Day 1 12 mar 2020 Thank you universe for this great opportunity to have a good family. Thank you universe for giving me a chance to live this day. Thank you universe for giving me good health. Thank you universe for putting the food on my table. Thank you universe for enabling me to have my own ride to office. Thank you universe for giving me opportunity to make my own living. Thank you universe for giving me time to rest. Thank you universe for giving me friends to spend time with. Thank you ...

Monday mornings no matter how hard I try I wake up at 7.30 am. I refuse to get up lol. thinking about it loud its either I'm not happy about work or I developed the habit from the early childhood that Monday is bad. Monday blues is ingrained into me (this may be true to you too) right from the school days I guess. My teachers used to give tons of homework during weekends and need that to be submitted on Monday mornings and obviously I don't finish up everything by Monday morning. some will be s...

I forgot to write my journal yesterday. My bad :) . So I am here for now Try 3 of hundred day challenge. First attempt I broke the daily chain on Day 12 and second try on Day 26. Today I thought of writing day 27 and upload it. But I thought "Wait a second who am I kidding?" myself. So here I am Day 1 try 3. But what is more important is the progress I am making. Today had a awesome crab recipie so tasty and hot. Made with paste of onion, tomato and pepper. Both mouth and eye watering at t...

Learnt a lot of new stuff related to my work. It's fascinating that everyday even if you are doing the same thing for months you still have scope of improvement and learning. My grandfather used to say that read a book many times and each time you will understand the same text with new meaning. Repetition is not only for memory but for getting familiar and to scale new heights or go to new depths of understanding. I have realized this myself so many times. Learning will never cease if it doe...

Today again is full work no play day. Have been working for 16 hrs continuosly to sort out a bug. Atlast had a break through and I felt like I started to understand the issue. I am dead tired and exhausted but you know what I can't break my writing chain. So here I am typing away what I am feeling. Very heavy rains in my city which had water scarcity looks like God decided to remove it overnight. It is pouring. Saw two snakes shifting there home :) looks like their home is flooded. They ar...

Got so much accomplished today in my office and also helped few clients with their issues. Personally nothing much. Woke up at 7.00 and started to office at 8 and put my head down and worked away. Did not go for a walk for the past 2 days. I guess I will go tomorrow morning. It's been same two days since I listened to the book sapiens. Damn so tired to do anything. But I could never shy away from witing my journal. I might read "Magic of thinking big" after this. It also seems to be a good ...

My productive day continues. Had all the professional goals for today completed. Learning goals not so much just learned some java and read an article on HBR. Solved a long standing customer issue for a client with over 3 hours in a call. Read in HBR about how to build a resilient team. The key take away is that for a successful organisation its just not enough for individuals to be resilient to the adversities. Leaders should make sure that they build a team with Candor care for each ot...

Worked from home today since it was raining heavily and felt tired after yesterday's travel. And I was atleast twice as productive as working in office. ground out the day from 9 to 5 with just one lunch break and that is it. Walked for 2 kms while listening to "Sapiens" audio book. Came across a cool concept called "Types of Chaos" Type 1 Chaos system is the one where the prediction of the event does not have any effect on the system itself. Example is weather prediction meaning irrespecti...

Had a nice day visited my native and worshipped the Goddess "Moongathamman" she is the one who is protects our village and the villagers. We always go the temple and worship her during the first week of "Aadi" Month in Tamil calender. The month is special for goddesses and people make Raagi based dishes and also gravy prepared by using brinjal,potato,raw banana and dried fish. Also drumstic spinach dish is used as side dish. Polytheistic religion like Hinduism(just a collective name for the b...

Very very productive day today. What did I learn today Java HTML Javascript Angular read an article in Harvard Business review Typescript and played with kids, took wife to hospital she had indigestion, went for a walk, Watched Novok Djokowic's interview and listened to audible book of Sapiens when I went for a walk. So much that it would feel like crazy but all this managed by technology reminding me to do what I planned for. And I take liberty to add to thinks but don't remove anythi...

Okish day at office. Done what I set out to do. I have been waking up early for the past 2 days like around 5:45 am and then reading Harvard Business Review articles for some time and today I installed my new harddisk which is a Samsung SSD 1TB. And started installing the apps I lost when my last harddisk crashed. And with the Habit loops app I've been able to keep up with the habits I deceided to do. One thing which I would change in the coming days is to sleep early. I've been sleeping ar...

Done with most of the habits that I wanted not to break the chain on. I guess I am kind of started to hit the ground running. It seems fast but looks sustainable with the tools I have. Have scheduled the activities and areas of improvements that I have procrastinated for long. Will take habit inventory for the next thirty days from tomorrow to see where I am spending my most time on. Talking of the time tracker I remember a app called SmartTime which I used to have but forgot for months now. L...

Took off from work. Had to get a govermnet id card for my younger kid. Had a good rest day since I was tired from yesterday latenight study of the Atomic habits. Also started to do few habits which will enahnce my work life. I have 8 or 9 items spread across 7 days to read or learn like programming languages/frameworks and concepts. Thinking of changing to different company. Purely because I need to increase my take home salary. My current company is best in work life balance there is but n...

Not so great productive day at office. But a good productive day personally. Learnt a new technical stuff which would help me in my official project at hand. But what was more satisfying is my reading habit today. I read about 4 hours today. Read a Harvard Business review article about "Persuasion" which outlined how the art of persuasion was handled from Ancient Greece to modern era. The compilation is from the ideas of Aristotle.1. Ethos or Character - Establish your identity with the audience...

It started as a bright Monday and ended up with a rainy night. Had a not so productive day at office but managed to finish what I deceided to do.Went for a walk for 60 mins listening to Sapiens audio book. Today the author was explaining about how imagined realities continued to exist and explained the concepts of objectivity, subjectivity and inter-subjectivity where the last one is what makes it possible to make the imagined realities like nationalism, religion and caste divisions to exist or ...

One most important thing I learned today reading atomic habits is that "Whenever you decide to start a habit start small and add in smal increments. Use a two minute rule. If you want to run a Marathon. Decide to put on running shoes daily in the morning. The small habit would make it easy to do daily and then you can improve on it. Standardise before you optimize."That makes perfect sense. And thinking about the 100 day writing challenge. I see that deciding to write like opening the Standard n...

Today is a quality day spent with my family.Attended Parent teachers meeting of both my kids. Talked to my mom and also listened to nostalgic songs and listened to good music. Listened to Mozarts music and also M.S Vishwanathan songs. Fulfilling day with me reading more  than 2 chapters of atomic habits. finished reading first law of Habit development. "Make the cue obvious"Now reading the chapters of second law of habit formation "Make the habit attractive"Read few stuff about financial sucess ...

Had a very productive day at office. Most of the time coding and nothing else. Talked to my long time friend. It brings back profound memories or nostalgic memories to be precise. Speaking of profound I heard about the book "The Prophet"  by Khalil Gibran poetics essays. The profound thing that it was talking about is that the same things that gives us worry is the same thing that gives us joy. Profound isn't it.Goodnight. ...

My kid woke me up at 6:15 and asked me to help her get ready to school. For some reason she was anxious to go to school. I helped her and I started to office. Got to read 2 articles about how to being a senoir developer. Learnt that there are "Senior Developers" and then "Developers with Seniority" I fall into the second category right now. I make things work and then move on. (Author call this people CodeMonkeys). But the so called senior developers continuously go on improving the code. There ...

Damn India cricket team lost the world cup semi finals. Terribly disappointed. But nothing can be done other than to move on. Woke up at 6:50 am and got my kids ready to school and had a good productive day at office.Learnt few new things. Didn't get a chance to read atomic habits today. Need to restart my walking routine. May be I will start jogging. Listened to Bach-The Well Tempered Clavier piano classic. And also few of Pomp and cisrcumstance march music today. They really are very soothing ...

"Motivation is overrated; Environment is what really matters" is the chapter I read today as part of the Atomic habits book. Currently I am reading through the chapter which explains how environment plays a role in shaping a habit.Habit has four ingredients Cue Craving Response Reward. Environment comes in that creates the cue part and craving part. So to change an old bad habit or to follow a new good habit it is worthwhile to try changing the environment even in the smallest possible way."A st...

Today is a very productive day. Woke up at 5.45 am and got my younger kid ready to school. And started to office.I have reduced drinking tea so I replaced tea with just hot water. I see no difference really. I will keep looking for any withdrawal effects or something like that. But I feel great. Read a chapter of atomic habits and today is mostly work day. Looking upto the semi final clash tomorrow between India and Newzealand in the cricket world cup.I have also trying to reduce my weight so I ...

Sunday is always a happening day since I get more rest than errands to do. But I made sure I made my working desk tidy and threw few unwanted stuff out. Read few pages of atomic habits and also spent quality time with my kid explaining her the meaning of the poem "The Road not taken" by Robert Frost. It brought me more of my high school memories. I helped my kid with her homework. And I was contemplating about what success for me looked like. I always wanted to be a sharp programmer and wanted ...

Woke up at 7:30. The water scarcity has subsided as there were rains in the past week improving the ground water levels. So free from filling the water from corporation water pipes.My 2TB harddisk crashed on me. It had few bad sectors. I am using 2TB seagate Firecuda it had its problems. Looking to switch to a solid state drive.Anyways fixed them and got my laptop up and running. Had doctor appointments for my kid and taken them out for a bike ride and bought them new helmets to wear during bike...

Woke up at 5:45 and helped to fill water in the storage container from the corporation tap which doubled up as an early morning excerciseWent to office early and do what I do best. Sent off a friend who is going abroad for higher studies. I have been sending off so many people close to me. They pursue the carriers which shows promise, well who does not?? hm.Have gone for a walk, played one starcraft game and stared at the stars.. well stared at the clouds and meditated a bit. Felt the soft drizz...

Happy July 4th.Today is the first day my kid went to school junior KG. She was very excited to go to school. The school actually opened a week back but my little one was affected with rashes so she was not able to go to school on the actual open date.She was so anxious to go to school and it was rooted in the new uniform bag, box and pencil. Small things makes her happy. And it brought me a deluge of emotions and memories right from my childhood. Was down with stomach upset and dehydration but t...

Woke up at 6.00 am and played a game of starcraft. Helped my kid to do eye exercise and accupressure and made my bed which is the first win of the day.Reached office early and closed few planned tasks. I have subscribed to HBR so got to read the latest issue. It contains stimulating thoughts and ideas.Had a good chat with long time friend. She sounded so cryptic out of the blue asking me to realise my full potential and make use of what I learnt. I too have that same feeling for long not realisi...

Fresh from the win of my favourite sports team "Indian cricket team" The Men in Blue against one of the arch rivals Bangladesh. India gathers run hitting hard and gets 6 and 4 runs but play out too many balls without runs. But on the other hand Bangladesh accumulates runs in 1s and 2s but keeps the dot balls percentage low. They gave a tough fight but Men in Blue prevailed. Still thrown off of all the routines I have planned. Skipped walking and reading. Too tired to do anything right now other ...

Thrown off of the routine yesterday. Got acute water crisis in my city due to ground water going scarce. So had to run all the errands associated with making enough water to drink bath and clean utensils. Did not get a chance to write yesterday. So restarting the 100 days of writing challenge today. Got to stay home today to fix the water pump that pumps the water from the borewell to the water storage tank in the first floor. So no office today. And since most of the team is in US this would be...

Good day today. Completed my walk, played good starcraft games. Listened to Sapiens audio book for 30 mins. And importantly learnt a new Computer language from my Kid. Been in computer programming industry for a decade and half now and now I come across for the first time an educative programming language called "Logo"  based in which there are tools developed as open source software at MIT, Berkeley.I am fascinated by it meaning that it was around when I was a school kid I guess but never came ...

Snoozed the alarm one more day. This week I am defeated but will rise back up strong. Why am I defeated? Because I did not plan well and did not follow my night routine. Slept late, watched videos, checked emails etc. I will do better today. I am keeping up with walking daily. And replaced tea everyday morning with hot lime water. I am trying to make habits vote for the person who I want to become. Started to listen audiobook "Sapiens" rated 5 stars on Audible. Its more of a history book on the ...

Learnt a good deal about habit formation reading the book "Atomic habits" I completed reading 20% of the book.Every habit goes through this 4 stagesCue->Craving->Response->Reward ->(this reinforces reward with cue)By knowing this the actual doing part is the response stage. Day 10To form a habit we need to change the cue craving response reward into actionable ideasTo form a habit1. Make it obvious  (Make the cue obvious)2. Make it attractive (Make the habit attractive so it increase...

Today another 4:45 am alarm snoozed. But got up at 7.00 am and in office at 9:00 am. A productive day personally and professionally. Got so many things accomplished. I loved the part of learning new today on my job. Also had a fun time with my team. We went out to a pirate themed restaurant awesome ambience and even more awesome food. The place I live in is depenedent upon the rain for water needs. monsoons failed for 2 years in a row so there was acute water scarcity. But the rains today came o...

Again woke up at 4:45 no motivation 7:30 is the final wake up time. But pulled my socks up and left home by 8:30 and reached office by 9.00. An off day at office filled with meetings and interviewing candidates to fill in vacant positions. Day gone fully.But walked for 4 kms while listening to "Psycho cybernetics" originally written by Malcom Maltz. That is the book that broght the idea of self image to lime light along with many other techniques like "Creative imagination", "Mental Rehearsal" a...

When I woke up around 4.45 am there is zero motivation to get out of my bed. so skipped my morning ritual and woke up at 7.30 and got stuck in traffic for an hour or so in the scorching sun and reached office at 10:40.Now that will be my motivation for the rest of days to wake up early and do my morning ritual.Added a new habit in my inventory sheet and to do today sheet (rememember pomodoro technique) with the item "Walked 5 kms". Walked around 4 kms today. Zero reading of any sort and full of ...

Started reading the book Atomic habits. So much fascinating as the book started to dwelve deep into the process of habit formation and how they get ingrained in our minds.Key points are 1. Concentrate of the process rather than the goal while forming habits.2. Habits changing process or the Habits itself manifest on 3 layers    Outcomes    Process    IdentityHabits stick when they become part of your identity. Habit change or behaviour change need to occur on all three levels. Goal definition pl...

Almost forgot today to write stuff. Was watching India vs Afganistan world cup cricket match. What a nail baiter!I am exhausted so much stress lol.  India came up on top at the end. winning by 11 runs.Was searching for a book to start reading. Going to read the book "Atomic habits"Also searching for top hundred books to read in English. Idea that crept into my mind from watching "The Equaliser" movie.Also had a couple of motivational video watching time. Best quote from them."Throw away credit c...

Friday.... awesome day.  No? Yes it is.Had a productive and fun filled day. Finished up Pomodoro Iluustrated book that I mentioned yesterday and put in place templates to put the theory into practice.My kid also enjoys Pomodoro to organise her study times. Learnt a lot of stuff. Trying to assimilate them slowly but steadily.Listened to this song. "Rise up 2k16 feat Jaba."My dream is to fly so high above the rainbow.""I try to fly a while high direction sky" The lines the echoes with the notion o...

Today is the when I wanted to sleep more. But I tried to finish my morning rituals which I track through Fabulous(https://www.thefabulous.co/) app But skipped few like checking my weight and walking.I was lazy but pulled myself to go to office. Had a good breakfast my wife prepared and started on my 11 yers old Bike.Had a great time at office meeting and usual stuff. I got good amount to time to read pomodoro technique which I am trying to incorporate into my day to day activities to improve my ...

I have been reflecting on my past. I am in mid-30s, and I never pushed myself. I was able to survive with just one-quarter of my capacity. It has always been easy. There were challenging times, but I thrived with only an occasional burst of my best effort. So far, I was able to survive with my mediocre efforts. Maybe I aimed too low given where I started and where I am, I think I should have aimed even more. It's not that I'm not doing well in the walks of life, I feel that emptiness may be beca...

I decided to write for 100 days. I have taken this challenge to build a habit of writing. Why the habit of writing? Reading makes sense meaning you gain more knowledge. But what writing has to offer?Hm, let me think.I guess it makes you declutter your mind. To stash or empty your thoughts somewhere so that either you can be free about you storedit somewhere or you get the feeling of sharing it with the physical world even if you don't share it with people. It gives your thought next natural evol...

Principles deals about three things.1. Desire - what we should and should not aim for.2. Action - how we should behave.3. Assent - how we should react to situations.Not everything is in our control. Focus on what you can influence and don't worry about the rest. Follow moral virtue instead of pursuing wealth and comfort in life. Four virtues1. Temperance2. Courage3. Justice4. WisdomImitating and observing role models is an effective way to live a good life.Pause and reflect; put yourself in the ...

He was a happy man Obviously. He was Joe of Joe's Place, a little lunch counter I found one night. There were about a dozen stools occupied, for the most part by elderly men and a couple of older women from the neighborhood. He set a steaming bowl of soup before an old man whose hands shoot, 'Mamie made it special for you, Mr. Jones.' One elderly and rather stumbling lady started to go out the door. 'Be careful, Mrs. Hudson, the cars go pretty fast out there. And. oh yes, look at the full moon...

The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much, fill your life with love. Scatter Sunshine. Forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by. Try this for a week and you will be surprised. H.C. Mattern. ...

I shall never forget Ralph Rockwell. He was the farmer on our place in the country. Ralph was a New Englander of the old school, always caring for the place as though it were his own. He said to me once, when I was presuming to give him advice: 'Tell you what, Dr. Peale, you do the preaching, I'll do the farming.' It is good to remember to take advice as well as give it. Norman Vincent Peale. ...

George Reeves was a huge man, 6 feet 2, weighing 100 kgs. H ewas my teacher in the fith grade. In class, he would suddenly shout, 'Silence'. Then he would print in big letters onm the blackboard the word CAN'T. Turning to the class, he woudl demand, 'And now what shall I do?' Knowing what he wanted, we chanted back, 'Knock the T off the CAN'T.' With a sweeping gesture, he would erase it, leaving the word CAN. Dusting the chalk from his fingers, he would say, 'Let that be a lesson to you -...

Self-confidence and courage hinge on the kind of thoughts you think. Nurture negative thoughts over a long period of time and you are going to get negative results. Your subconscious is very accomodating. It will sd up to you exactly what you send down to it. Keep on sending it fear and self-inadequacy thoughts and that is what it will feed back to you. Take carge of your mind and begin to fill it with healthy, positive and courageous thoughts. Norman Vincent Peale. ...

"You cannot..." Louisa May Alcott was told by an editor that she would never be able to write anything that would have popular appeal. A music teacher told Enrico Caruso: 'You can't sing. You have no voice at all.' And a teacher warned a boy named Thomas A. Edison that he was too stupid to pursue a scientific education! Never let anyone shunt you off from the main line of your aspirations. Norman Vincent Peale. ...

Fear can infect us early in life until eventually it cuts a deep groove of apprehension in all our thinking. To counteract it, let faith, hope and courage enter your thinking. Fear is strong, but faith is stronger yet. Norman Vincent Peale. ...

This is a collection of ideas to improve the fruitfulness of the time I spend here on earth. I will keep adding or modifying it until I feel comfortable with the grind. The big pictureVision statementMission statementRoles and goalsEisenhower matrixActivity ManagementTime ManagementWay to plan, organise and executeAction managementGTD - Getting things done Method - helps to organise and manage actions aimed at stress free productivity.Time managementPomodoro Technique  Helps to execute the actio...

The light of God surrounds me.The love of God enfolds me.The power of God protects me.The presence of God watches over me.Wherever I am, God is! ...

A big battle was building for the morning. the place was Korea, the hour midnight. It was bitter cold, the temperature below zero. A burly U.S. marine was leaning against a tank eating cold beans out of a can with penknife. A newspaper correspondent watching him was moved to propound a philosophical question: 'Look,' he said, 'if I were God and could give you what you wanted most, what would you ask for?' The marine dug out another penknife of beans, thought reflectively, then said, 'I would ...

Theodore Roosevelt, a strong and tough-minded main, said: 'I have often been afraid. But I would not give into it. I simply acted as though I was not afraid and presently the fear disappeared.' Fear is afraid itself and backs down when you stand upto it. Norman Vincent Peale. ...

Building a Rock-Solid Routine 99UWallpaperGREAT WORK BEFORE EVERYTHING ELSE Do your most meaningful creative work at the beginning of your day, and leave “reactive work”—like responding to e-mail or other messages—for later. JUMP-START YOUR CREATIVITY Establish “associative triggers”—such as listening to the same music or arranging your desk in a certain way—that tell your mind it’s time to get down to work. FEEL THE FREQUENCY Commit to working on your project at consistent intervals—ideally eve...

Sharpening Your Creative MindWallpaper PRACTICE UNNECESSARY CREATION Use personal creative projects to explore new obsessions, skills, or ways of working in a low-pressure environment. WANDER LONELY AS A CLOUD Make time for your mind—and body—to wander when you’re stuck. Disengaging from the problem allows your subconscious to do its work. DEFINE “FINISHED” FROM THE START Keep your inner perfectionist in check by defining what finished looks like at the beginning of a project. And when you get t...

Finding Focus in a Distracted World WallpaperDEFEND YOUR CREATIVE TIME Book time on your calendar for uninterrupted, focused work—and respect those blocks of time as you would any client meeting. FOCUS WHEN YOU’RE FRESH Tackle the projects that require “hard focus” early in your day. Self-control—and our ability to resist distractions—declines as the day goes on. KILL THE BACKGROUND NOISE Turn off your phone, e-mail, and any apps unrelated to your task. Even the presence of background activity (...

Taming Your Tools WallpaperKEEP THE LONG VIEW IN VIEW Post your complex, long-term goals by your workstation to keep them top of mind when prioritizing your tasks. BE CONSCIOUS OF YOUR BANDWIDTH Practice letting go of certain e-mail and social media conversations. There will always be more opportunities than you actually can take on. CHECK YOURSELF, OR WRECK YOURSELF Distinguish between compulsive and conscious behaviors. Are you acting out of boredom or blind habit when you could be serving a h...

The way to success: Have a clear goal, not a fuzzy one. Sharpen this goal until it becomes specific and clearly defined in your conscious mind. Hold it there until, by the process of spiritual and intellectual osmosis, it seeps into your unconcious. Then you will have it because it has you. Surround this goal constantly with positive thoughts and faith. Give it positive follow-through. That is the way success is achieved. Norman Vincent Peale. ...

I once knew an extraordinarily successful salesman who told me that every morning he says aloud, three times, 'I believe, I believe, I believe.' 'You believe in what?' I asked. 'In God, and in the life God gave me', he declared. Norman Vincent Peale ...

Anybody can do just about anything with himself that he really wants to and makes up his mind to do. We are all capable of greater things tha we realize. How much one actually achieves depends largely on: Desire Faith Persistent effort. Ability. But if you are lacking in the first three factors, your ability will not balance out the lack. So concentrate on the first three and the results will amaze you. Norman Vincent Peale ...

Everybody at the beggining of everything is absolutely horrible! and they know it. "Do you want to know the difference between the master and beginner ? The master has failed more times than the beginner has tried." "Well-typed program cannot go wrong" - Robin Milner "Your mind is for having ideas not holding them" - David Allen "Charishma is combination of Presence, Power and warmth" "Nature decrees that we do not exceed the speed of light. All other impossibilities are optional." – Robe...

Champions are made by playing their best game today, then tomorrow and then the next day. Life, too must be lived well one day at a time every day. And, in both sports and living, success is the result of a succession of more good days than bad ones. You never need to settle for what you are. You can be a new person. We were not merely created: we can be recreated. Norman Vincent Pele ...