Thread by @D_Brat

Planning life after the lockdown - Sharing a template I am building for myself (Thank you @GershomHeadhunt for suggesting the topic).

Step 1 - Imagine life and how I want to live life
a. 5 years from now - I want to be on my own with a small portfolio of gigs. This is...

https://twitter.com/gershomheadhunt/status/1257172495863439361

...somewhat akin to this viewpoint of @charleshandy25 forbes.com/sites/victoria…

I am shifting gears from a sequential portfolio, I have worked in ~7 professions, to a simultaneous portfolio - allocating time across 4-5 pursuits.

Learning from COVID I want to stay away from things which require a lot of travel. Digital, virtual, remote, gig, project based etc fit in very well.

This opens up my choices of ‘where’. (Disclosure: I don’t own a house nor plan to. This has given me the ability to be a nomad)

I also don’t believe in ‘entertaining guests at home’. My philosophy - home is sacred, entertainment and socializing choices should be unlimited and in places designed for it. So going and living anywhere becomes feasible.

COVID will make living away from dense population cool

I am thinking of small peaceful hamlets with clean air, greenery, decent healthcare within 1 hour etc + broadband. For people with children, they will need to factor in schooling.

The kicker - This slashes my cost of living by over 60%. Thus also ‘minimum income reqd’

Detour: I live in a rented apartment in Worli, Mumbai. One of India’s more expensive real estate ear BDD Chawl & Worli Koliwada. During the lockdown my Pincode is not ‘deliverable’ by e-commerce companies. It’s a high rental, upmarket, containment zone. What an address.

Back....

Therefore, since my ‘min income required’ is now reduced, I have exciting options on ‘how to earn’. It opens up more opportunities. Eg. One of my recurring dreams is to setup a small ‘Bar & Cafe’ in Goa, specializing in Coffees, Cocktails & Conversations 😊
I love Goa.

This brings me back to my earlier reference to ‘Portfolio Career’.
COVID and the ‘startup age’ has taught us one simple reality - banking on one idea is a bad idea, agility to change directions requires a portfolio of ideas at various stages of maturity.

For the portfolio you could use a framework that is simply a 2x2 Matrix (Consulting teaches you one life skill - converting everything into a 2x2)

Here’s a draft of my choices that I am evaluating.

Finally, my principles #PostCOVID :

Health First, Family Second - If you are not living a stress free lifestyle with good physical & mental health then ‘I need to work hard for my family’ is the biggest bullshit propagated by trumpeters on this planet. Related next principle ...

Fiercely Protect Time - It won’t come back. Allocate 3 buckets every single day - Self, Loved ones, Work (in that order).

1. Self - Mental & Physical health; new experiences & skills... assume that you want to live for a year. This time is to help you stay alive.

2. Loved ones - Daily spend time with them in conversations, meals, appreciation and understanding their dreams. Make it matter...assume that you will not be alive tomorrow.

Neuroscience Detour - News media has created the ‘availability bias’ that the maximum people die ...

...due to old age, accidents, calamities, cancer etc. (Add #COVID19 to that list now). All abstract. In reality, the maximum deaths happen while people sleep. The heart just stops. Or there’s a stroke. Therefore, statistically, we all go to sleep every single night ...

...with the highest probability that we will not wake up to see another sunrise. Yet we have made plans for the next 30/40 years. We tell ourselves - “I will spend some time with my wife/child/friend/sibling/parent/love tomorrow or next week...”. NO! You are least likely to.

You may not see them after tonight. Love them fiercely today with all you have got.

Now the last segment of time allocation...
3. Work - Use the Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle. I have taken it to the other extreme and applied it to my phone (ask me if interested)

While allocating daily time to your work bucket assume that there is someone else who you can delegate it to and be an ‘empowering leader’. If you work for an organization also remember this...

Next principle...

Simplify but enrich your life - Covid taught me that every single furniture and decor in my rented apartment is useless if I am not allowing visitors to come home. My clothes are redundant (except for the shorts I use). Do I need any of these to survive? NO!

a. I need fresh & clean vegetables - best grown in a kitchen garden; b. I need basic groceries - available in the smallest kirana store; c. I need access to medication (maybe I will park beer as medication since Bombay requires a license for alcohol consumption).

Another simplification is avoiding air travel. I started it last year with a principle - I will take a flight every two months. As a consultant how did I manage? I put a premium to compulsion to travel by air - Reduce availability of dates when your calendar permits air travel;

Offer Skype/VC; Send someone else; but the most important one ... set goals of watching one movie with my wife everyday & have dinner with her.... doable only if I am not travelling. I committed to it by telling her and all our friends too so that my wife won’t let me off easy 😂

Final principle...

Know what you have - Sometimes we meander through life searching for stuff when we have it already. Neuroscience shows us how we are all slaves to dopamine (My #WhatIf series on will cover it next week). Knowing and acknowledging what

we have, is an urgent need. Our skills, our reciprocal relationships, our life experiences... the gratitude list is very long if you think of these images...

And to round it up I just wanted to leave you with this equation to consider:

COVID crisis is teaching us a valuable lesson of ‘What we really need’.

Time for us to reflect on ‘What we have’.

Once you have done that come and tell me if it gives you any new insights.

#WorkLife