Why 2020 was not a LOST year for me....

Without a shadow of a doubt, 2020 will go down in history as one of the most challenging years for us. From shattered social lives and mind-numbing lockdowns, to the loss of friends, family members and icons; each one of us has faced challenges we never could have imagined when we stepped into this year 12 long months ago.

My experience with this year has been no exception, from managing an overload of virtual meetings and work, to missing out on precious memories typically made with friends and loved ones on special occasions like our annual family trip to India / USA and, of course, battling through the road of recovery that came with my COVID-19 diagnosis. Each of these occurrences left me and my family utterly exhausted. Nevertheless, despite all that has happened this year, I would still like to put forth the view that this was not a lost year for me. On the contrary, I’d like to believe that I have learned more and emerged stronger than I could have ever imagined and if you please read on, I will share my discoveries and stories of betterment with you

1. Improved Health - It seems like a funny thing to say in the middle of a global pandemic; yet, it’s probably one of my most noticeable improvements. Throughout my career, I had lost an average of 2 hours each day due to work-related travel. However, during the lockdown, this previously wasted time suddenly became available, giving me the chance to create something I had been neglecting for a long time: a fitness routine. Flashing forward to the end of this year, I am extremely proud to say that I am able to set aside an hour for solely working out, 5 days a week. I have been following this habit for the last 8 months and have lost almost 10 pounds- needless to say, it feels great!!!

2. Getting back to learning and reading - We’ve all learned something new this year. Be it how to make the now-famous sourdough bread, or how to give our family members halfway presentable haircuts. My process of learning has been much of the same, especially because learning something new has always given me a lot of satisfaction. However, it was impossible to set time apart for sitting down and reading whilst also juggling a demanding job and never-ending travels. I believe this is part of the reason why this year has been so productive for me: I didn’t just make enough space in my schedule to complete an online executive course from MIT Sloan but I also got back to reading some great books, something that I had been longing to do for quite some time now. During this time I discovered that one way to get great reads is by using an app called Blinkist. This app opened up as a whole new world for me because although I love reading, exploring, and learning, I was never fond of reading through tediously long books. Blinkist gave me the opportunity to expand my horizons while only reading through 6 to 7 page long summaries for all sorts of books. Naturally, I was pleasantly surprised at how well this app worked: it gave me exactly what I wanted without the trouble of having to go through multiple cups of coffee in order to stay awake!

3. Family bonds- Throughout the years I had always worried about my balance between my work and time at home. It wasn’t because I required more time away from work, but instead, it was due to the fact that I wanted to create more memories with my kids, both of whom are growing up very quickly. Typically, they weren’t able understand what my work life actually looked like, nor did they understand why I needed to spend long hours talking to all sorts of people instead of playing with them. However, in the last few months, they have had the opportunity to observe what my time at work looks like. In fact, by now they also know the names of all my MGMT team members and can figure out nearly half of our business jargon. Even my 3-year-old knows that it’s not a good idea to be rowdy when Dad is on a business call. Not only have I been able to spend more time with my kids through the span of this year, but my work is not something foreign to them anymore. Rather, it is something that they understand and appreciate.

4. Enjoying the little things - Previously, fun holidays would have meant flying to a nice city to spend some time travelling, exploring, and winding down from the pressures of life. Frankly, I would still love to do that but this year has called for a change in traditions. Nowadays, an enjoyable break means going for a hike in one of the hills nearby, heading out for a bike ride in a forest, enjoying a board game at home, or completing school projects and challenges together. In normal years, celebrations meant going to a fancy restaurant or throwing big parties. However, during 2020, our way of celebrating was making good food at home and enjoying it over a video call with grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends. I couldn’t help but realize how much joy these simple activities bought me and my family. Yes, going on a vacation and exploring new places is undeniably fun, but the little bits of happiness that came with these moments were more precious than I could have ever imagined them to be.

With all this, I can truly say that while 2020 was a tough year BUT it was certainly not a lost year.