!
In this story of Beyond #WFH we bring to you, Kumar Deb Sinha, Executive Vice President, Dentsu Aegis Network and Country Head, The Story Lab India.
Lockdown posed a lot of challenges disrupting our daily life, our freedom of movement and access to things & people. However, it gave us opportunities to reprioritize.
For me, the most important changes have been reading, a few healthy habits & connecting with the people who I value the most.
I have always been a voracious reader, but with less and less time on hand, I had started accumulating books rather than reading them. At the back of my mind, I always pacified myself, that someday I will read all of them. May be my retirement plan. After overcoming the initial shock of lockdown, I have hit my books with a vengeance now. Also, I have found a unique way of combining health & books. Considering that my movement is limited to my own space (flat) only, I have started getting used to the habit of listening to audio books while walking in my living room. In the process I have converted an extremely monotonous activity (going round and round for hours in one room) into a deeply engaging activity of immersing myself into the world of an author and his creation. And I have been successful in completing three books till now, while developing the habit of walking 15000 steps a day. So, I am hopeful post lockdown I will emerge with an enriched mind and tired legs.
The second habit which we have built is “game nights” with my 7-year-old daughter. We have dedicated “Uno Nights” where we play few rounds before, we call it a night. And while she is otherwise a very shy & a soft-spoken child, through our game nights I have seen the super-competitive & “win at any cost” side of hers. So a simple card game involves histrionics, sledging and intimidation from both sides with an amused mother enjoying the show.
Finally, while lockdown and the pandemic have confined us to smaller spaces with limited access to the outside world, technology has opened the world to us and with more time we have started connecting with people we love. For me it has been “Friday Evening” quiz with my best friends & family. Unfortunately, we are spread all over the world today, and meeting up physically is very difficult. But we have dedicated an evening every week, where each one of us connect on Google Hangout and play live quiz (with one of us acting as the quiz master). Its competitive yet peppered with laughter & bonding which we have missed over the years. And yes, we end up knowing a lot of new things about the world and about each other.
While I am looking forward to regaining my normal life, but I am hoping some of the habits built in covid world continues in the post-covid world as well.
Wishing everyone to be safe & strong & at home exploring newer habits to engage with one’s own self.
My bookshelf from Audible & Storytel (the two apps) which I follow for audiobooks
