The art of balancing life, work and priorities -By Sushmita Kushari from SPJIMR Mumbai

Ever since I was a child, I have been tagged as an initiator, a ‘peoples’ person, someone who thrives in diversity. Throughout my life experiences, I had the opportunity to be one of the founding members of new teams and led cross-cultural teams across vendors. During all of this, one thing was common - the art of balancing life and priorities.

The pacific ride: A rendezvous to the past!

Born into a family of engineers and doctors, I always dreamt of walking that extra mile towards my goal with dedication, self-discipline, and perseverance, which I knew would give me immense self-satisfaction and happiness.

After my graduation when I was placed in an IT company  - Infosys, which has an employee base of 200,000+, my problem-solving skills helped me bag an onsite opportunity within eight months of work and I settled in Auckland for two years to work with a leading NZ Telco operator directly. 

 I was then offered the ownership to manage ‘Quality Assurance’ of the flagship products for the NZ Telecom Operator. As a team lead, 

• I led the stakeholder connections
• Planned project objectives and roadmaps
• Served as a focal point to communicate and resolve issues
• Coordinated team logistics to ensure timely delivery, and 
• Collaborated with team members for decision-making

Such a strategy fostered empathy and helped me tackle the key challenges that came in as a part of cultural diversity along with other competency requirements. This experience taught me how to manage teams efficiently by overcoming obstacles such as intergroup conflict, language barriers, knowledge gaps, and tight timelines.

The balance has to be within you

On the other side was the jaw-dropping scenic beauty of New Zealand. It is the art of balancing life, that mentored me to indulge in nature, fitness, and mental wellbeing, accomplishing the hiking summit of Mt. Ngauruhoe and participating in charity runs.

The key takeaway was to realize that balance is not something you find; it is something that you create based on the decisions you take in your life!

Balancing life is an important measure of well-being. To help you hone this skill, we have compiled a list of good reads:

• Don't just manage your time own it with Pomodoro Technique
• Networking 101: Everything you need to know about the important life skill
• A dose of motivation, 5 business books based on real-life stories!
• Learn how to de-stress from Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Mark Cuban
• How to learn fast with Elon Musk’s 2 simple rules!