No to blackberry: 5PM to 10PM CST

What time does the work day start?


Having worked for the offshore IT company over a decade, there is no good answer to this question.  It starts all the time and it never seems to end at all.  My Dad is a successful person in life and he knew everyday when his work day starts and when that typically ends.  So, I wanted to invent the work life balance in this generation.  It may sound funny or silly to call it an invention but it is certainly one for me.


"No to Blackberry - 5PM to 10PM CST" - is the invention in my life recently.  This is the mantra that relaxed me the most than anything else in life in a long time.  This is the secret for the work-life balance for me.  The concept gives me my life back.  The thought relaxes my mind.  The period lets me get other things done.  Primarily it reminds me the human being in myself.  This invention has a better result outside the window - my day gets planned better.  It really improves the productivity in the day before 5PM and even more at 10PM.


It makes complete sense, or at least some sense, about the 5PM.  What sense it makes for 10PM when you want to call it an invention!!  That is the practical one - there is no way in the offshore IT world or another business for that matter - not to be on top of your work.  A solid one hour at 10PM will clear the 5 hours break and set the stage for India based counterparts to kick-off their day.


Have been following it for a while now and the world hasn't come to an end.  At 9:45PM I get too eager to check mails but am able to resist until the top of the hour.  Honestly, its no big deal.  Was it ever a big deal? No.  But I always thought the world will come to end, really.  Foolishness? Yes.  Its over.


The next invention is to say no to phone calls (I still take official calls).  The obvious next step is to get rid of the laptop completely during these 5 hours even for personal use.  Life has to become personal.


Will an iPad help me as I call it a read-only machine?  Have to buy it and invent a mantra.  (Its odd that I never had an apple product for myself in life so far!! Do I sell technology??)

My country, my game!!

It has been more than 7 years I lost the opportunity to watch cricket.  It is in the last couple of years that Cricket has seen the new phase - Cricket 3.0.  Given full day presence in US, my love of game has shifted to American football (not soccer).  Being in Tennessee for most part of US life, my obvious team is Titans and I like Vince Young.  There is NBA, there is PGA, there is ML world seriece (really can't follow the whole baseball season though!!) and all kinds of NCAA stuff.  Kevin Harvick and NASCAR is certainly fun to see some serious wrecks.


Does any of this impact my love to Cricket? No.  There is no easy way to watch the game live like seven years ago.  But cricinfo.com has always been a bookmark on my links/favorites bar on all the browsers - IE or Chrome.  I do the 10-second click almost everyday to make sure I read the headlines.


Given the heavy IPL format, I have a new problem.  Which is my cricket team?  India.  It is still India.  But IPL is so much fun, I can just watch the game but need a team to support.  So, like Titans, what is my obvious choice?  Mumbai Indians - Sachin Tendulkar plays for the team - an obvious choice.  Is that my team? Yes. Born and bought up in Chennai area - I like Dhone too.  Is that my team?  Yeah.  Being a Telugu guy and been to Warangal for school, is it Hyderabad my team?  Yeah.  Gosh.  I live in Bangalore for the last decade and love the city from childhood.  Is Bangalore my team? Yeah.  Thankfully Delhi, Kolkata, Punjab and Rajastan are not competing for my race.


What a good problem to have in a game!!