Editorial

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

The last newsletter that I published was in January 2020. And then I went to Nepal for a motorcycle ride. And then we were hit with COVID. What followed was a time that I don't think anyone who is more than 5 years of age will ever forget. A time of locking down and wearing masks and becoming untouchables.

It brought out the worst within us. Pushed us to get lazy, pushed us to get unhealthy, pushed us to lose control. We misbehaved with our close ones, got frustrated and angry.

It also brought out the best within us. We cared and nurtured our children, talked to our parents, figured out the best way to get things to "work" digitally. And caught up on our long lost interests such as Art and Music.

I don't have new year resolutions. I have goals though. A resolution is what you decide you will do from this year on. Statistically the most common new year resolution is around quitting smoking and exercising. The problem with resolutions is it fails the day you break it. If you resolve to quit smoking, the day you smoke your first cigarette the resolution is dead. If you resolve to start exercising every day, the day you skip its broken. And then there is no motivation to exercise that day onwards.

Goals, on the other hand, give you an opportunity to catch up. If you have a goal of running 500 kms in 2021, it wouldn't matter if you skip a day or even a week, you have an opportunity to catch up. Goals are longer lasting than resolutions.

I usually have my goals classified into two categories, professional and personal. My professional goals are around my job and career. My personal goals are around family, skill development and finance.

2020 was not a very good year, in some areas such as career and fitness. But it wasn't that bad a year in other areas such as family and skills development.

Looking ahead, I plan to make 2021 (like every year) a good year. I used to have a lot of goals until last year. 2021 will be the year of consolidation. I will have fewer goals but will strive for excellence. One thing that I have learnt this year is tracking and readjusting goals is more important than setting them. I am going to strive to track my goals better this year.

And I hope everyone who is reading this spends some time with themselves, creating a vision, setting goals and putting in place a system to track progress.

We take talking for granted. I am not talking about banter. I am talking about serious, purposeful, focused conversations. Leaders often assume that the team already "knows" what they have in mind, from the activities that we do as a team and from the goals we set as people. I have, myself, been guilty of this.

I have come to learn that every person within the team has a different perception of the team goals, the intent of the leader about their career, how they add value to the larger vision. And unless the leader is explicit in talking about these aspects of their work, there is a high chance that the team will not only not meet its objectives, it will leave the team confused, disoriented and uninspired.

1:1 conversations are a norm in most organizations. But are we using them effectively? What story are you telling during these conversations? Are you re-affirming the team objectives? Are telling them how they are contributing to the larger vision? Talking about their career trajectory? But most importantly, are you getting their opinions about how things could improve?  These conversations could become a very interesting and effective tracking mechanism for the team objectives.

Doesn't matter, whether your team is full of new initiates or senior directors with years and years of experience managing large organizations. Whether it is 1:1s, team workshops or talk over a cup of coffee or a glass of whiskey, tell them your story. It could be the most important thing that will ever you do as a leader.

I stopped working out once the lockdown was announced and the gym got closed. Why? Could I have worked out at home? Yes. I just got dumbass lazy. Everything else is just excuses.

Nevertheless, the gym opened in November. And within a week I was back. And boy was I back. I pushed so hard, I ended up injuring one of my shoulder ligaments. Nothing serious, happens once every two years or so. Heals within a few weeks of rest (although it is taking longer these days... age showing effects...!). I am off workout at the time of this writing. I hope I am back in the gym by the time this gets published.

But tracking and adjusting goals has been at the top of my mind last couple of days. How do you measure fitness when it comes to strength training. Running is easy. You can set a goal of 1000 kms in a year and then break it down to 85 kms per month, further break it down to about 17 kms a week give or take. if you miss a day, catch up the next. You still have a way to track progress. but with strength training, I don't have such metrics.

Earlier I used to measure tonnage. How much weight I push throughout the year. So Chest day, 80 kgs benchpress 12 reps, 4 sets, twice a week makes 80 X 12 X 4 X 2 = 7680 kgs per week. Now if I workout 40 weeks in a 52 week year, that makes it 307200 kgs (or 339 tons give or take) for just chest in a year. If I set a target for each body part like that, it could keep me going.

But then, is weight really a good measure? Strength training can be more effectively done with smaller weights resistance training and even body weight training. The measuring tape is another criteria. And then you have tools like the fat percentage calculator.

There is also the happiness quotient. How fit you are defines how happy you are. But that's vague. I am still thinking about this, haven't made up my mind. How am I going to measure fitness this year?. But one thing is for sure. You cannot improve what you cannot measure. And you lose focus if you don't track.

The plan for the rest of the winters is going back to basics. Push hard, get back in shape, eat right and measure and track, measure and track, measure and track. I have had way too much of 2020. I am ready for 2021 (ironically, sounds like 2020 won...! Pun intended).

I did a solo motorcycle trip to Sikkim in 2019 and a group motorcycle trip to Nepal in 2020 with my motorcycle club. Now I am planning another one to the Northeast in early 2021. Of course it depends on a lot of things. We have the new COVID imported directly from UK and only God knows if it will allow me to travel. But watch this space.

If you would like updates on my rides, you can follow me on Instagram. My handle is @donzden.