Hey!

I am Sid.

Here is my introduction in 3 bullets:
  • I currently live in London and work as a senior analyst at ChartMogul
  • I am passionate about data & charts. In case you are interested, I share one small actionable data storytelling tip every week.
  • In my spare time, I love to read, cook, walk, write and spend time with my family

You can read more about what guides me here, 3 defining moments from my life here, and a few lessons from my life here.

I list down all of my favourite books here and some of my favourite blogs and newsletters here.

Recent Work

My most recent work can be found here (including a feature on TechCrunch).

Why did I start this blog?

I started this blog to write about my ideas. I had been thinking about writing a blog for a long time but never really started up until the pandemic struck (mid-2020).

My primary motivation to write is to get clarity of my thoughts. Barry Ritholtz aptly summarises this in his post Why I write?

I write mostly for myself. It’s a process, one that helps me to better understand my own thinking and ideas. Daniel Boorstein, an American historian, once said ‘I write to figure out what I think’. It’s a surprisingly accurate quote – until you sit down and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) you have nothing. Not until you have a coherent work with a beginning, middle and end, AND a justifiable premise, AND the ability to defend it to other people’s attacks, you don’t really know what you think. Writing it out is a very, very different process than just having a half formed idea kicking around inside your head.

Like me, if you are somewhat interested in writing, I would recommend reading the below 3 links before getting started:

My habits

Getting 1% better each day

I believe in the power of habits. I believe in tiny 1% gains each day that become exponential gains over time. Here are a few habits that I am trying to inculcate in my daily routine:

  1. No digital devices for the first and the last hour of the day — cutting out digital devices helps me to be more intentional with my time and help reduce eye fatigue
  2. Daily exercise — even a short stroll counts. Health is my number 1 priority. Apart from helping me stay healthy, exercise also acts as a feedback loop for me to eat better.
  3. Intermittent Fasting — fast for 16 hours a day. This helps improve my body’s metabolism.
  4. Read 20 pages of a book — this helps me focus my reading on content that has a longer shelf life. I wrote about it here. It also gives me a break from digital screens.
  5. Speedy 750 words writing — this helps me reflect on the past and plan for the future.
A word of thanks

I would like to thank my mother, Sapna and my wife, Shubha for their support and help in reviewing and editing my posts.

Get in touch

I host regular coffee hours if you want to chat about anything. You could also reach out to me via LinkedIn or Twitter.

Disclaimer

All opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own.