Impressions and expressions

There was a discussion in a Whatsapp group on strategies to beat stress and create peace of mind. This post is based on what I wrote there. 1. Reduce time on news and social Media : I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook and Twitter. I like some of the discussions there and love reading the literary stuff posted by friends. But there is too much "spam" too and it is difficult to filter that garbage. And Facebook, by design, encourages us to "consume" a lot without "producing" much. So for a long time, I struggled with Facebook to decide how to use it and interact with it. After lot of experimentation, which included staying away from Facebook entirely for more than a month, I currently follow this "30 minute rule ". I only spend 30 minutes per day (I use a timer) on social media and news.  I read the following on my phone in that order (you may have your own list) - US News (Yahoo News Digest App), India News (Eenadu e-paper, an Ind...

Whether we change or not, we all have a desire to improve ourselves.  New Year offers a logical opportunity to pause and reflect. That is why "new year resolutions" are very popular, though in practice most resolutions do not live long. Yet, I think it is always useful to be "inspired". Inspiration can pull us out of lethargy. So here are 5 articles that I found most inspiring to make a positive change in my life. Hope they help you too! Managing Oneself: I have great admiration for Peter Drucker, the management guru. My love for him started when I read his article in HBR titled "Managing oneself". It contains wonderful advice for creating a "fruitful life", starting with knowing your strengths, putting yourself in a career that utilizes those strengths and planning for a productive retirement. I read it every 6 months or so to get inspired. Very highly recommended. The HBR article is not freely available on the web, but that article itself...

“Three” is a magic number because our brain seems to have some natural affinity to this number. It is easier to remember three things than five or six things. So why not start the new year with “three inspirations”? Here I pick three tools & concepts that helped me in my personal productivity over the years. 1. “Circle of Concern” vs “Circle of Influence” Stephen Covey ’s " 7 habits of highly effective people " is one of the first personality development books I read back in my college days. I consider it the most useful and inspiring book I ever read. It helped me to overcome some of my "public speaking" fears in those days. That book teaches many "principles", but the one principle that I found most practical (I use it at least 2-3 times every month) is - "Circle of Concern" vs "Circle of Influence" " Circle of concern " is everything you are concerned about - your life, your career, your family & friend...