Thoughts

Learning the difference is what separates the burned out from the truly great. Quick question. Be honest. Do you approach every single task at work with the same laser-focused, jaw-clenched, I-will-conquer-this energy? If yes, congratulations. You are also probably exhausted, slightly resentful, and wondering why your best work still isn't good enough. The engineer who attacks a repo access request with the same intensity as designing a brand new API isn't being diligent. They're just burning through fuel they needed for the real race. Here's the uncomfortable truth: working hard on the wrong things, with the wrong amount of energy, is still working wrong. The real skill nobody teaches you? Knowing  what kind of work  each task actually demands. Not more effort. Better judgment. The Three Buckets of Work (Yes, Only Three) Almost every task you'll ever do at work fits into one of three buckets. Get this right and your energy stops leaking. Get it wrong and you'll...

 It's important that I find my way through. Today morning something really interesting happened. Alright so today morning what I did was this. I started the morning and the first thing I took was a phone in hand. I think that's such a huge mistake. I also know it. Within no time I was on instagram. I was looking out for something interesting, but to no avail, there were reels about India Pakistan mostly and I was just scrolling through them. As I did that, I recognised that I have wasted around 2 hours just in reels. But the reality is that my day has not started and I have wasted 2 hours on reels. I know it's a holiday. I know it's chill. But in all that chill I have forgotten the fact that I will be delayed by a day if I waste these 2 hours on instagram. There are just so many things that can be done instead of instagram and we need to be focusing on that. I know it's fun to watch instagram reels but the problem that happens due that is immense.  I am coming to th...

There are matches you watch. And then there are matches that teach you something. The recent clash between the  India national cricket team  and the  Pakistan national cricket team  was one of those. India did not just win. India controlled the game. Building the Innings After losing  Abhishek Sharma  early, the response was calm.  Ishan Kishan  played a fearless powerplay knock.  Tilak Varma  supported him beautifully. Then came a steady partnership between  Suryakumar Yadav  and Tilak. It was not flashy. It was not reckless. It was controlled. Towards the end, the acceleration came from  Shivam Dube  and  Rinku Singh , pushing the total to 175. At  R. Premadasa Stadium  in Colombo, 175 is not an ordinary total. With long boundaries and a pitch that grips and turns, it plays bigger than it looks. On many other grounds, that score might feel like 200. Yet on paper, 175 still looks chaseable. Less than t...

It's funny how clarity comes when you least expect it. Today, while waiting for Chole Bhature and sitting in silence for 60 minutes, I realized something important: holidays aren't meant for staying home and getting lost in YouTube rabbit holes. They're meant for reflection, growth, and yes, eating good food. But more than that, they're opportunities to think deeply about how we work and live. The Shallow Trap Cal Newport said something that's been living rent-free in my head: "Spend enough time in a state of frenetic shallowness and you permanently reduce your capacity to perform deep work." Read that again.  Permanently. We're creatures of habit. The more we bounce between notifications, meetings, and shallow tasks, the more we lose our ability to think deeply. It's not just a temporary state; it becomes who we are. Once you get trapped in frenetic shallowness, climbing back to depth becomes exponentially harder. Busyness Is a Lie Here's anot...

Today, I decided to sit for 60 minutes and write. Not because I had the perfect idea. But because showing up matters more than clarity in the beginning. Earlier today, I read about slow productivity, the idea that we should limit ourselves to one project per day. I think it’s powerful. Not always practical, but powerful. It reminded me of something deeper. Work is not about doing more. It is about solving better. So today, let’s talk about problem solving. Engineers Are Problem Solvers At our core, we are nothing more than problem solvers. The more problems we solve, the better we become, not just as engineers, but as thinkers. But here’s the catch. You cannot solve what you don’t understand. And most of us jump into code before understanding the problem. Step 1: Understand the Problem There’s a quote often attributed to  Albert Einstein : “If I had one hour to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes understanding the problem and 5 minutes solving it.” That’s software engineering...

Instagram, Silence, and the Discipline of Structure There is a quiet danger in living too publicly. Recently, I noticed how easily structure can dissolve, not through big disruptions, but through small, seemingly harmless actions. Posting an Instagram story. Sharing a thought. Letting the outside world step into a space that was meant to remain internal. At first, it felt harmless. Even reflective. A reminder to focus on the process rather than the outcome. But soon after, something shifted. Attention entered the equation. Awareness of being seen. The subtle pull of validation. And with that, a drift away from groundedness. That drift is rarely dramatic. It’s quiet. It shows up as restlessness, context-switching, speaking more than necessary, and losing the inner container that holds discipline together. This is where structure matters most. Structure Is Not Loud Structure isn’t built by talking about it. It’s built by holding it, especially when no one is watching. When atten...