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, the data king of Denstu Aegis Network, Gautam Mehra, Chief Data Officer (South Asia) & CEO of Programmatic.
Let me start off by saying that, this is probably the hardest time in a way for millions of our fellow humans across the world. While, we all feel for the ones and their loved ones, who are in battle with the virus or haven’t made it through, I think a lot of us also need to find ways to keep ourselves happy and healthy, so that collectively as a human race, we come out victorious!
Having said that, I am maximizing my lockdown days at home. In spite of work taking up about 8-9 hours of my day, there is still plenty of time in a week to enjoy a number of things. Let me start with the smaller ones. I love coffee. Have over 15 blends of coffee from various parts of the world. So, I start my day with selecting a coffee that I want to have and spend some time in making it myself. It’s a great routine to kickstart the day. I had a green coffee that I had purchased in my last trip to Tokyo recently.
Then it’s time for some yoga. I’m teaching my wife a yoga routine that I used to follow for 15 years of my life while growing up. To be 100% honest though, I don’t do this daily, my wife is far more committed than I am on physical exercise, but when we do, it’s fun
Then, there are the games with kids. We play at least 1-2 hours of board games daily. Monopoly, Life and a game what our DAN agency developed (Play agency) are the top favourites. With all the board game fun, it’s time for me to balance it with some self-upgradation. Learning is like oxygen for me. I take out about 2 hours a day to study. I am doing four courses at the moment and have 4 more planned. I follow a proper schedule to ensure I am on track or ahead. Here is a screenshot of my weekly schedule.
I am loving all of them. They are a mix of things that I love around my field of expertise, then there are others that I am passionate about. I like to keep a healthy mix of them.
Some evenings are party evenings. We dial up our friends on Hangout/Zoom. We dial in from various parts of the world: Tokyo, Singapore, Delhi and many more. But we do more than talk. It’s almost like a real party. There is music, drinks and even dancing The other night, it was one of my dear friend’s birthday (brother from another mother) and we remembered our younger days of being up talking till the sun came up. So we decided to do just that. Our video call started at 7.30 pm India time and we did the call till 6.30 am SGT! That’s an 8 ½ call! But felt like time just flew.
I’m also brushing up on my bartending skills. I used to write tons of articles on the subject and used to host several cocktail parties at my earlier house. While, the house parties never stopped, I did reduce creating cocktails. But, I’m back now. Relearnt some and created some new ones as well. Here is a pic of one of them:
It’s got a mix of Pimms No. 1, Gin, Cointreau, a dash of soda & tonic and a few bitters. Normally should be loaded with ice, but I am avoiding ice at the moment.
Cooking is happening as well. Here are a few of the dishes, I made in the last 3 weeks. So all in all loads to do! I feel that we should plan for tomorrow but live for today. So, the lockdown is today and we have to make the most of the cards that have been dealt with us. I feel truly blessed that I can be at safe at my home with my loved ones and be able to do so many of the things I described above to be happy, but every night ends with a prayer for all those who aren’t as fortunate. May God bless us all to get through this collectively and with minimal impact to our brothers & sisters across the world.
