7 Common Things That Have Gone Obsolete In Today's Times

I wrote about the advancement of technology that has transformed our every day life. But with the coming of the new, the old stuff has also phased out. New apps and new technology has taken the place of the old that we were used to. Even our habits and the way we think has changed. 

Today, let's look at a few things that have become obsolete. Since I started with Google yesterday, lets start with that:

1. Paper maps

With google map being at the tip of our hands, there are no paper maps anymore. In fact, without the app pointing the right direction to go in, I wouldn't even know how to use a physical map. How do I figure out where I am and which way do I need to go in. The live power of google maps has outdated physical maps. One doesn't need one in a new city. You carry your map with you in your own phone - to any city in the world. 

2. Landlines

Phones attached to the wall should seem so odd to entire generations that were born in this century. You had to leave your phones at home when you go out? Well! that was the reality. In fact I have also seen a time when there was no landline at home at all. There was no way to talk to friends or give them information of any kind in between school days. I remember not getting info about sudden holidays that the school had declared. 

This is a huge difference from the present time when we literally have Whatsapp groups that we are a part of everyday and every single piece of information is broadcast and accessed on a minute to minute basis. There are not just messages and information, but you can ask questions, initiate discussions. We live in a world of hyper connectivity. We aren't connected only a a time that we need information. But we are inundated by information at all hours of the day! 

It's a far away cry from a time when landline was the only option, our calls monitored based on the monthly bill that arrived. 

3. Bank visits

Internet banking is the blessing that has made visiting the bank obsolete. You can do most of your functions from the site online. There is really no need to visit the bank for all the basic things we need from our account. 

There was a time when going to the bank personally was the only way to get anything done. However, I still make physical visits to a particular national bank. But that can be solves if I make the effort to activate internet banking for that account. But personal visits to the bank are largely not required in today's times. And thank God for that! 

4. Dictionary

Although I have a dictionary and 2 different thesaurus, I don't remember the last time I looked up a word in them. They are so big, fat and heavy that it'd be a chore to use them now. Whenever there is a need to look up a word, one just reaches for the very convenient google search at the end of our thumbs on our phones. Like I mentioned yesterday, Google is the blessing that has answers to every thing - even words and meanings that we do not know of. Usages, synonyms, antonyms - you got it! 

Online dictionary is such an easy way to build one's language as opposed to hauling the big fat thing in olden days because that is the only thing that could give you meanings of words. 

How convenient and fun! 

5. Film and even digital Cameras 

This one is ironic because one form of it is obsolete but another is so ubiquitous that whole generations cannot live without it. Cameras used to be a big innovation at one point. The ability to capture moments for posterity? Bring it on. It used to be such a special thing. We were willing to wait for days so that the film on the camera could be developed just for the happiness of seeing the moments captures on our cameras.

There used to be photo studios for families like ours that did not own a camera. We could go there and get special moments captured. The families that owned a camera were definitely more sophisticated that the ones that did not have one. 

Thanks to cell phones, every one with a phone has a camera -  which is actually pretty much every one. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the camera on a phone is one of the innovations that transformed so many aspects of our culture. Platforms like Instagram exist solely for the photos that our cameras take as we go through life. Everything is "instagrammable", every thing needs to be documented. And thats a whole social, cultural phenomenon that has transformed the way we perceive life around us. 

6. CDs

This is something that became obsolete as I was using them. I actually had a CD slot in my laptop till recently. I thought CDs were a great way to store things that I do not wish to lose. But apparently not. CDs go bad and then obsolete, apparently. I am glad that I did not store all my old photos on them or where would I play it now when my laptop has no CD player at all. 

If floppy disks seem old generation, so are CDs now. Needless to mention, so are discman devices (Remember there used to be a walkman for cassette players? What's a cassette you ask? Never mind darling! That's alright!)

7. Phone books 

Yeah! Physical books that one had to manually write every one's contact details in - and addresses. Because snail mail was the only way to send physical information like invitations and letters to people. That was cheaper and the only means to fit in more information than an expensive phone call. There were alphabetised pages so it wasn't a total mayhem in there. One could easily locate contacts by the first alphabet of the person you are looking for. 

There are a few still lying around in my house. I don't have any though. I guess I had a cell phone fairly early - late by today's standards - but a few years into have a job was early enough for me. So all the contacts went into the cell phone and then was transferred cell to cell.

What are some other things that come to your mind? 

7 Technical Innovations We Cannot Live Without

The advancement in technology has been so rapid in the last decade of so that adult life seems impossible without so many things. I am a millennial from the landline era, for crying out loud. But still I cannot think of life without a few technological innovations. They are not so new, yet life unimaginable without them. Now, I wonder how did I even live my life without these virtual contraptions. 

1. Google maps

Life before Google maps was not knowing the route to the airport despite having gone there so frequently. A new city and my GPS challenged mind ensured that I hardly had any idea how to get to the airport. If the taxi guy did not know, I was as good as screwed. I only vaguely knew the turns. 

But now, the first thing that comes to mind is Google maps. the first thing I do now when I come across something new is to look it up on Google maps. The traffic, the route, the distance can be mapped in a matter of seconds. How did I even travel without availability of my co-ordinates at the tip of my fingers!!

2. Google Search

I have lost count of the number of times in a day, yeah! a day, I open google to look up something. This is a magical genie that knows about every thing. There is no information that is not at the tip of my fingers. All questions can be answered and doubts cleared using this one service. Books, places, people, restaurants are my most common searches - in that order. And it never disappoints! 

If I had this during my college, studying would have been so much easier. All the info right there to be read and saved, No endless photocopying and saving all that physical material to study for the exams. What a revolution! Although my college time missed this innovation, the rest of my life is not too late to Google about. Another thing I cannot imagine my life without. 

3. Taxi services

Standing in the rain for hours trying to get an auto is my memory before Olas and Ubers became an ubiquitous part of our lives. In fact, when I was training for a leading bank, travel was my biggest challenge. It seems anachronistic to say this was a time when Ola and Uber were not invented. 

And now, I know that long distance travel can be comfortably done in a cab using Google maps so I stick to the right route! What a luxury. At least the availability of this option assures that I never will have to struggle for a ride. Except when one needs a cab to the airport and is short of time!! 

4. Google Pay

This is the most recent entry into my life. I resisted this one for the longest time since I did not want to leave online trails of my bank account. And I wish I had let it stay that way so I wouldn't get duped online through my own Gpay! *Eye roll* But this is an easier way to pay online without having to use credit cards. I have come to be comfortable with this method with passing time. It's at least one of the easier ways to make payments straight from the bank account. 

5. Online grocery shopping

Gone are the days when we carried cloth bags to the vegetable market - ironically I carried one to the market just last week to buy fruits - but then this is not the only way to but vegetables and groceries. Thanks to the pandemic, online grocery shopping has become common place in every household. This is one thing that I am thankful for instead og having to lug bags into a rickshaw and lugging hem up to the house. I have hated that kind of grocery shopping forever. 

Online shopping is so much easier and convenient. I just need to click things into the cart. No stepping out or lugging things up and about. And this method of shopping has only gotten better with time. Earlier one had to wait an hour. But with multiple services promising 10-minute services, there is hardly any wait between ordering and the stuff being delivered. I think the marvel that technology is is finally here at our door steps. 

6. Zoom/video conferencing 

Another thing that the pandemic has made ubiquitous in our lives. I am always surprised to think that I do not have to step out to work. There are no geographical boundaries for my clients. 

Earlier, no one wanted to work together unless it was the same city. The idea of virtual meetings was alien and people were not open to them. But now, despite the world having opened, we pass around virtual meeting links to get our work done. Fast and effective, this is one gift of technology which has truly revolutionised the work world for good. 

For an entrepreneur like me, I can sit at home and work with anyone in the world. The sky is literally the limit while looking for clients. 

I do miss the physical interaction the int higher frequency of offline events. But real work does get dome through Zoom and equivalent platforms. And that's a great thing. 

7. AI/ChatGPT 

The power of AI is unveiling right before our eyes. I no longer need to google things and look for links that night give me the info I need. ChatGPT is the new genie that just spouts the info I need. This takes Seek and you shall find" to a whole literal level. From 200 calorie meal plan to the content for your landing page, there is no command that AI cannot carry out. Although humans will be required to write the prompts, the power of AI to do enormous amount of work for us in no time is a true testimony to what all technology can do for us. It's a new milestone in how many can manipulate the machine to do our bidding.  

Where AI will take us and where its limit is, only time can tell. But write now we can ride the power wave of this new fangled innovation at our finger tips that can do anything for us. 

What else comes to your mind when you think of technology you cannot live without? 

How to keep your new year resolutions

1st of December! Exactly a month to go for the new year. I stopped believing in resolutions years ago. And Jan seems like a precarious time to start something new. Too much at stake in terms of expectations. And we do falter no matter what. I think if i just continue with the quiet and happy life I have right now, I'll be good. 

If you are looking at doing certain things differently, here are a few tips

Make a list of things you'd like to do/change/start: Trust me! This is going to be a long list. While we are at it, we want to turn into a new leaf and then some. So many things make it to that list. don't hold back. go ahead and jot down everything that comes to mind. Carry the list around for a day or two, if you wish. 

Once you have that list, pare it down. Try really hard to choose 3 things. The most important 3 things. It could be health and fitness (the most common one), upskilling, more work life balance. Stuff that you really need to work on but it never gets done. 

Pare it further down to one. Just one. One that you'll begin the new year with. The one you'll work on for the rest of the month. As the saying goes - Well begun is half done. And you will need planning for that. 

Well! What will you do the rest of the month? Say, your goal is health and fitness - since that's the most common one. There are so many decisions to go through. Even if you already have a gym membership - figuring the way you'll work out will be no. 1, if you don't - what's the kind of fitness routine will you follow. Start with cardio and build strength into it? Do you have the resources to do that? What kind of dietary changes can you easily make? What time suits you the best? Notice your everyday routine in the light of the plan that you have made. Can you sustain the plan you have in mind? How should you tweak it to increase the success rate of your plans? 

Similarly, if you wish to learn a new skill, it's not a goal until you nail down the specifics. There are so may courses out there. Even if you have a few in mind, which one will you be doing? What part of the day will be set for your course work. What are some of the things that you can do to ensure the maximum success of your endeavour? 

Your goals may not be as big as losing weight or upskilling. Altering habits can be goals that may not require a lot of planning but they need conscious change in the way we live. 

One technique that comes to mind is habit stacking. One can benefit from this even when you set out to achieve bigger goals. You may want to be a more organised person instead of someone who spends all weekend clearing out the weekly clutter. Taking a page from Marie Kondo's book - cz the book is too impractical - learn to put things in their place as you go along. Shoes and bags, keys and receipts, jackets and books. It'll take you some will power initially until it becomes a habit. 

You may want to start making healthy choices to aid your goal of weight loss. Start by changing your shopping list. Ensure you have good choices in your fridge in order to make them. Stack soy milk instead of high sugar fruit juice. Stop buying cookies and stock fruits instead. Carry nuts and dry fruits to make healthy snacking easier. When those hunger pangs hit, you don't want to be stuck with nothing but stale sandwich from your canteen. Plan ahead. These simple things can actually help you achieve your larger goals. 

Goals are not achieved not by fluke. There is a lot of planning that happens. By deferring all the planning to the end of this month, we are setting ourselves up for failure. The good thing about this wake up call is that you will be a lot more prepared to be gun for success in your goals. 

What are some of the goals you'd like to plan for in 2025? 

Movies made on books

Movies based on books are a whole different genre. Since they are inspired from books, they should be true to the original material in terms of details and the plot. But most of the times they aren't. Harry Potter series is the only one that comes to mind that stuck faithfully to the original. 

It took me a while to reconcile why the movies based on books are different from the original. I still don't agree with changing fundamental details of the plot (Like the ending of The Idea of You was changed in the film) but I can see why some things are changed. First of all, books and movies are two different genres and are perceived differently. The story, while great in essence and idea, may not translate exactly on screen to be entertaining. We expect different things from a book and a movie. We are in different frames of mind when we consume each form of media. And I think that is one of the main reasons why books cannot be translated exactly on screen. 

Also, books are better for story and character development because they are not restricted in scope, mostly. While all books are not War and Peace length books, most have the freedom to be long enough to sufficiently go into the background of the story. To paint a picture and describe feelings. To take us on an imaginary joyride with as many pages as it takes to do that. Movies have time limit and hence it's hard for them to be as rich and detailed as books. Plus, like I said, movies don't have the luxury to spend time backgrounds etc. The makers have to be clever about which parts of the story to take while keeping the audience interested and how to cleverly introduce parts of the book so that we know what motivates the characters to do what they do. 

I am not sure about this but another reason why books don't convert loyally to movies could be copyright issues. Most books are said to be based on or inspired from to relinquish any claim of copying some author's work. Like when they change dialogues or how the scene goes on screen compared to the book. I don't know if that's creative liberty or the fact that they don't want authors claiming that their work was copied. 

The parts of the story are chosen based on what might become an interesting film worth watching. For instance, Red, White And Royal Blue, as a book is quite long. It. has a whole romantic track and whole political track. The book on screen would be double the duration that it is now. Maybe longer. However, in the interest of keeping it more interesting, the makers have picked up the romantic track and left out most of the political part of the book. The story of 2 men in love - that too 2 powerful men who are famous across the world - is a great plot for a movie. While the book has a lot of additional characters to build a wholesome fictional world, the movie does not have that scope and liberty. 

My biggest gripe is when they change the story beyond recognition - for example Confessions of a Shopaholic. Had this been even remotely faithful to the book, I'd watch it over and over again. And this franchise of movies could have the potential of becoming classic movies that brought in the moolah too. But the first one is so badly made that I am glad and not surprised that no one made more movies in the shopaholic series. The makers should be sued for even suing the same title. 

The reason why I thought of this topic is because I watched the film, It ends with us, today. I wrote the book review a few days ago. While the book is great and has all the time to follow the train of thought of a victim of domestic abuse, the movie is slow and not as impactful. If someone hasn't read they book, they may have a hard time connecting some dots. 

In fact it probably has about 40% of the original material. The pace is slow and the depth of the book is missing. There is whole build up the abuse and the separation in the book. there are solid reasons why she chooses to ask for a divorce. even though the pace is slow, not enough time is spent in the film on that build up. Atlas is introduced too soon. The book has fantastic one liners about how relationships change in seconds. The movie is missing that connect. 

When there is a book and a movie, I choose to read the book first. And since I understand that the 2 genres are different and that's why I can digest the ending of The Idea of You. While the book ends with Hayes and Selene breaking up, the movies goes 5 years forward and reunites them. They have also changed the age of the characters to better translate it on screen. 

There are also times when I came across the movie/series before I read the book or knew it was based on a book. I have realised that going back to read the book doesn't really work. I tried to so that for The Devil Wears Prada and Chesapeake Shores. the parts of the book that are not in the movie seems jarring. It feels like the book isn't doing justice to the film although it is not supposed to. But the human mind is an interesting thing. We can't un-see/unread what we already know and that becomes the primary material in the mind. 

What do you prefer to do - read a book or just watch the movie instead? How do you reconcile the changes that happen when one is translated into the other? Do you have any favourites?

The Guilt Of Working Women

I was watching The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon along with Steve Carell and others. I heard about this show during Emmy awards and always wanted to check it out. Things get heavy right from the start when the co-host of The Morning Show - the show on the show - is fired for being a sexual predator. Battle lines are drawn around Me too and it's got the works. 

One of the co-anchors is Jennifer Aniston - Alex Levy on the show - and there's a whole lot of politics around her personal life too. As a career- woman who is up at 3.30 to make it to the show on time after hair and make-up, she has had to make personal sacrifices. What stood out for me - and made me write this post - is the way she is blamed for her divorce, for putting her career first and how is America going to take it. Worse, her daughter also blames her for the state of her marriage. Her PR manager tell her that it is not a good time to get divorced since it could be related to the firing of her co-anchor. She won't be looked at favourably for getting divorced. 

I just love the scene where Alex goes to make up with her daughter and loses it. There is so much of truth is what she says. A woman has to work really hard to get to where she is. She deserves the success and the happiness that comes with it. But as a mother, she has also given her all to her daughter. She has played both roles as well as she could and yet blamed for it all. She tell her daughter that she might be progressive but she is still judging her mom for having a career. When she goes out to build one for herself, she'll realise how hard things are. 

This got me thinking. Another such scenario that comes to mind is The Devil Wears Prada. Miranda is super successful while her marital affairs are not that ship shape. And she finds herself in tears in the middle of a fashion convention because the press will blame her for the divorce - and her daughters don't deserve it. That's the price she has to pay for being a successful career woman, to be passionate about her job and pursue excellence in what she does. 

The Devil Wears Prada was made in 2006. The Morning Show, in 2019. But I don't think things changed much for women. They are still the victims of societal prejudice for being successful, for daring to have a life other than running households. It's okay of she's busy from dawn to dusk doing stuff for everyone in the family but god forbid she dares to have a life outside!  

What's worse is when the same aforementioned family judges her for working doubly hard to raise children and make something of her life. I really felt for Alex when her teenage daughter put the whole blame on the mother. It is easy to judge as a bystander not realising the pressure on goes through in the male dominated media industry. And that's why I thought Alex's response was very fitting. There is a limit to mollycoddling because they are getting a divorce. Also, it's hard for a teenage to understand what goes on in a marriage. And 2 people are responsible for the success and failure of it. Blaming just the more popular and successful spouse, especially if she is a woman, is so wrong. 

I think it's not just about famous women. It's also about all women. Everyone is expected to put family first, as a woman. When the husband travels, that's his job. He needs to do it to run the house. That's his identity. No judgement. My husband travelled like crazy for 15 years of our marriage. That was okay with everyone. No questions asked. But if I stepped out for a meeting and something was needed at home, I wasn't putting my duties first. I am so glad that my husband was never one of the people who judged and that's why it works for us. We are equal in this relationship and both have our own jobs and interests. But I have seen first hand the way women with careers/other priorities are treated. And I am sad to say that the same attitude continues into the current century. 

It doesn't help that the biological burden of having a baby falls on women. It's a burden because she needs to put her career on hold - there's no way that the maternity break doesn't affect her chances at work. And this privilege of motherhood has turned into a burden because women are penalised for it. They can't go on with their lives after the baby is born. And there is double guilt for wanting and having a career- working really hard to make things work and still be discredited as a woman and a mother. 

Research shows that it'll take another 140 years for women to have same place of power and leadership at work as men. That's a long time - a few generations down the line. that too if more pandemics and Trump-as-president does not derail this progress. It's going to take even longer in that case (The world is already set back by 4 more years with Trump coming to power and God knows how many more years to undo the damage that he'll leave behind)

Let's just hope that the progress - even if it is slow- continues in towards equality. It's more about fighting the prejudices and expectations that people have towards and from women. We need to change our mindset one person at a time. Women have proven themselves to be equal partners in and outside home. We just need the world to acknowledge that and give us what's due to us. Even if it's not in our lifetime, hopefully in our grandchildren's lifetime! 

Reading update for 2024

I have read 52 books so far this year. Which seems like a lot but it's okay I guess. I was on a sabbatical so the rate of reading should have been faster. But brain fog screwed everything up. There were times when I could not make sense of the words on a page. Nothing to worry but non fiction has been a challenging genre to read this year. I have had even 2 sittings to finish one chapter. Whatever work because I ain't giving up reading. That's a part of my identity - I am a reader. (I am not so much interested in any other format of content consumption!)

I am currently reading 3 books in fiction, alternating between each. So it's slow but steady. So no complaints. 

Looking at the best books of the year so far: 

The idea of you by Robinne Lee (Fiction): I read this book twice this year. Once because I always read the book before watching the film. And again, a few months later, because I liked it. I also wrote a blog post wondering why Selene and Hayes couldn't be together after all! 

Eye Liner by Zahra Hankit (non fiction): A fascinating journey into the history of - you guessed it - the eye liner. From the South Indian dance form, Kathakali which uses eye make up to define the kind of character someone is to some African tribes where men use kohl and liner to appear attractive to their future mates. To the modern glamour brands that have repackaged this ancient tool of beauty to make it a part of every woman's kit (also used in queer circles by men)

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez (non fiction): As the title suggests, the book is about women being invisible in every major study, product testing, drug trials because the world is male and everything that happens has a male bias to it. It was so depressing to read it beyind a point that I am yet to finish the last part. Depsite how far we seem to have come, women are missing from studies as recent as 2016. There is no data collected about them hence there is no way to make life better for them! 

Grit by Angela Duckworth (Non-fiction): This was the most eye- opening book of the year. While there are tons of books on emotions, intelligence and habits, grit is rarely spoken about. The book gives us an insight into what grit is and how and why it is so important for success in life. Even this is probably the only pioneering book on the topic, research is still on. Grit is the ability to stick to something for a really long time without giving up. That needs a lot of strength and consistency. Teaching children grit is especially challenging. Take the grit quiz and see where you on the grit scale. 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Fiction): I read this as part of my read-a-fat-book-a-month project. (I gave up after 2 months since it was getting too much to handle) It's not page turner, as most award winning books tend to be. It's about a painting called The Goldfinch and the impact it has on the protagonist's life. I'm still not sure why the painting was with him all his life but then I guess the award was given to the book for creating this rich tapestry of life in it's era, spanning the time of the protagonist's life. 

Paradox of choice by Barry Schwartz (Non fiction): I finally read it this year after having it on my list for years. The paradox is simply that the more choice you have the harder it becomes for us to choose. The book feels slow after a point because it covers choice in such a wide variety of areas and fields. With the brain fog, it was a challenge to keep through the chapters. 

Mindset by Carol Dweck: Another path breaking and pioneering book in its field - and on my list for a long time. This book simply is about the fixed and growth mindset and covers its impact on various fields and aspects of our life. This one is as detailed on the topic as choice one is on its. But it was fascinating to read how growth mindset - the belief that working hard on something can help you get better as opposed to the belief that we are born with fixed capabilities - leads to success in the ling term.

Right now I am back on the CoHo horse with It Ends With Us and it's sequel. I am also back on the Taylor Jenkins ride after Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo last year. 

Did not finish

This year also saw unprecedented number of DNFs. Maybe with growing age I do not believe in sticking to a book that I positively don't like. And I don't mind abandoning it mid way. Some of the books include Sylvia Plath's only novel, The Bell Jar (too bleak with mental health triggers), Confessions of a 40-something F*** up by Alexandra Potter (too cliche), The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston (too slow), How to argue with a cat by Jay Heinrichs (made no sense to have a cat in it!) There is still hope that I might go back and finish some of them but they are DNFs for this year. 

Fan fiction 

This is a new genre that I discovered this year. When I heard about fanfics the first time after the Fifty shades popularity, I was like why would I want to read what the readers have written. But as with YR that made me try different things to stay connected to the series, fanfics was another thing that I tried. And boy! Was I surprised and still am! Initially I wondered how one could imagine the characters in non canon AUs and still have it credible. But...but the ones I have read have been so well written that I am surprised none of these are published writers! I have read book length fanfics and promptly added them to my books list. What counts as reading is an evolving concept and anything book length - like ebooks or audio books (or fanfics) - has to count as a book. For now, I can't have enough of the genre. They are well written, easy to read and my brain fog addled mind loves reading them just to have something to read! 

There are 2 more months to go and let's see how that pans out. I've already mentioned a few books that are lined up. Maybe I'll be back with a year end update with my most favourite fic and non-fic books. 

What I Learnt From Writing Everyday

What I learnt from writing 21984 words in a month. Correction: Tried to write everyday. 

First of all, why did I want to write - and specifically a thousand words? I have always missed my blogging days when I wrote on everything under the sun. But when I jumped full time into work blogging in 2014, writing for personal reasons took a back seat. And got totally phased out from 2018 when all my content became about work. I really missed blogging/writing about life, for life and not just work. Writing for myself in my words and not dumb it down for the online reading habits of the readers. I don't care if anyone reads it or not. Just the joy if writing it is enough. 

Plus don't they say, if you want to get better at something, you need to work on it. This is my way of working on my craft of writing. I may feel like my writing is crap at the beginning but I am sure it'll get better and more comfortable as I write. Like I couldn't even do a sit up at some point, but sticking through the bad times gets me complete a whole 10 min ab routine now. I am hoping the same results for my writing. I want to be able to write well professionally and not just work related swill that I am forced to write most of the times. I have other things to talk about too. 

I chose to write 1000 words because 500 seemed too less and what's a goal unless it's challenging! And I think 1000 words turned out to be perfect because that gives enough room to properly deal with a topic. 500 would be too less. So I am glad I chose the more challenging number to motivate myself to get back to writing. 

Discipline

One of the hardest things to develop is the discipline of writing every day. I thought I'll begin my day at 12, getting on my work desk and hacking out the writing for the day. But since my sabbatical, I haven't had the discipline to get to work and open my laptop. So that hasn't happened. In fact, I remember it only after I have worked out for the day and it becomes the last activity before dinner. 

It works because I have that free spot between my workout and serving dinner. Although there is just enough time to hack out 1000 words. Which is good because it leaves no scope for distractions. So the moral is, like working out, I need to set a time for writing and make it sacrosanct. When something needs to get done on a daily basis, the best thing is to put a reminder for the same time and get it done to ensure it doesn't skip my mind like it did most days (and that's why it got done in the last available slot of the day) 

Ideas

The only thing harder than getting into the discipline of writing every day is the problem of ideas - what to write. I did start making a list of ideas when I thought os starting this challenge, but there weren't many to begin with. Another way to come up with ideas is to read a lot - apart from books, I haven't been great at eclectic reading - another thing that I am trying to change. By reading articles on Medium and learning to go down the rabbit hole on the platform. 

I’d pull something out of my every day life (or see the list of ideas I jotted) and it worked most of the times. Sometimes I hit a 1000 words without even trying, other days I couldn't go beyond 900+ something. But that's okay. The idea was to write quality and not just add words with no meaning just to reach the word limit. 

The tally

I managed 21/31 days and 10 days seems like a lot to miss on a daily challenge. But I don’t know if this is good or bad because I’m not competing or comparing myself with any others. I wanted this to be a fun journey so I didn’t force myself on the days I skipped for lack of ideas. But the days I forgot can be planned better since that just shows that writing has still not become a part of my daily routine. But then it's a new month and yet another opportunity to do things better. 

The experience 

It's been lovely to write about stuff that's not work related. The freedom I felt in my writing when I started the sabbatical is back. I have thoughts and ideas apart from just work. And that's exactly why I wanted to express through this project. It was great to reach the word limit most of the times, without much effort. I didn’t even know I had so many things to say on the topic. At other times, I couldn't hit 1000 and I knew I wouldn't. But it was great to be able to talk about myriad topics. To use words that describe life and perspectives around it. Talk about my identity and the evolution of it. 

It feels like how I described it it to someone - like my heart hardened by number and sales projections had melted with creativity, relearning the language of a non-entrepreneur. 

While it is still an uphill task to come up with topics and hack out 1000 words every day, I am sure sticking to it till it becomes a habit and the habit becomes second nature will make ie easier. The complementary habit that I need to develop is to read regularly. That's a great way to come up with ideas to write on. One step at a time, I guess!

The goal for this month is also to start polishing some of these pieces and post them on my new account on Medium. Build a new presence there that reflects my current self. Follow me there? I'll keep you updated!