“On pauses and people – building Decoding Draupadi in public – Feb 11 to 18.
Last week, I was on a 4-day break from work. Both C4E and Decoding Draupadi. And that means, no movement on large things.
With such breaks in the past, I usually come back to an unorganised inbox, some missed messages, and a LOT of confusion.
This time, I decided to do better.
I wasn’t supposed to be off the grid. So, I took out an hour a day to catch up on emails and things that needed my attention. I did not dive deep into those but tagged things to come back to.
That’s all. Just 1 hour made all the difference.
It was the first time I came back to my desk and didn’t feel like I was playing catch-up with the world.
📌 𝐀𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 –
1️⃣ People
Sometime last year, I realised that great work does not happen in isolation. Each thing I’ve learned has come from people + the Internet. And so, I’ve made a conscious effort to go out in the world as a sponge.
Last week, I got a lot of in-person time with some strangers-turned-acquaintances. Friends of C4E. And more.
Attended a meetup by Shreya Pattar. The highlight was to see her conduct herself in public – calm, composed and lot of 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘢𝘷.
When I go to in-person meetups by people I follow closely on the internet – this is what I like seeing. How people conduct themselves in public. LOTS to learn from that.
Until now, C4E has been my way of getting a foot in the door. Working with Saurabh Garg put me in important, new, tough-to-handle rooms. And from each, I came out knowing more and better.
This year, I want to build more of that.
What did I learn from these gatherings?
▶ Pitched Decoding Draupadi
Had them point out gaps. Give me new perspectives. And share ideas. More than anything, I see it as practice – I get better and more confident each time.
▶ To be a sponge
I’ve met two kinds of people – the ones who listen, and the ones who want to leave feeling like they’ve made a point. A difference. An impact.
I want to be the former. And that means I’m okay to listen more than talk. I don’t worry about providing value when I know I cannot.
▶ Following through is everything.
Meeting people is great. You talk. You chill. You exchange some ideas. And then what? (There’s only one right answer.)
You follow-through. Find a way to stay in touch with them. Follow them on socials. Add value. Support their work.
2️⃣ Made a WA group of friends of Decoding Draupadi
You know how some of us have a close friends list on IG or WA group where we share random life updates?
We made one for Decoding Draupadi – added all first-degree connections. People who’ve helped us in different ways. And continue to support us with DD.
Why? Increases my luck surface area.