18 April 2026
Writing this from BKK.
And I am writing this in parts.
From Drink Coffee. And from Bo’s. And from a Pacamara. And of course, Starbucks. Must say, Bangkok has some incredible coffee game. Incredible in terms of looks, taste, hospitality, looks, taste, hospitality and all.
In this weeks, edition, I plan to not use the “structure” per se. Rather a brain dump of all that I’ve been thinking. This will be the closest to my morning pages thing.
Let’s go.
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1/ Skincare Routine
I’ve decided that I am gonna be a man with a skincare routine. I’ve got a shopping list made on Sephora. And since it was expensive, I bought “similar” things on Amazon and Nykaa.
In case anyone is curious, here are the lists. Anyone wants to judge and give me inputs?
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2/ Senior People
A lot of senior people from advertising industry have been impacted by AI. I’ve got frantic calls by friends and former colleagues – each with 15+ years of experience and each asking for opportunities. These are writers, designer, film producers, creative directors and the works. The ones who’ve not called so far are the suits (account management folks). The ones who moved to peripheral work (microdramas, “client” side et al) are ok. And not one has not been impacted by AI and the “efficiency” brought in about AI.
Now, on one side, I can blame my friends for not adapting. And on the other, I can try and help them. And since I recently learnt that when someone is drowning, you throw them a rope and not a swimming lesson, I will throw a life vest and a rope. And I will take an entire barge to fish them out of trouble.
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3/ Love Language.
First, see this…
Now, I will implement this.
I know that I am a dreamer. I know that I like to build and take things from 0 to 1. I have done it many times and I will do it again. And my love language is helping my people do more and see more.
And so far, I have not been able to subject them to grind and sacrifice. And I will change that.
I will demand from my people that they show up and change patterns. And I will change those for myself as well. I will become more strict about timelines, work and money. I will operate with a three strike rule. I will continue to love you but I will not let that love blind me when it comes to work. And while I do that I will not be moved by emotions. My inability to push you to do better hampers my inability to do better for all of the village. And I will remove drain on resources – time, opportunities, money etc.
So, if you see me “change”, so be it.
All I ask for at this time is support and encouragement.
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4/ The next few months
I have some ideas that I will chase in the next few months. These are not large billion dollar ideas but substantial ideas nonetheless.
I will drive Chandni and Aarya to run those. And I will lean onto everyone else in my closest system to help me drive all of us. I will operate in the war-time mode. And thanks to a lesson from Pritam, reorient myself to work on 2-week sprints. This means I will do hard calls and reviews every two weeks. For each project, I want things to move in 2-week windows and if there is no movement in 2 weeks, I will shut.
I will make some fundamental shifts in how I work. I’ve made a list of some principles that will guide me. I will also update work with saurabh page.
Some of these are…
- Living a deliberate life. This means that each thing I do will come from deep thought. Right now, I merely go with my vibes. I will continue to do so but I will also be lot more deliberate about each thing I do. And as part of this, I will offer and seek accountability. And I will drive myself and others around me.
- Focus and presence (and intensity). I dont know how to focus but I will try. And i will being my 100% presence to each thing I do. If I am playing pool, I am only playing pool and that with the intensity of a man obsessed with it.
- Relentlessness
- Sense of urgency
- Play to win and to win-win. All my life I’ve been a “nice guy” and I’ve of course not been the first. I’ve cut from my heart to let others have what they seek. I’ve tried to please everyone (and may I say I’ve been successful at this) but going forward, I will be ok if I am unable to please others. And, I dont want to be a bad person but I will play to win. And no, my winning doesnt mean that other would lose.
- Global life. I want to live a life thats not contained by borders. I dont enjoy flying as much as I did when I was younger. But that’s one inconvenience I am willing to live with. I also need to make money to be able to live ok. So that.
Lemme know what you think
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5/ Comparative Poverty
Gokul had made me realise that all poverty is subjective. Lemme elaborate.
I write this from a fancy coffee shop in a fancy part of Bangkok, the city of angels. And I feel poor. Because the last few days I was with friends from MDI who are now honchos and are in a different SEC classification of their own. And I know each time I hangout with them, I will be and feel poor.
While in India, in a Starbucks and on the road, this class difference is not as visible. But here, it was. And I need to either be ok with this (that I will not get to travel with my friends) or hustle harder to be equal with them.
And no, in friendship the class difference doesn’t disappear. I mean I can not open a 9000 rupee wine bottle for breakfast just because the restaurant is down the road from where I am staying at.
Also, just before this trip with folks from college, I was with folks from C4E. I planned the C4E trip and I did nothing on the MDI one. And I think I liked the one I planned (hotel, city centre, lots of free time etc). I’ve also reaffirmed that I dont like BnBs. I like the idea of a cleaning service and a water-on-call service and the optionality to change the room in case I dont like.
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6/ Walks
I love walking. And even though its hot AF, I walked a lot. I’ve averaged 13K steps over the last few days with at least 3 days with more than 20K steps. I can see a noticeable bulge in the calves.
I must make it a point to walk more.
I dont get to walk in Mumbai because I am not sure where to go. Maybe I will walk on the beach EACH day from 6 PM to 8 PM or whatever. And I will ensure that I dont need to be on any calls in that window.
Lol!
I’ve made many plans like these but none to fruition. Lemme not ahead of myself. I will see if I can keep my walking momentum.
Let’s go.
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7/ What I wrote published in the week gone by?
This is the only “progress” piece that I am talking about this week. More so because I am glad I was able to get these going. Three things…
- LinkedIn post on Zone of Genius
- Post on Freelancing in 2026, in the post-AI world. Here.
- Some copy-tweaks on sgwashere.com
I want to be able to write more. Even in this video-first world. This allows me to think deeper. And allows me to communicate more with more people. Video helps with communication as well. I’ll probably get more active on that. Let’s see.
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So… this is it for this week gone by. Not the best of the reviews but I am glad I wrote.
As I end this, here’s the “footer”…
One word that defines the week gone by?
Whiling time.
Not the kinds that I would like but the one where I was moving.
Physically.
Which is ok.
The other words for this year have been: Movement, Blur, Activity, Movement, Regular (again), Regular, Easy, Journey, Downtime.
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Phew!
Lemme know what you think.
See you around.
Oh, and this too shall pass!
PS: This series of posts is inspired by Thej and his weekly notes. Previous editions:
PPS: Please do point typos.
PPPS: In case you see me being inconsistent in anything – work, writing, reviews etc, PLEASE do point out.