IPL 2023: How to maintain a work-life balance on game days

Planning ahead for a work-life balance during IPL cricket match days is important.

Aa gaya hai IPL phir se! The Indian Premier League theme song 2023 says it all. With the IPL comes all the excitement, euphoria, bets among family and friends, the rush to choose your favourite teams based on the states you are from or the players you love or, at times, the actor who owns the team. Right, Kolkata Knight Rider (sic Shah Rukh Khan) fans?

But also with the most-awaited league season comes the pressure to manage time between work and fun. “I have seen myself juggle between the game and my work a lot during IPL, and it restrains me from enjoying my leisure time guilt-free,” says a hard-core IPL fan.

For those like him and the millions of you out there, we have tried to make it easy. We have come up with some simple tips and tricks following which you can maintain a balance between work and fun. See how!

Plan well-in-advance

“I have witnessed people not even able to enjoy their most beloved sport due to bad planning. So, prioritising work becomes crucial here. That begins with sticking to a specific schedule,” says Vineet Sharma, human psychology enthusiast and media consultant. Rightly so! This is the first thing you should do when IPL is going on. If you can, plan your month. Every year, IPL matches happen at a fixed time. This year, in line with the game schedule, it’s either 3.30 pm or 7.30 pm. So, based on the IPL timetable 2023, plan your work timetable wherever you can.

And if you don’t want to miss out on any of the IPL experiences, make sure you stick to the schedule.

How to plan and prep

Set goals: Establish clear and specific goals for the work you need to complete. Identify what needs to be done, and break it down into smaller, manageable tasks. Set deadlines for each task and focus on completing them one at a time.

Prioritise your work: Determine what tasks are the most important and prioritise them accordingly. Make a to-do list and tackle the most urgent and high-priority tasks first.

Create a schedule: Create a schedule that allows you to balance your work and IPL viewing. Allocate specific time slots for work and IPL, and stick to them. This will help you avoid getting distracted by the IPL and falling behind on work.

Catch up on IPL updates when it’s a busy day at work

We know, no matter how tight your schedule gets, you may still want to miss what’s happening in the game. And some days might not allow you to do so. Right? This elevates the urge to keep checking your phone now and then to check the live score. But mark our words, this could be distracting. Nobody can ride on two boats at the same time. This type of multitasking can hamper your work.

Don't keep checking IPL scores while working. Finish one task at a time and plan ahead to take the time out to watch the IPL matches. (Photo: Christina Wocintechchat via Unsplash)

So, instead of constantly checking IPL scores and updates during work hours, set aside a designated time to catch up on news and updates. This can help you stay informed without getting distracted.

Use IPL as a motivator

Now, this can be a good trick to staying motivated at work. Why not make your distraction your motivation to work?

●     Create an IPL-inspired playlist: Music can be a great source of motivation and inspiration. Create an IPL-themed playlist that you can listen to during work hours to stay motivated and energised. This could include IPL theme songs of all seasons from 2008 to 2023 or team theme songs like Chennai Super Kings theme song, KKR theme song, and Mumbai Indians song, among others. But use it only as a motivator to finish work in time and get to watch the match.

●     Reward yourself with a guilt-free match day: There may be days when you had to catch up on work so hard that you must have found no time to catch up on your favourite match. Right? So, to compensate for days like these, make sure, you set a day aside when you can enjoy the matches without any guilt. Try keeping your work phone aside on this day.

●     How about rewarding yourself with IPL experiences? Consider rewarding yourself with IPL experiences, such as attending a live match or purchasing merchandise, after you’ve completed important work tasks. This can give you something to look forward to and motivate you to stay focused.

Follow a healthy lifestyle during IPL

Experts define work-life balance as a state and a space where a person can prioritise work, take care of health, manage social engagements and personal life equally and simultaneously also enjoy the process of running the day. So, it’s not only about juggling between work and the game. It’s more than that.

●     Make sure you don’t miss your daily exercise: While juggling between work and IPL, you might want to skip your daily workout. It’s very normal. But don’t get allured. Physical exercise is a great way to boost your mood and productivity. During the IPL season, consider taking a short walk or doing some yoga during your breaks to clear your mind and stay energised.

●     Try cooking healthy snacks at home: The most common view during IPL is to see families coming together and watching the match with a pack full of chips in one hand and a fizzy drink in another. The match goes on for hours and so does the snacking. So, either you end up ordering food or end up snacking on what you already have. Rajiv Talreja, founder, of Quantum Leap Learning Solutions, suggests deleting food ordering apps during IPL. Well, when you can’t help but snack during IPL, it is advisable to switch to healthier options. Food influencer Vidur Kapoor shares that he loves cooking chicken wrap, vegetable sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, or a French omellette when he watches IPL. You can also try other healthy recipes at home.

A quick recipe

Quinoa Chips Chaat with Fig chutney (Recipe shared by Mirvan Vinayak, Chef BeatO Food Lab)

Fig chutney

Ingredients

● 3 whole Figs

● 1 tsp red chilli powder

● ½ tsp kala namak (rock salt)

● 1 tsp saunth (dry ginger) powder

● 1 tbsp aamchoor (dry mango) powder

● 1 tsp bhuna jeera (roasted cumin) powder

● Salt to taste

Method

Add the figs and some water to a pan. Cover and cook the figs until they are mushy. For the next step, add in all the masalas. Cook this mixture for five-eight minutes until it reaches a chutney consistency.

For the chaat

Ingredients

● 1 cucumber, finely chopped

● 1 tomato, finely chopped

● 1 onion, finely chopped

● Roasted amaranth / quinoa popped

● ½ boiled sweet potato, finely chopped

● Fresh coriander

● ½ tsp red chilli powder

● ½ tsp chaat masala powder

● 1 green chilli, finely chopped

● 1 lemon

● Salt

Method

Mix all the vegetables with the rest of the masalas. Top some quinoa chips with kachumber. Drizzle fig chutney on top of every chip. Add lemon juice and roasted amaranth seeds on top. Garnish with coriander leaves

Quick tips for those working from the office

If you are working from the office, then you might want to create a team experience based on IPL matches to make work fun.

Christopher Roberts, managing director of Engaged Strategy, an insight-based strategic consultancy, says games such as the IPL are perfect opportunities for organisations to bring in, at least, five per cent of the fun factor into work and turn them into massive employee engagement opportunities. He suggests some simple tips:

●     Create teams replete with mascots and logos, and allocate points for every small achievement

●     Involve the leadership in becoming team captains and mentors

●     Create an open scoreboard with weekly awards given at a granular level to engage with staff across all levels

So, this is it. This IPL season, make sure you take good care of yourself and don’t let yourself immerse completely in the matches and leave work behind. There should be a work-life balance and we hope we helped you out there.