In October 2017, I had the chance to visit Oklahoma in the United States as part of a Professional Fellows Program (PFP). PFP is a two-way, global thought exchange program aimed at building sustainable relationships between mid-level emerging leaders from foreign countries and the United States.
During the program, I got the opportunity to live and work with entrepreneurs from 4 countries, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India and our hosts, US. The weeks spent in America is when I experienced first hand the American way of doing things, right from their work environment to local culture and everyday life. It was also instrumental in breaking my preconceived notions about Americans, gained from American sitcoms and movies, and friends and relatives who have had the chance to visit or work in America.
Now, Oklahoma is not the America that most Indians are familiar with. It’s quite different from the well known places on the West Coast such as Florida and California – the tech hub, also from cities in the East Coast like New York and Boston. Oklahoma is the heart of America and is known for its highly conservative society. A lot of people even told me, I may not like this America at all!
But when I look back, it was a wonderful and enriching five weeks spent among Oklahomans. I couldn’t have had the exciting experiences that I was presented with if not for the people of Oklahoma. I found them to be very open, as a
I picked up quite a few good habits during my stay and thought I’d share them with you.
- Begin the day early
I was quite surprised to see that the day begins quite early for most Oklahomans. Never an early riser myself, I was convinced I am not a morning person and that’s how I will be for the rest of my life. But in the weeks spent in the US, I realised waking just a couple of hours early actually gives a great head start to the day. And more work gets done throughout the day, and a significant portion before noon!
Now, I am up before 6.00 – 6.30am every day, and it has worked great for me. It’s almost as if I have more time than others and the results are pretty impressive. I am much more organised and calmer as well!
- Be more physically active
I was well aware of the fact that Americans (and Europeans, and most probably everyone else in the world) are more physically active than Indians. The Olympics medal tally is proof enough. But somehow, I had not expected even business professionals to be so physically fit.
In India, the fitness craze is definitely catching on. But, it’s not just about gymming or having a regular exercise schedule, overall people in America seem to be physically more active. They walk more, play a sport and seem to have more energy.
Doctors now are saying; sitting is the new cancer. It’s a good idea to not spend too much sitting at your desk and rather be up on your feet more often. I now also make it a point to never miss that morning run. It also helps that Dharamshala has scenic walking trails.
I sometimes wonder, why did I not do this before?
- Get more involved with local community
Like all southern states of US, Oklahoma is proudly Republican with a prominent Christian population. The town revolves around the church, and is a
This is something I have felt quite strongly that we all must be involved in our local community. I now consciously try to play an active role in community partnership initiatives and volunteer for initiatives that focus on specific problems or activities. It has helped me become more socially aware and made me more optimistic.
- Work to live, not live to work
I consider myself to be a very laid back person. After meeting some really chilled out Oklahomans, I am not so sure now. People take work-life balance very seriously; weekends are sacrosanct for families and parents focus on spending quality time with their children.
This probably has been the most important takeaway for me. Achievement in professional life shouldn’t be the only source of satisfaction in life. It’s necessary to have interests, hobbies. I am trying to learn guitar and swimming. Focusing a lot on self-learning, reading and watching a lot of video tutorials.
- Adopting online tech tools for project management
As per my area of
Mcmahon Marketing with only around 7 professionals
And the only thing they did differently was use project management tools like Asana to plan and structure their day-to-day operations. The way the teams used a tech tool and to such effect left me astounded.
Since the past one year I have been trying to put in place similar systems at my company, with varying degrees of success. We are still not there, but I am hopeful we will soon get there. Maybe this year!
But one thing that still intrigues me is: In spite of embracing technology in such a big way, most people there still use visiting cards. Maybe it’s a part of their social etiquette. I found it endearing.
These are the things I have been able to follow. But there’s one I have not been able to.
I greatly admire Americans (and for that matter most people in western countries) for well they maintain their (huge) houses and gardens. Importantly, without any house-help. Everybody in the family, irrespective of gender, is involved in this and it’s a good thing I feel.
I am still trying to make myself more useful around the house and not very successfully.
Hopefully in this New Year I will be able to imbibe this good habit!