Getting Candid with Shikha Dhar

Hello everyone,

A warm welcome to my readers. Looking at the lovely and overwhelming response from you all and understanding the need to cater to a diverse audience, I’ve decided to gradually keep adding some categories to my blog content.

This month, I introduce a special category called ‘Candid Talks’. Under this section, I will be bringing you real-life interviews / stories of people who have been motivators or inspiration to others in our daily lives.

Meet my first guest Shikha Dhar, Assistant Manager at Digital Strategy & Content, Sony Music, India. Having studied her MBA in marketing, she joined ICICI Bank and then moved to Sony Music, and is now handling complete music marketing, Influencer relations and third-party applications for the Sony Music India repertoires and products. At 26, she is a true motivator, what with her professional attitude, time management skills and her great love for fitness. Even in the hustle-bustle of a busy day, she perfectly balances her work and family life and also finds time for her diet and fitness routine. Her evergreen mantra for relaxation is – Green Tea!

Over to Shikha Dhar:

1. Describe yourself in 3 words.

Self-motivated, disciplined & a keen learner.

2. How do you strike a balance between your personal and professional life?

 2020 has made us all realise the importance of striking a balance between the personal and professional life. With this work-from-home atmosphere, I consciously make an effort to separate my work life by trying to mentally shut down post working hours, spend some quality time with my books and my family. Trying to bring back the old routine by chatting with friends over a zoom/video call session over the weekends, welcoming the culture of celebrating and partying from home, and most importantly, trying to control the urge of checking the emails and work mails after a certain time in the evening. I believe, it is important to give yourself a break post the working hours and especially allow some non-screen time to your eyes.

3. So what keeps you charged and motivated at work and at home? 

There are multiple things we can do to keep ourselves motivated. For me, it is my physical exercise, yoga and meditation. It does give me the motivation to welcome the day ahead. Also, journaling down my thoughts, sometimes, when feeling low and lethargic helps me gain some motivation and perspective. Creating a routine for myself through the day, especially during the WFH situation, has been extremely helpful in keeping me charged up. Also, I maintain a dedicated workspace (not my bed!) and make sure to try and move away from that space during evenings after I am done with work.

4. What’s your diet and fitness routine like? 

I do not follow a very rigorous diet and fitness plan. I believe in consistency and ensure that I do some kind of physical exercise (usually switch between yoga and functional training) everyday, even if it is just for 15-20 minutes. Once your body is used to being burned out, it shall start motivating itself. In terms of diet, I stay slightly away from sugar (at least I try to: p) but otherwise, I stick to home cooked meals and avoid eating after 8.00 pm. Green tea is definitely my go-to, I consume about 2-3 cups of green tea every day.

5. How do you handle work stress?

Managing a stressful job, during this WFH period can be quite tricky for a lot of people. I try to stick to my routine as much as I can, even during the most stressful days. It helps me break down my stress levels and relax a bit. Also, there may be times when situations may get slightly heated and stressful at work, I try to move away from the work space, get involved with a small cheerful chat with a family member. Venting out is a good solution, it can be to a friend, kin or even a colleague. At such times, journaling can be quite helpful too, it’s very known to bring stress levels down. Another good break could be watching some cheerful / quirky content or just heading for a walk before bouncing back to work. Since people have been more antsy than ever during this pandemic, stress levels have definitely been higher. But it is important to leave your work stress and not carry it on your mind, especially now, that there are no physical boundaries between office and home.

6. Do you have any special relaxation techniques to fall back on? 

Meditation has always been my relaxation technique. I meditate for about 8-10 minutes a day, but even that has been super helpful. Apart from that, I do try to relax over the weekends. Reading a book or two over a week has also been quite relaxing for me. I shuffle between some good content and a good book as my weekend plan.

7. Who do you look upto in life?

I look up to my mother first, she has been one of the most inspirational superwomen, managing her super rigorous work life along with her family and home life. She has been a great mother, friend, and well-wisher for me, along with being my mentor and teacher. That apart , I do look up to a few people, who have certain qualities that I would like to develop in myself over the years. They are: Michelle Obama, an excellent orator; Kusha Kapila, one of the most creative people I have met; and Mindy Kaling who has self-confidence to die for. Last but not the least, my father has been a great source of inspiration for me. His relationship building and maintaining skills is something I would love to adapt and do try to learn from him every single day.

8. Do you ever read blogs? 

Yes, I do.

9. What kind of blogs do you follow?

I usually follow lifestyle, health and fitness and travel blogs.

10. Your message for my readers.

My only message for your readers would be that, we know this year has been slightly heavy on everybody in some way or the other but let’s try to motivate ourselves and look at the positive side of things. This year has taught so many of us digitisation, especially in a country like ours, it has helped us think out of the box and survive in situations that we never thought we would. Let’s all look forward to a better, pandemic-free world and keep our spirits high till then.

That was Shikha for you, the young and energetic self motivator.

Do you have any such motivating and inspiring stories of people around you! Bring it on, share with me.

Thank you for reading Chasing the Maximum Life!

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