3 Important Lessons From 2020

Kedarkantha Peak

On 31st December 2019, I was in the Himalayas, 12000 ft above sea level, making new plans for 2020 with people I met a week ago. We were all pumped as we just summit the peak and felt invincible. With the start of a new decade just a few days away, we set audacious goals while taking heat from the bonfire. We knew 2020 is going to be different and a turning point in our lives but little did we know what life had planned for us.

Here I am, a year from then, realizing that 2020 is not the year I wanted, but the one I needed. If you guys find that line familiar, I took it from Batman :)

Despite successfully failing to meet most of my goals, I could not be more proud of myself than I am today. Here’s why -

I manage my time way better today

With work-from-home and a nation-wide lockdown, I thought I would be saving several hours a day but to my surprise, every day just flew. I did not realize till a month passed by. I did not do anything different than what I did Pre-COVID, except for traveling long hours to work. To learn how I spent my day, I started taking notes. After a week I realized that everyday I slept for an hour longer, ate every meal for an hour, spent twice the time on Netflix, and worked several hours longer. There was no routine.

I became conscious of my time and made a timetable. I started dividing my day into hourly slots and made sure I stuck with it. Within a week, I could see a great difference. I now had so much time left that I did not know what to do. This was a better problem to have!

I am more conscious about my health

Thanks to COVID, there were several changes I had to make. One immediate, overnight change was to wash my hands often. But I failed to make changes to my lifestyle. My food intake had more than doubled as I kept finishing one series after another on Netflix. I barely exercised or stepped out and my circadian rhythm was all messed up. Within no time, I had gained 15 pounds. This was the highest I had ever weighed. It was not because I was not eating healthy but because I ate more than what was required. Albeit, my mother was very happy. :)

To fix this, I made a few changes. First, I started cycling. I kinda went all in for a few weeks. It was overkill and I injured my knee. I now just brisk walk. Not happy with the progress, I decided to fix my diet but I could not keep myself away from desserts. So I started intermitting fasting. This did not restrict me from my favorite dishes but still kept my weight in check. Consistency was the key. I tried several mobile apps that helped me track my fast and finally settled with Fastic. And third, I try to go to bed at the same time every day, at any cost so that the next day’s plan is intact. Today, I am back to where I was, and even better.

I make new habits and stick to them

With so much time in hand, I had the chance to learn something new every day. I inculcated several habits that I always thought about but never executed. Some of them are —

1. Read every day for 45 minutes, a task that seemed impossible for the last 20 years.
2. I meditate every morning after which I write down daily tasks and review them before going to sleep.
3. I fixed my spending habits. This alone got me way closer to my financial goals.
4. I spend 30 minutes every day, just by myself, doing nothing. This has helped me introspect and mold a lot of my choices and beliefs.
5. I made a conscious effort to work only during the office hours. This is by far the most difficult habit to stick to and I have not perfected it yet.

While experimenting with all these changes towards becoming a better person, I realized that to make big changes in life, I need to be input-oriented and not, output-oriented.

So this time, my 2021 goals will be like this —

1. Study 2 hours every day vs get an admit from a top B-School
2. Read 25 pages every day vs read 15 books by next year
3. Write every weekend vs write 50 articles by next year
4. Exercise 4 days a week vs lose x pounds by next year

(Small and incremental changes every week) x (52 weeks) is equal to an unimaginable change. There is always going to be several challenges that needs more work but once you start and keep the momentum going, the force is with you :)

Now, this year is coming to an end and I am grateful for everything I have today. I am more confident about 2021 and I hope you guys are too!

P.S This is my first article on Medium — One of the habits I’m working on. Feedback is appreciated.