I don’t have an easy answer. \u00a0After all, I have reminded myself and others of this enough times: “‘Too busy; no time’ is an excuse. \u00a0People make<\/em> time for what matters to them.” \u00a0Still, if pressed for one, I’d sound like\u00a0a Seattle-based friend at Microsoft, whose stock answer to a similar question used to be, “Product release”! \u00a0My wife’s eyes would probably roll as his wife’s would. \u00a0In my defense, I could throw in some more buzzwords: “Hiring, new-employee onboarding, knowledge transfer, marketing ramp-up, growth pains…” \u00a0Some context: I run a startup\u00a0and, for better or worse, am a solo founder. \u00a0In the last three months, a support manager and a senior software engineer moved on, and I have stayed hands-on in bringing on board five new full-time hires\u00a0and an assortment of interns. \u00a0(Our\u00a0tech lead could\u00a0relieve me of supervising only the one app developer\u00a0among the new recruits.)<\/p>\n There have also been other opportunities for reflection. \u00a0As someone who would often get asked how I manage to stay trim (into my 40s), I would distill my response into a simple input\/output relationship: \u00a0“If you consume more than you burn, the pounds will but\u00a0add on. \u00a0So, watch what you eat, work out a sweat regularly, and don’t eat heavy meals\u00a0late at night.” (Late-night\u00a0calories won’t get\u00a0burned before the body winds down.) \u00a0What began to bother me was not that I wasn’t practicing what I preached. \u00a0(Tip: Remember the useful line, “Do as I suggest, not as I do.”) \u00a0It was that I was consistently\u00a0eating late dinners myself\u00a0\u2013\u00a0after 9 p.m. \u2013 and unable to break the cycle of staying late at work.<\/p>\n I have not had to worry, as many others do, about putting on weight. \u00a0Attribute it to a combination of genetics, a relatively healthier and calorically less-dense vegan diet, a\u00a0good\u00a0metabolism, and self control when it came to at least how much I ate, if not at what hours. \u00a0However, repeatedly accumulating a sleep deficit and not getting enough exercise has had me feeling like a bag of bones lately.<\/p>\n It has been several months since I hit a gym or went on a run. \u00a0The new year began with a promising early-morning bike ride along Chennai’s East Coast Road, but the bike has been gathering dust, too, for months. \u00a0I feel like an elected head of state,\u00a0midway into an uneventful term and having to answer to lofty start-of-the-term\u00a0promises.<\/p>\n The difference is, instead of softball questions from pliant interviewers, I am choosing to ask myself some hard questions here. \u00a0Had I become so busy that I didn’t have the time to accompany my wife on a holiday? \u00a0Would it have been impossible to carve out even some days? \u00a0I think about that and, yet, the answer is that this is<\/em> an intense stretch, with my product\u00a0team just days away from a critical roll-out of v.4.<\/p>\n Then again, wasn’t there some other must-attend-to<\/em>\u00a0project or task when I chose not to accompany her on previous tours in the past year or so? \u00a0Yes, before South Africa, there were\u00a0Bhutan, Egypt, Sri Lanka, and Nepal! \u00a0Looking back,\u00a0I don’t think it\u00a0would have ground my business to a halt if I took some\u00a0time off. \u00a0Sure, it might have slowed things down a bit, but this was meant to be a long-distance race all along. \u00a0Was I running it as smartly as I could?<\/p>\n If you’re an entrepreneur or know someone who runs a business, you may be familiar with the struggle<\/a>, which may take many forms besides the one I am describing.<\/p>\n In fairness, my challenges are not unique to business owners or husbands. \u00a0Many a\u00a0career\u00a0professional, student, or\u00a0parent with a toddler out there has felt as I do \u2013 “So much to do, yet\u00a0so little time. \u00a0How can I possibly squeeze in time for leisure activity??” \u00a0I am reminded of a college professor who introduced his operations research course with this unforgettable line: \u00a0“Life itself is an optimization problem,” he said, “involving maximizing an objective function subject to a number of constraints.”<\/p>\n It has to start with intent, though, and it is probably a good thing that I am re-examining priorities. \u00a0I view\u00a0life as spanning four dynamic,\u00a0overlapping sets\u2014work, family, leisure, and service\u2014with health as an anchor, at the center. \u00a0Had I chosen a pontoon metaphor, you’d be staring at a capsized boat, what with an imbalanced load in the work quarter\u00a0and not enough to little in the other three areas. \u00a0(Others in\u00a0a similar situation might describe it as\u00a0feeling\u00a0stretched in different directions.) \u00a0So, this is to some extent about getting things back in balance. \u00a0It is time for some mid-year resolutions.<\/p>\n If you’ve read this far and can relate to what I have shared, take a break and work on your own mid-year resolutions. \u00a0I am going to start with the easy ones.<\/p>\n Confused? \u00a0They are easy because what needs to be done and how are\u00a0clear. \u00a0The next one is where it gets challenging.<\/p>\n This is where health and fitness\u00a0resolutions come in. \u00a0More on that in a bit. \u00a0Unfortunately, in the face of “Not enough time” situations, we cut back on exercise. \u00a0Big mistake! \u00a0Exercising regularly helps us sleep better and be more focused when we are awake. \u00a0It also gives us the energy needed to be productive for long stretches at work.<\/p>\n Moreover, all work and no play would make for a dull mind. \u00a0Pre-programmed time-outs would be a good thing, to rest, recuperate, and replenish\u00a0the creative juices.<\/p>\n It is sobering to reflect on one additional price I have paid in chasing my startup dreams over the last several years: I’ve dropped out of touch with many friends, classmates, well-wishers, and acquaintances. \u00a0One study that I came across recently talked about how relationships not renewed weaken at the rate of 15% a year. \u00a0(I am para-phrasing.) \u00a0Drag the radio silence out\u00a07 years and you are strangers again?! \u00a0Rather than set any specific, measurable, attainable… goal here (e.g., email X friends, talk to Y friends, and have coffee with Z friends a month), I’d rather that this happened organically.<\/p>\n When in grad school, I had a habit that I liked \u2013 when in a cheerful mood, I would think of a friend and call them, just to spread good cheer. \u00a0So, if you’re someone I’ve known and bonded with, expect a call out of the blue, in the coming weeks and months, just to know that I was thinking about you!<\/p>\n The joke goes that, if you need to get anything done at a government office in India, you either pay with your time \u2013 if you are unwilling to grease palms but don’t mind long waits, repeat visits, and being given the run around \u2013 or your money (see “grease palms” above).<\/p>\n The time\/money choice applies in nobler situations, too. \u00a0Wealthy but\u00a0busy do-gooders engage in philanthropy, giving money to causes that they care about. \u00a0Many cash-constrained yet idealistic individuals give generously of their time, volunteering for causes that they care about.<\/p>\n Here’s my problem: I am both cash- and time-constrained. \u00a0It is more than seven years now since I embarked on this startup path. \u00a0More than seven years since I drew\u00a0an income (not counting rental income). \u00a0There was a time, in my late-20s, when I gave between 2,000 and 3,000 hours of my time over a few years, volunteering for a few dear causes and non-profit organizations. \u00a0I don’t have anywhere close to that time to spare these days.<\/p>\n Yet, I know that I still live a far more comfortable life than a few billion people on this planet. \u00a0Surely I can do more than the little I have done in recent years.<\/p>\n I have some ideas here, including a few that relate to corporate social responsibility. \u00a0However, rather than flesh out resolutions, I’d like to chew on the ideas\u00a0and take measured, thoughtful steps in the right direction. \u00a0More on them, as they evolve, in a separate post.<\/p>\n I am going to expand on this section, beyond just listing my resolutions, by providing tips that may be applicable and beneficial to others.<\/p>\n Unlike many beginners who have the desire to work out, but aren’t sure of what best to do and how to go about an exercise regimen the right way, I don’t have that problem. \u00a0I have been athletic from a young age and have long enjoyed bicycling, running, and weight training. \u00a0My problem is one of motivation. \u00a0True, motivation holds many others also back from working out.<\/p>\n Take my own wife. \u00a0Her\u00a0complaint would be that, despite being married to someone blessed with athleticism, she wasn’t receiving the kind of nudging that she would have expected and welcomed. \u00a0She promptly joined a local cycling group and a neighborhood gym. \u00a0It is encouraging to see organized cycling and running groups in Indian cities, with even women getting more comfortable with running outdoors in shorts and tights. \u00a0(If you choose to run outdoors, remember to stay safe. \u00a0Here are some tips on staying safe while running<\/a>.) \u00a0Groups provide welcome support and information, and the social commitment involved makes it easier for people to establish and keep up an exercise routine. \u00a0If you would benefit from a running or cycling group, look for them on Facebook. \u00a0If you don’t find one, start your own!<\/p>\n Unfortunately, groups don’t work for me. \u00a0I am more of a lone wolf when it comes to running, road-biking, or working out. \u00a0(I prefer to be lost in thought than in conversation while exercising.) \u00a0What does is setting and working towards goals, and I realized that it was time to\u00a0find new ones.<\/p>\n Now, while I’d love to be able to run a sub-3:00:00 marathon in my lifetime, that is unrealistic and not going to happen in the foreseeable future. \u00a0Having trained hard and run\u00a0a half marathon in ~1:32:00, with stomach distress<\/em>, in my mid-30s, the goal is attainable. \u00a0However, I\u00a0am just not going to be able to carve out the hours, in the coming months, to log 10 to 20 miles a week, week after week and for months.<\/p>\n If you need guidance in setting appropriate goals for yourself, here are detailed tips:<\/p>\n As for myself, here is\u00a0the first goal\u00a0that I have chosen:<\/p>\n Double-unders are when you swing the rope twice around your body in every jump. \u00a0Check out the video below for a demonstration, in slow motion.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.jodi365.com\/singledout\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/new-year-early-morning-bike-ride-along-ecr.jpg\")
![\"Work-life](\"https:\/\/www.jodi365.com\/singledout\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/work-life-balance-sign-post-stuart-miles-forbes.jpg\")
<\/a>Regaining a sense of work-life balance<\/h1>\n
1. On the personal and family fronts:<\/h2>\n
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2. On the work front:<\/h2>\n
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3. On the leisure front:<\/h2>\n
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4. On the service\u00a0front:<\/h2>\n
5. Lastly, on the core area of health and fitness:<\/h2>\n
For goals to work, they need to be SMART, i.e., all of these:<\/h3>\n
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