The Year 2020: Surviving and Thriving During A Pandemic

What a year 2020 has been…I guess we are all glad it is over and done with. Hell, I will sure most of us have been praying for the year to come to an end. Gawd, I miss the airport, plane, traveling, shopping, socializing, and so many other things, and I can't wait for things to be normal again. 

 

Even so, for me, it was mostly a good year. While, of course, nobody can deny the impact of COVID-19 on our lives, I did several new things, and I am super confident that they will turn out well. Now, I outsource a significant part of my writing work, which means that my day looks very different from what it used to. My tasks now involve assigning articles to the writers in line with their expertise and skills, editing them, calls with clients, keeping track of various projects, and last but not least, working on my own content pieces. 

 

I have been outsourcing for several years now, but the scale of outsourcing is much more now, and I reckon it will go up in the year to come. It is easy to see why. I was unable to cope with work, and secondly, I wanted to work on some other projects—my own personal writing work, which had taken a backseat because of paid assignments. Lastly, COVID-19 played a role. With lockdown, the house tasks increased, and I was physically and mentally drained. In the circumstances, outsourcing was the logical thing to do. 

 

But of course, outsourcing comes with its issues. Identifying the writers who are not only skilled but also adhere to the deadline is a major challenge. 

 

The result of outsourcing was that I completed two e-books this year, which, to be honest, are not a significant revenue generator till but I am still happy I finished them because I had been working on them for some time. The third e-book will be launched soon and might be available for free on my new initiative, Power Up Freelancing, which was started to empower writers and freelancers with learning resources (both paid and free) to accelerate their growth. The focus is on the business-to-business (B2B) writers because of my own trade media legacy and also because most of the work that my firm, Deepworkz does, is b2b in nature. 

 

Further, I am also close to completing my first fiction work and have simultaneously started working on a second book on a topic close to my heart. I am also in the process of getting my company website, www.deepworkz.com, redone, and it will be used to have a much more dynamic online presence than what it has now. This again was on my mind for some time now, but COVID-19 pushed me to do things that were on the backburner, or I was just putting them off for no particular reason. 

 

So, yeah, 2020 led to major changes in my professional life. Several projects have set the ground for things to come in 2021. 

 

The year 2020 will always be the year of the COVID-19 pandemic for almost everybody across the globe. My loved ones and I were fortunate enough to be not directly affected by the hardships others had to endure. So, this was also a year of gratitude and counting our blessings. The lockdown was also the time for introspection and rethinking our lifestyle. Somehow it made me more spiritual, I found myself listening to religious stuff and reading self-help books. 

 

I am a Delhiite (can't say I am a proud one!) so, this year has been about protests and agitation. I am sorry to say that it has become a way of life for us. We live in Delhi, so we protest. Unfortunately, the city is becoming unlivable for several reasons, including the never-ending protests and pollution, among other things. Increasingly, I am becoming very disenchanted with the city. 

 

What will be 2021 all about? I hope to get back to traveling for sure...and if this doesn't happen, then I plan to spend at least a part of the year away from Delhi. 

 

On the professional front, I plan to work towards improving Deepworkz's profile as a content writing agency. Deepworkz has been growing steadily over the last few years, and it is time to take it to the next level. Power Up Freelancing will help us find top-notch writers in different domains. Even so, I am proud to say that both Deepworkz and Power Up Freelancing are extremely mindful of the writer's interests, and it will always remain so. 

 

Apart from this, I plan to complete both my books and start looking for the right way to publish them. I also plan to write more as a journalist because I have started to miss it. Let's see how it goes. 

 

Here's wishing everyone a wonderful new year!! Hoping and praying that 2021 will be better than 2020!

 

 

Being Hit By Empty Nest Syndrome

In the past, I had heard people talk about the vacuum in their lives once the kids went off to study or to follow their own path away from you. I knew it would affect me since my girl has been the center of my life since the time she was born. So, when it was time to drop the kid to her hostel for higher studies, I thought I had it all under control. My days are busy with work and my few friends would hopefully support me, I thought. But really, it is not about being busy or having friends...it just feels like somebody has punched you in the stomach and the wound refuses to heal. A perpetual ache to find out more about what your child is up to, has she had food, has slept or not...and so on. 

Mumbai...Kya Bola Jaye!!

Today is that one day in the year when my work for the day is over and done with. Also, am in Mumbai for the day, so no domestic chores to bother me. And yes the flight is also delayed. In other words, the situation is perfect to update the blog. :)

Mumbai does something to you...I just feel happier breathing the Mumbai air :D. To me, it is somewhat synonymous with being footloose, with doing whatever I fancy...it is mostly a break for me once the work part is over. Suffice to say, I love being in the city and just roaming with my backpack. The kind of confidence I feel in Mumbai is hardly ever likely to be experienced in Delhi.

Over the years, Mumbai has been an integral part of my growth as a person. I have done some very courageous and also weird things in Mumbai. The first night show ever was in Mumbai. The company I was earlier working for was based out of Mumbai and it was a huge part of my professional journey. Successfully delivering a presentation before the company management for the first time...happened in Mumbai. Years ago, the city gave me the courage to move out of a bad situation.

So even though I am not a big fan of living in the maximum city, I do admire and like the city for it openness and positive attitude. Love visiting amchi Mumbai, though the thought of moving base here gives me creeps.

Chaos, Pain, Grief And Transformation...

I might not write at all during most of the year on this blog but come December and I feel an unbearable urge to pen the travails and tribulations of the year gone by. And this year is no different. So, here I am at the fag end of the year to write about the good, bad and yes, ugly of the year gone by. 

It was a landmark year for me in many ways. A year of rising from the ashes, a year of transformation, a year of letting go but most of all it was a year of holding on and fighting with grit which even I didn't know I had. I can easily say that the transformation is so deep and complete that I am essentially not the same person at all. Thanks to tough times which started for me a little before demonetization last year, I am now a much better and a stronger person.

The change is visible in the way I make decisions now. Some events earlier this year ensured that now I have made a habit of putting myself at the center of any decision I take. Inherently, women (at least Indian women) are brought up to think and care about the entire world (kids, husband, family, log and maybe even neighbor's family as well!) and never about themselves and I guess I was no different. No longer. Maybe it is a mid-life crisis but I just do what I feel like doing now without bothering about what the entire world is going to think. The change is palpable and my family and sister have noticed it and they are mostly okay with it...well, mostly ;)

Professionally, it was a wonderful year. I did a number of things for the first time. I took on much more, collaborated much more, outsourced a part of work and overall increased my productivity and number of clients.

I have come to realize that God essentially prepares you for what lies ahead. A number of events in 2016 literally trained me for 2017. For some reason, an acquaintance decided to train me on a totally different genre of writing in 2016, which equipped me to do extensive work this year. This person would conduct exhaustive sessions after work hours. So many times I wondered and asked why? There is no logical explanation...especially when you consider that the training was so tough that I actually tried walking away from the entire initiative a number of times. I can join the dots now in December 2017 and am almost certain that this person was a godsend to prepare me so I was able to take on more work this year.

Reluctantly, I let go of some people who were no longer a positive influence in my life. It was tough but finally, there really was no option but to execute the inevitable. My tendency is to try to hold on but possibly for the first time in my life, I went against this and decided that the effort was just not worth it. I also realized that I was just postponing the inevitable... I have finally accepted that people will come and go and you just have to always ensure that you are surrounded by positive people who uplift you and not pull you down.

In the same vein, some people play such an important part in your life and then suddenly vanish. Unfortunately, this does happen quite a bit with me. Maybe there is something inherently wrong with me but ab aisa hi hai... I would like to acknowledge their contribution to my growth and would like to thank them. It is just the saddest thing that sometimes they vanish before you can say `thank you'....

In the end, a transformation is almost always accompanied by chaos, commotion, pain, and turmoil. So I cried much more than I laughed; I stared at death, suffered agony, grief, and despair before picking myself up. To say that it was a tough year is an understatement. But then a phoenix always rises from the ashes...

More Power To Senior Citizens...

Once in a while, you come across a person who makes a deep impact on you. While I have known this person for many years it is only now that he revealed certain aspects which totally changed my impression of him.

More than 70 years of age, he is a familiar and go-to-person for the tech journalists in Delhi if not the country. Over the years, he is one I run to understand complicated technologies, spectrum strategies of the different companies and so on. And I have never ever been turned away. A thorough gentleman, he always responds to the messages and phone calls, even when he is on a vacation. I can say without any doubt that he has guided and mentored a generation of telecom journalists, especially the ones who don't have a technical background and find themselves struggling with technology jargons.

While I have always admired his discipline and zeal to help, I had no idea that he gets up at 3 am every morning to manage around five startups he is involved in. Not just that he is also a prominent lobbyist in the telecom industry and has managed to pen three books in the last decade. Always smiling and ready to help, he and his wife also jog for 10 kilometers every single day without fail. I admire such people who control their lives so beautifully, who have decided to live with so much discipline.

I admire them because I just don't have the skill. My day is very chaotic most of the time. I would get up, check my emails and other assorted things like Twitter, FB for any worthwhile happening in the world. All this is even as I carry on with my morning work. I start my work around 9 am but it is very chaotic to be honest. The dhobi wala, akhbarwala, phone calls, bank work etc etc. keep on intruding during the day. The best time to write for me from 10 pm to 1 am...perfect with hardly any disturbances. I discovered this recently and now I am a night owl. Very rarely do I sleep before 1.30 am. The discipline habit is becoming better with age. I am now able to control my sweet tooth and can resist any sweet except chocolate... :D

But as I said I really admire people with discipline who stay focused even when the going gets tough. Even my dad will come in this category. I can safely say that he works much more than yours truly. The only difference is that he does what he enjoys. Dad is extremely driven even at his age and is obviously restless if he has to spend even three days at home. He travels extensively, both professionally and at a personal level.

This write-up is meandering now so I will take leave...more later. 

That Awkward Moment...

That awkward moment when your closest friend suddenly seems like a stranger and you end up making polite conversation!! 😢

2016: The Year That Was...

I am unable to classify 2016…not great enough to be called a good year and not horrible enough to be called a bad year. In the end it was just a so-so year, both professionally and personally.

Professionally, I did break into a few new companies and yes, I also started an online venture. Besides, I am also quiet close to starting something different soon. At the same time I cannot run away from a recurring phenomenon where I would be close to getting big business but in the end I don’t. It has happened too many times this year to be a coincidence. L I have trying to find out the reason for this but so far haven’t been able to conclusively figure out the why of it all.

Another trend, which is hard to ignore is that the journalistic work has come down dramatically this year. It is the corporate/agency work, which is forming a major chunk of my revenue now. In fact I can’t recall pitching any new publication this year…again not something to feel good about. I do like to do research-based stories but the problem is that they take up too much time and in the end they don’t pay as much. I can hardly recall stories I can legitimately be proud of.  

On the personal front, it was a watershed year for me. The year started with me living through the Mumbai nightmare. I have said it earlier on this blog and I will say it again, Mumbai just didn’t work for me. I hated it, my family hated and in the end we hated it enough to return back to polluted Delhi. It goes without saying but my work suffered in Mumbai and yes I am sure Starbucks Vashi is still missing me…lol.

But let me say it here that Delhi really has no redeeming feature actually. It is a pathetic city with bad infrastructure, horrible weather and cherry on the top of this sick cake is selfish people. The only thing is for us it is home and Mumbai just didn’t feel like one.

I also didn’t do many things I had planned at the start of the year. The best-laid plans never happened so in that way it wasn’t a good year. Besides, on friendships front, a few things just fell apart for really no rhyme or reason…it was a painful time but possibly it makes sense to just let go and move forward. The troubling part is I am becoming slightly cynical about forming any new friendships. Off late I am turning into a bit of a recluse...most of the time I just staying away from everybody (even old friends...) and try to use the time to think a few things through...doing Chintan if you will.   

Lets see what 2017 has in store for your truly...