Multi-Juggling Tips

Loving June’s energy already - momentum, multi-passionate hustle. Frenetic (yet fun!) last few days juggling cousins, aunts, nieces, nephews & friends visiting from India. They all happened to land at the same time for different reasons when on the work front I’ve also been prepping for literary agents & a return to broadcasting - moderated a panel for Times Now, a major English news network in India on the Indian elections & their impact on the diaspora here. So, between chatting & catching up, school concerts, BBQs & figuring meals, people trooping in & out of the house, kept sneaking away to make & take calls, and converted our backyard into my office so green grass could keep tingling my feet while I continued spots of research between socializing.

Tool tips if you too are the multi-juggling type:

1. Use AI to extract key points for you from lengthy research articles. Especially when you’re trying to ingest a lot of material in a short time. Paste the article in. Ask for key points. Pronto!

2. Use Otter.ai to record notes to yourself or even brainstorm conversations. Used it the other day to record a cousin giving me the lowdown on the Indian economy while I pottered around the kitchen.

3. Use Speechify to listen to articles, your own writing, anything really while you drive, shower, walk, whatever! 

4. This one for commuters/drivers - take the train instead. You can continue working as I did while squeezing in a quick visit to Grand Central to meet high school pals. Loved the views too, my train ran parallel to the Hudson River for the most part. 

Personal: Naps. Big fan. Coz I like the quiet of deep night for research, especially during crunch time. But then you need a reset during the day along with a partner who can take over the kiddos. Mine is always a good sport! Also, breath! So important - I am now doing breath work pretty much daily. 

And don’t forget to look up from the phone! Enjoyed watching the sun’s textures on train windows & in corners of the station & on my younger son in formal attire.

⁠As to the panel moderation gig—from last-minute guest changes to sound glitches—it was a whirlwind. Despite all that, enjoyed juicy discussions with two diverse panels on the Indian elections from the lens of the Indian diaspora, various facets of Indo-U.S. strategic ties—geopolitical, economic, and how this partnership remains robust regardless of who comes to power in either country.

It was great working with Times Now again — before I started the authorship journey with my first novel, I had reported for them as their U.S. correspondent for a decade!