The Myth of the "Real India": Why Travel Vloggers Get It Wrong

I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos recently featuring foreign vloggers traveling to India to document their experiences. and something is not right in what is happening.

India is, without a doubt, a complex country. We are 1.6 billion people strong, and yes, we face massive hurdles. Our politics, a collective consciousness often influenced by pseudoscience, and blind faith have sometimes worked against us. I am the first to admit that we have fallen behind in the global race. While we once had a massive advantage with our English-speaking population, countries like China have surged ahead in manufacturing, defense, robotics, and infrastructure. Meanwhile, we are still grappling with corruption that rots our public systems, a lack of jobs, and environmental exploitation. Rivers, forests, air, and food—everything sacred has been compromised. Our civic sense often leaves much to be desired; we ogle, we honk without reason, and our hygiene standards in public spaces needs a complete overhaul.

The Home Espresso Paradox: Why Geeking Out feels like Ruining My Coffee

The more I geek out about coffee, the less I seem to actually enjoy drinking it. 

It is a strange paradox.

I have had a home espresso machine for over a year now. By this point, my routine is set in stone. I pull three double shots every single day.

The first shot: 15 minutes after I wake up and down my first glass of water.

The second shot: Right after breakfast (which changes depending on the season).

The third shot: The afternoon pick-me-up, usually between 2:00 and 3:00 pm.

I have enjoyed this ritual immensely. Making espresso at home is a total banger of a deal. However, I quickly learned that coffee is a rabbit hole. You can totally nerd out and spend an almost infinite amount of money on gear.

I am careful about those things. To keep my adventures controlled (and within budget), I started with a modest Wirsh Espresso machine. It only cost about $110 USD. I didn’t go crazy with accessories, either. I grabbed a heavy tamper, a cheap $6 digital scale, and a couple of nice cups.

Most importantly, I bought a decent coffee bean grinder that gave me control over how fine or coarse I needed to grind. With that setup, I was off to the races.

The 51mm Limitation
My Wirsh machine uses a 51mm portafilter. With time, I learned that this size is distinct from the pro or semi-pro machines, which usually rock a 58mm standard. While the 58mm baskets allow for a wider puck, they require you to build pressure differently. I found that the smaller 51mm size is actually cheaper to manufacture and slightly more forgiving for a beginner home barista.

My learning curve involved playing around with grinding settings, ratios, and puck prep until I finally figured out the beans I liked and how to get the best taste.

The Ratio Trap
Recently, I decided to re-examine my process to see if I could learn a new trick or two. I told myself: Let’s hone in on the output ratios and see if I can make my coffee stand out a little more.

That is where the trouble started.

The first problem is that I don’t have a high-end, micro-gram measuring scale. When you are dealing with espresso, precision matters.

The second problem is the hardware. With a 51mm portafilter, I can squeeze in a maximum of 13 grams of coffee grounds. If I go overboard and touch 14 or 15 grams, the machine chokes and ruins the extraction.

This brings me to the math. If I use 13 grams of coffee at a strict 1:2 espresso ratio, I am supposed to get only 26 grams of liquid output.

That is nothing. It is hardly two sips.

Yes, I can tell that the concentration of the coffee is getting better, and the flavor profile is more distinct, but I can’t get enough of it. It is really messing with the experience I used to have.

Before I started bothering with the math, I enjoyed the silky crema and the beautiful warm tones of a larger cup of coffee. But I seem to have lost that joy recently because I got caught in the ratios.

Espresso is just such a weird thing sometimes. It is nerdy, artsy, techie, frustrating, and rewarding all at once. It is challenging, yet still so simple.

Just like life.

Why Your Cold Email Strategy is Failing?: A 2-Year Case Study

For two years, I stepped out of my comfort zone to take our Inside Sales team under my wing.

The goal was simple: Generate more leads.

The reality? It was anything but simple. We were a brand new team with limited experience. We had to build the plane while flying it—making calls, writing scripts, and navigating the noise of LinkedIn.

We ran campaigns that stretched over weeks. We sent thousands of emails. And while our open rates looked decent on paper (consistently over 20%), the actual opportunities were scarce.

It was a grueling marathon, but it taught me exactly what works—and more importantly, what doesn't.

If you are building an outbound engine today, here is the playbook I wish I had on Day 1.

Stop Pretending Your Layoff Was "Okay"

This is one of the most difficult periods in the IT industry, but the strangest part isn't the economy. It’s our reaction to it.

I’ve noticed a trend on LinkedIn. When people are let go, they aren't necessarily "celebrating," but they are reacting with a bizarre sense of acceptance.

The tone is almost: "Well, it happened. It is okay. On to the next."

They write updates that sound calm and unbothered, almost normalizing the event. 

They hide the anxiety of losing a job they gave years—sometimes decades—of their lives to.

I say this with full sympathy, and I’m not trying to be an ahole.**

But why do we feel the need to act like "it is okay"?

Solitude vs. Loneliness: Why Being Alone Doesn’t Mean Being Lonely

It took me a long time to realize the difference between two very important words: being alone and being lonely.

I have always enjoyed being alone. 

Even as a kid, I felt that I simply needed more time by myself. 

There was just so much to do.

During my early college days, when I first got a computer, I was constantly working with CDs and software. In those days, everything came on physical discs. There were a few tech magazines that were very popular, like Chip and Digit. My mom bought them for me regularly, and they became a ritual.

Because they were premium magazines, they came wrapped in a plastic bag. They covered the latest news from the tech world, but the most important thing was the beautiful CD packed inside. It was loaded with new software, demos, and games.

H1B: A Two-Way Street Turned Political Game

 Job hunting or switching jobs on an H1B visa is a nightmare.

That is the reality.

With the constant news cycles, political debates, and emotionally charged narratives around H1B, the environment has become extremely volatile. I’m not going to go deep into the politics of it. Everyone has an opinion, and most of it is noise anyway.

My view is simple.

H1B is a legal visa that allows highly skilled professionals to come and work in the US. It exists because the ecosystem needs it. Is it abused sometimes? Yes, absolutely. I know companies that charge people money to bring them here, drain the soul out of them, and function more like exploitative consultancies than ethical employers.

But in my experience, the majority do not fall into that category.

Most H1B professionals I’ve worked with have been paid at or above market rates. There are mandated baseline wages for each role, and I have not personally seen anyone working closely with me who was underpaid simply because they were on H1B. In fact, many of them are paid extremely well because their skills genuinely justify it.

Now, it is also human nature for people to feel threatened when the size of the pie feels like it’s shrinking. That instinct exists everywhere. In India, we argue over states, language, caste, and region. So when Indians talk about racism or exclusion abroad, it often feels ironic. But I’ll leave that thread here.

---

A Transaction, Not a Favor

I don’t even think the US has done H1B holders a “favor.”

They created a system with strict conditions and hefty fees. People who qualified made it through. That’s it.

It has always been a two-way street.

You contribute to the American economy.
You pay taxes.
You pay visa fees.
You help build companies and innovation.

In return, you earn well, gain global exposure, build a life, and become part of the social and cultural fabric of this country. It’s not charity. It’s a transaction. A fair one.

---

Where the Real Problem Lies Today

The biggest challenge now is not the visa itself — it’s the uncertainty around it.

Due to constant political signaling, companies have become hesitant to hire or transfer H1B professionals. What was earlier an uncomfortable process has now become a risky one.

Organizations see H1B hiring as a compliance risk. Tomorrow, a new rule might penalize them for increasing their H1B headcount. Or new conditions may suddenly make their workforce legally vulnerable.

We saw this recently when there was sudden news about H1B fees shooting up to $100,000 and forcing some visa holders to return to their home countries. That announcement caused global panic, only to later be clarified that existing visa holders were not impacted. Damage done. Trust shaken.

For companies, this uncertainty translates into:
“Better safe than sorry.”

For employees, it translates into something far worse.

---

Living on Fragile Ground

Being on an H1B visa is already a fragile journey.

You live with:

• Continuous renewals

• Long green card waits (often a lifetime)

• Fear of procedural errors

• Anxiety of policy changes

• Dependence on employer sponsorship

Politics only makes this worse.

You become tied to your employer, not because you want to stay, but because you cannot afford to move. Mobility gets restricted. Opportunities shrink. And in some cases, this creates fertile ground for exploitation.

No professional should feel trapped simply because they chose to contribute to an economy legally and ethically.

---

My Perspective After 13 Years

I’ve been in the US for 13 years.
And I have never felt that the US government owes me anything.

I came here by choice. I followed the rules of the land. I respected the system. I benefited from it, and I gave back more than my share through work, taxes, and contribution.

But I sincerely believe programs like H1B should be simpler, clearer, and more humane.

If the country wants to abolish the program and Congress believes that is in the nation’s best interest — fine. That is their prerogative. But don’t use H1B professionals as political chess pieces. Don’t destabilize lives to score vote points.

Let people do the bigger and better things they are capable of. Make movement easier. Make portability simpler. Let talent flow where it is most productive.

---

A Thought That Keeps Coming Back

My personal opinion — and I have held this for years — is simple:

Anyone who has spent more than 10 years in the US on an H1B, remained compliant, paid taxes, and met all legal thresholds, should be granted permanent residency.

These are not temporary placeholders anymore. These are people who have built companies, raised families, driven innovation, and strengthened the economy. Making their life easier would not weaken America. It would multiply its potential.

---

This is not about entitlement.
This is about logic, stability, and long-term national interest.

And more importantly — it’s about basic human dignity.

The Hidden Cost of Working From Home for Too Long

For years, I have worked from home.

In fact, ever since I moved to the US in 2013, remote work has been my default. I would either travel to customer locations or work out of my home office. As I moved into more senior roles, this freedom became even more natural.

Except for a couple of years when I moved to Florida and worked from a client’s office, I’ve essentially lived a remote-work life for more than a decade.

And while working from home has amazing advantages, it also comes with meaningful downsides that reveal themselves only over time.

Upsides of Working From Home

Massive Freedom
I can pick up and drop my kids. I can step out between meetings to run errands. Life becomes more fluid, like everything fits into one continuous calendar instead of two competing ones.


Extreme Flexibility
This is the big one. No commute. No traffic. No wasted hours sitting in a car or on a train. Honestly, it’s hard for me to imagine now how people willingly choose to spend a couple of hours every day going to and from work.


Better Energy Management
You can tailor your environment, take breaks when needed, eat at home, and generally run your day without the usual office friction. For many years, this felt like the perfect setup.

Downsides of Working From Home

This is where reality hits after you’ve lived remote life long enough.

The experience becomes stale
You start craving the freshness of stepping into an office—new spaces, new energy, random interactions, the simple human feeling of movement. Sitting in the same spot for years begins to feel like creative suffocation.


The magic of serendipity disappears
Offices are not just workplaces—they’re idea factories.
Being remote is like being on a mission: you execute what you already know.
Being around people helps you figure out new missions—what really matters, what has value, what direction the team should take.
That randomness is underrated, and it’s lost when you’re remote for too long.


Leadership becomes harder
In corporate jobs, leading teams, influencing decisions, and building relationships is a requirement—not optional. You simply can’t survive without it.
Remote leadership works on paper, but in reality, subtle things get lost: body language, mood, hallway chats, trust-building moments.
You only realize how important these are when they’re gone.


Freedom becomes a curse
This one sounds counterintuitive.
But having an open schedule, especially as a leader, is one of the hardest things to navigate.
When you are senior enough and have done things right, most of your time becomes unstructured.
You’re often staring at a blank page—your day, your goals, your plans. And that blank page can feel overwhelming.
Remote work amplifies this loneliness. There’s no natural rhythm, no environmental cues, no spontaneous direction-setting.

Why Full-Time Remote Is Less Than Ideal for Senior Leaders

This is my honest takeaway after more than a decade of remote work:
full-time remote work is great for execution roles, but not ideal for senior leadership.

Leadership needs presence—physical energy, human connection, proximity to people, and the ability to influence through the subtle moments that never get scheduled on a calendar.

If there’s one thing I would change about my work today, it’s this:
I would not be fully remote in a senior role.
Not because remote is bad, but because leadership requires a level of in-person richness that simply cannot be replicated behind a webcam.

From Cloud to AI: How Tech Vendors Profit While Businesses Hunt for the Real Gold

Not just now, but since the gold rush era, one thing has been consistently true: selling shovels has almost always been more profitable than digging for gold.

As long as there is a fantasy created around riches, and dreams associated with wealth, there will always be more diggers than discoverers.

The IT and technology industry has been playing this game since its beginning.

What started simply as a cost arbitrage—hiring an engineer halfway across the world instead of paying a high salary to someone on the mainland—quickly turned into an industry of shovel sellers.

You could hire engineers with every imaginable tech skill at a fraction of the price. But what you did with them, how you made them productive, and whether they produced “gold” for your business—that responsibility was entirely yours. 

Why I Say No to Most Recruiter Calls: The Reality of Senior-Level Hiring in Today’s IT Market

My style of operating and talking to people has always been simple, straight, and just as things are. I don't like to complicate life, and I don’t like pretending either. It still surprises me when I hear some of my colleagues say they get one or two interviews every week. I have honestly never experienced that.

My LinkedIn profile has done extremely well. I publish regularly. I stay active and visible. But the number of meaningful positions I get approached for, or the number of interviewers who actually reach out with something real, is very small.

I also know how the game works on the other side. Companies advertise for roles that expect you to have managed several hundred million dollars of business. And I personally know some of the people interviewing for these roles—they have not done those numbers. So it surprises me how easily people make big claims, and how easily decision-makers on the other side believe them.

But that is not really the point of this post.

Why I moved from publishing on LinkedIn to publishing on Blogger?

 From publishing on LinkedIn, I have moved to writing my thoughts on my blog. 

There are a few reasons.

Publishing on the LinkedIn means, I must write on professional stuff only.

I don't want to talk about running, endurance, food, and other life related things.

I see people doing that all the time, and sharing personal things.

this makes LinkedIn feels like Facebook sometimes.

but I don't want to do that.

Starting to eat Eggs everyday as an endurance runner, and returning to blogger

I restarted eating eggs. 

I had stopped eating eggs few years back. 

I had in fact stopped consuming dairy - butter, milk, cheese, and trying to become a responsible human being. I never turned fully vegan, but the consideration was always there. I would still like to do things which don't harm animals which are inclusive and respectful. 

Through my last 2 years running journey, I have had an occasional Ghee or cheese when unavoidable. 

But I didnt use any milk, cheese, eggs, or any other forms of dairy in my day-to-day diet. 

And I didnt face any tangible downsides. but I missed eggs.

There are a few things which I'm fond of when it comes to eating or drinking. 

Maximize Your Cold Email Open Rates | Book now!

What happens when your curated messages go unnoticed? 

You're not alone. 

You know the power of a great cold email. 

Here’s How to Fix That.

Every day, businesses face a silent killer in their outreach strategy: 

Low open rates.

An unopened cold email is a missed opportunity.

if great products sold themselves, we won't need sales, advertisers or copy writers.

You need to understand your customers desire, and tap into that.

The subject line, tone, structure, and the clarity - play role in getting attention. 

If you're not seeing the results you desire from your cold outreach, it's time to reassess.

That’s where I come in.

New youtube channel - niche down or go wide

 I have been planning content and what I will make my videos about on YouTube.

I am glad that I have gone over the hump and started to push small videos as shorts meanwhile. two shorts have gone out, while I have prepared some content for my channel.

The biggest question where I see a lot of contradictory advice is whether to narrow down or go broad-based on your interest.

it's quite confusing.

Youtube being the second biggest search engine in the world, means that you can get visibility by making useful content on a completely different topic - I have been thinking of making a video about our three-year ownership of Volvo XC90, what are the things that I love about the car, and what are the things that I don't like about the vehicle. similarly, considering collating videos from our recent trip to Wisconsin, as a travel log to showcase where we stayed and how we planned our trip.

On the other hand, I can see that building your channel on a particular theme, around the persona of the viewer is a strong approach as well. There is absolutely no doubt about it, but can it be too painful to collect feedback just by choosing a topic or persona like that. how do I know that niche will work?

I am torn, but I am thinking that at the beginning I should make videos on broader ideas, create separate playlists, and see how the world's second-largest search engine treats my content.

I will return to record my observations.

if you have not seen my channel, pls check it out here iSaurabhMittal - YouTube

Cheers

A new beginning - my youtube channel is here

After toying with the idea for a long time, I pushed myself ahead by starting my YouTube channel today.

the first video is live and available here https://youtu.be/YtoD79pmALk 

Creating video content is harder than the textual format which has been my preferred mode for content creation.

Several skills come together to create a video.

- writing the idea

- creating a thumbnail which essentially needs some design and photography

- shooting video - is the easiest in the scheme of things

- editing the video - there is no upper limit here

As I have started, I have kept it simple.

my goal for first few videos is to do them a talkhead style and then collect feedback.

Let us see where this goes.

Cheers

This post is to clear my mind and help move forward

I am writing this post to clear my mind and document where I was in the middle of 2024, a day before my birthday.

The last 4 months have been hard. 

There is very little happening in the market. 

B2b sales are down. 

The pipeline is dry. My days are dead.

There are tons of ideas that I have executed to improve the situation:

1. Attending conferences to bring in new leads.
2. Reach out to every contact we have spoken to in the past 2 years. anyone with whom we have first-round meetings, demoss or any type of contact made this list.
3. Drive inside sales team to industry-focused outreach,  dedicated accounts list to reach into named accounts list.
4. Writing campaigns that have a tremendous open rate but zero inquiries.
5. Continuous training to the inside sales team on phone calls emails, and LinkedIn.
6. Writing a ton of content on LinkedIn myself to share what I am learning (and hoping that this will spread the word, and get us established as a thought leader).

Nothing has worked so far. 

The only positives have been:

1. Increased views on LinkedIn. Some of my posts went into 6k views 
2. Strong open rates for emails written by me. these are over 15% open rates. Some of my written emails have been used by my team, which has done well.

I have a feeling of burning out. 

However, There have been a few existing customer conversations. [I am planning to get involved deeply there].

What do I enjoy doing the most?

my ultimate favorite thing to do throughout my career is consulting and helping customers. specifically, working on a high-level transformation journey, where I get to study a CIO or CISO goals and turn that into vision. this generally requires understanding pain points across systems, use cases, goals, and systems. almost like a business architect or an enterprise business architect.

The second thing I enjoy the most in my roles is consulting at a granular level. driving initiatives and projects with my team, more like a delivery leader who can sell more and more to customers, by way of delivering results and building a relationship.

None of those are happening right now. 

Existing customers are maximized and not the reason for our problems.

We cannot land new customers. 

What can happen next?

There are a few scenarios that I can see playing out. 

I have seen these play out in my head so many times. 

It is worth writing on a piece of paper (or this blog) to get them out of my system.

1. Status quo- Nothing changes for the next few weeks. After our company is merged with the acquiring company, then we see an uptick in conversations and opportunities.
2. Finding another opportunity where I move out. This is a low-possibility item, given the market is slow, too many layoffs, and tons of talent in the market.
3. Finding a new customer via our inside sales efforts. All it takes is one good opportunity that can change everything. this is likely, but inside sales trends have been poor in the past 4 weeks.
4. I get fired. least likely knowing my CEO. but, if I were at any other place, I wouldn't be around. Most companies and leaders don't like to point things towards themselves, and it is easiest to fire others. 

My CEO understands that and also knows that I am the best in the industry with the stack of skills that I bring to the table.

To keep me from going insane, I am spending time reading good material, continuously executing email campaigns, and thinking about how can we keep our message sharp.

Apart from that, I am trying to spend time on other things outside of work (though unable to completely plug it off).

Cheers for now.

The Joys of Security conferences

The security conferences scene is exploding...
with fluff.  Some honest talk is below. 👇

It is a bubble that may last longer than I like.

The keynotes are regurgitating high-level common sense stuff.

The solutions are generic. Vendors are desperate to speak to Prospects.

As a vendor, If you don't attend the conferences, there is this fear of missing out.

Vendors swarm executives. 

They may have access to funds. 

Not because they are thought leaders.

You realize,

• more than half of the "Executives" showed up for free food, to build their social profiles, to skip work, or all of it.
• most have no intentions, interest, or authority to make a buying decision [irrespective of their titles].

Who is having fun on whose cost is unclear?

A clear case where selling shovels is more profitable than digging gold.

How to do deep work and accomplish great things, learnings from Cal Newport

 Listening and reading to cal Newport has been refreshing. I have heard great things about his book "Deep Work" and it has been sitting on my table for a few days.

I happened to listen to a couple of his podcasts, and YouTube videos.

I also dive deeper into his book and start devouring some of the chapters. Here are some of the lessons I came out learning from the book, and I thought I would share

What qualifies as deep work?

It must demand brain power.

Things that are hard and need us to think, plan and engage our brains.
It must happen without distractions and context changes.

A zone where we only focus on one thing.

Why focus on deep work?

It moves the needle. It is the Strategy. the Big decisions. The Directional ideas. These are important to our lives, helping us achieve big goals.
Shallow work is necessary as it moves things and keeps the light on. We need to strike the right balance based on our job or work.

Here are a few strategies cal suggests:

1. Know Your ratio of Deep Vs Shallow work. Each of them is important in its own way but be aware of what is your mix.
2. Study your work pattern. Establish an approach that works for you. Cal outlined the following:

Monastic approach - Focus on that one thing.Disconnecting from everything else.

Biomodal approach- Shuttling between the two. Turn into a monastic and then return to normal. A few hours a day or a few days a week of distraction-free time.

Rythmic approach - Finding a secured time on a daily or a rhythmic basis to do your goals. This is shorter in comparison to monastic or bimodal approaches. For example, 15 mins to write every day.

Journalistic approach - Making the best use of time when you can find it. Using time emergencies to induce and complete work.

3. Set up a space and a routine for deep work. Make it non-negotiable.
4. Set up a ritual. It may be the desk or the cup or drinking coffee or closing the door of the room. Let your brain knows that it's time for work.

What are the practical tips that have helped you carry out deep work?

Finding where to go is the most difficult thing in the world

 The resistance is real.

In enterprise sales, there are days when your calendar is already filled. you have meetings, proposals to finish, pricing calculations to be done, slides to review, executive summaries to write, and deliver presentations.

But, there are days when you are faced with an empty calendar. A blank sheet of white paper.

When those days come right after a grueling work week, it's a welcome change. you relax. organize your work. think about strategy, improve, and prepare for the next thing.

but when these days are followed by empty calendar days, the resistance becomes your enemy.

Breaking the rhythm becomes really difficult.

It becomes hard to differentiate if this is temporary or permanent.

To some degree everyone faces it. 

We want our strings attached to someone or something, so they can pull us.

Having a clear direction to march towards is such a luxury. 

You are told where to go, and what to do.

But the hardest thing in the world is to put that plan for yourself, let alone an entire organization.

Why no is reading my posts? Or newsletter? Or cold emails

 The above questions have plagued me often.

This is a constant question i ask myself every few days when I notice a plateau.

In my pursuit for engagement, I turn to twitter.

I drown in the ocean of smart writers, great hooks and threads.

They have so much to say, yet the real connection missing. That secret sauce is often behind a sales page in form of a ebook or a guide or a course.
A ton of them offer their highest value product Free. ”only until this friday”. If only you gave them the email ID right now.

But, my question remains open.

This question is like asking

"What is the meaning of life".

There is no one answer.

Plus it may not be worth finding the answer but living and experiencing.
Here is what has what has helped me move forward every time i ask that question.

Clarity and Purpose

What is that i am sending that email? why i am writing weekly? What is the larger purpose behind? knowing this is important. it reminds you of your mission. Doing something without a mission can be disorienting.

Who is this for, What is in it for them

Why should they read? It is important to continue to sharpen the persona for whom you write. It better be not for everything. and, why? Assuming that persona and putting yourself in those shoes, tells you what may be worth their time. Why should they read? why should they get on a call? why should they leave everything and listen to you?

Embrace Trial and Error mindset

This is the life and blood of anyone who works with any creative pursuit. No one knows the recipie. heck, if there is one, it changes. People are doing million things. so, it is important to start with a failure case in mind, and adapt trial and error mindset.

Simplicity of the message is super power

The simplicity is key. writing in simple language. focusing on benefits. not blowing your own horn. keeping the message short. the simplicity matters. Dont over complicate it.

Staying at it if the purpose is noble

The final piece is to pick yourself up and show up. even when you feel like giving up, do it one more time. remind yourself about the goal and the purpose. If the purpose is noble, stay the course.

Here are 7 powerful Daily practices that have a deep impact on my work, personal life, and mindset

 The biggest gains in life come from compounding. be it an investment of money, time, or building skills. The longer the time horizon the bigger skill you can build.

A shortcut method will not work. Here are things that give me immediate returns on invested time. I ask you to try them out and include them in your day.

7 hours of sleep

sleep is a game changer. Our brains have neuroplasticity which means they can change. The right sleep and nutrition can do amazing things for us. Lebron James schedules everything around 10 hrs of sleep at night. He knows sleep is at the core of peak performance.

10 glasses of water

Once you start chugging more water, you realize how dehydrated you have always been. Drinking more water gives me higher energy, reduces fatigue, and keeps me active.

Write to untangle your head

I have been guilty of not being regular. The days I write are calmer. Writing down first thing or in the first hours of the morning helps me untangle my mind and reduce anxiety. My tip is not to not write with a pre-set format or prompts. write as your head wants. keep it open-ended. the mind will clear itself.

Exercise to change your state

Exercise is amazing. it has one of the fastest ROIs. you don't need to run a marathon or deadlift 500 pounds to get benefits. a few mins of sprinting can fire you up. Tony Robbins says, change your state to change your mindset and strategy. Something that ups your heartbeat and gets blood pumping can do wonders for our mental state.

2 to 5 mins of Deep Breathing

2 to 5 mins of deep breathing can clear your head. the extra oxygen helps calm the body and reset the monkey's mind. I usually do this a few times a day, and it feels incredible.

5 mins of Meditation

Sitting down and meditating is a game changer. My personal practice is not to use any chants. I sit down with my thoughts. 10 mins of meditation have great benefits throughout the day.

Fasting for 16 hrs

I have been intermittent fasting now for over a year. I eat my first meal at 12:30 and my dinner at 7:45 pm. The mornings are chugging water and coffee. This has been great for me. It has ROIed in reducing weight, making me fitter, more active, and more attentive compared to my old self.

That's it.
What are your favorite activities? The ones that have a quick return on time investment in improving your days?