Every once in a while I share a weekend post of me at a cafe with my MacBook.
More often than not, people message me asking how come I’m working over the weekend, how am I happy living a life which makes me code/study/work over weekends.
Well, let me answer that question today: I love to explore.
Exploration, for me, is not just about “wanderlust-ing” around the world trying to see different places. For me, it includes being able to understand and digest the amazing nature of things. It means I take pleasure in reading stories by/of people from various fields of trade — aeronautical, mechanical, civil, aviation, photography, writing, acting and many more.
I cannot fathom being able to do all of what they do every day in my single lifetime. Reading up on these stories lets me see the world with a new pair of eyes, lets me understand how others see the things around us.
All that is cool, you say. Who does not like to stay updated or increase their knowledge you say. But why does Sunny code over weekends? Does he not have a life?
Well, when you see me code over a weekend — wait for a moment before you assume that I’m living the life of slavery tied to a computer. I choose to code/study/write/explore over the weekends because it helps me get up to speed with technology. Stuff that I “should” know, stuff that I could otherwise have learnt on the job eventually, albeit a couple of years down the line.
More importantly, it helps me get closer to the truth that there is more than enough on this planet than I can even imagine, let alone understand.
This inquisitive nature was what helped me get started with programming in the first place (back in my early teens). It is this mindset that helped me become a better version of myself than I had envisioned myself to be 5 years ago.
It is surprising how most of us are whiling away our lives trying to impress that one person, trying to forget that one individual, trying to curse ourselves for not having done A instead of B. And I will not say that I’ve not had to experience these feelings in my life, but I’ve made it a priority to be able to focus on myself once in a while.
This post is not about me, it is about you. Remember, you are free to explore your weekends too. Sure, catch a movie or TV show once in a while. Go fall in love, cry over a heart-break, relish your family time. I myself spend crazy hours binge-watching Amazon Prime or driving the outskirts of my city late nights. But that should not detract the value of dedicating sufficient growth hours per week for oneself!
Assuming the average human life span to be 75 years you get approximately 28,000 days. Not sure about you, but this translates to 3900 weekends of which I’ve run out of almost 40%.
I’m sure many of you might understand the value of what we just discussed, but don’t stow it away just yet. Give it a try. Be a part of this movement, take a step closer to being a better version of yourself. Towards being an individual who is better than who she was yesterday.
Take a step closer to #investyourweekends.
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I am a Frontend Specialist / Product Guy in tech. I believe in building intelligent products, focusing on my end-users and creating memorable user experiences. Connect with me on LinkedIn or say hi on Twitter.
This blog was originally posted on My Medium account: medium.com/@sunnykgupta/weekends-are-for-le..