Days of our lives

Days of our lives
Building a Perfect Day(June 26) was a great read on how you can build a day that strikes the perfect balance between work and rest.
Motivational books, like the ones by Robin Sharma, tell us that we can achieve the most if we are up by 5am, exercise and eat right. This might be true for a lot of people, but as the article says, many of us tend to be night owls - which makes waking up at 5am really painful. Having worked in the service industry, I know what it's like to do a 5am morning shift or a late night shift that stretches into the wee hours of the morning. Frankly, the morning shifts were a lot harder to deal with, as I would get back in the evening and do absolutely nothing out of sheer exhaustion. I guess everyone has their own personal balance when it comes to rest and creativity.
I also loved how the article helps you to maximise your day as working professionals, as it is one of the biggest challenges the current generation faces. Stay-at-home parents with young children, of course, face different challenges as their days are determined by their child's mood, health and interests.
Healthy eating habits during the day have a lot to do with your upbringing, culture and what you are used to at home. Articles and research we read on social media and in wknd. do help, but it's not always easy going with the fast-paced lives of today.
While it's important to stay connected with family and friends over the phone and on social media, I second the idea that you need to log out and have some me time. Switch off your Wi-Fi at night, as obsessively checking Whatsapp and Facebook is tot-ally unnecessary, especially if you're just about to go to bed. Nothing is that important that it can't wait till the morning.
Basically, everything in moderation is the way to be and that will help us to - at least - try to build the perfect day. - Aparna Krishnan!

Congratulations on your winning entry, Aparna Krishnan! We'll be in touch soon.

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 » Steps of passion
Dance is poetry in motion! Honestly, I don't dance well, I only balter - which means "to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill but usually with enjoyment", according to Merriam Webster. I am glad to have found this word because it totally describes the way I dance!
Despite my low dance quotient, I find dancing very liberating. It fills me with a sense of freedom and abandonment that nothing else can match. I just need to make sure that, unlike true dancers who dance as though no one is watching, I must balter only when no one's watching!
All the Right Moves (June 26) made for an engaging read and I loved every detail, especially how well each dancer articulated the nuances of the different dance forms and their passion for them. They are indeed born to dance.
Dancing is as good for the mind as it is for the body, and Lara, the ballet dancer, sums it up well when she says that ballet (or any other dance form for that matter) instils in you self-discipline, poise and coordination.
Unlike any other art, dance is one that has to be performed every time - there's nothing to be saved and kept aside.
As dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham said, "You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive."
And that single fleeting moment when you feel alive is what makes dance so unique and a true hidden language of the soul. - Annie Mathew, by email

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» The role reversal
We humans play different roles during our lifetime and we strive to enact them with élan and to the best of our ability. But it is a bit difficult to accept it when the roles are swapped (12 Parenting Tips. From the Young Ones, June 19)!
Kids giving advice to the parents on parenting can be quite surprising and shocking - to parents. But they do make sense and hence, should be taken seriously. Wanting the best for your children is a universal goal of all parents, but while giving their kids the best of everything, they tend to go overboard, become possessive, have unrealistic expectations of their offspring and push them too much.
Today's digital world has made kids smarter, wiser and mature before their time. They have learnt to speak their mind. They love their parents, but detest their unsolicited advice, meddling in every aspect, comparing them to their friends or siblings, and trying to fulfill their own dreams and live vicariously through them.
Give children your quality time, trust them, give them a pat on the back, guide them on the right path, but let them learn right and wrong through their own experiences. You have to be their role model, and for that you have to create a place in their hearts. A daunting task, but well worth the effort. - Jayashree Kulkarni, on email