24 hours with... Sidharth Singh

Ever wondered what an ideal day in the life of someone from advertising/marketing/media is? We're here to spill the beans on it.

Every Tuesday, we'll have a person from the advertising/marketing/media industry profiled in this section.  

Name: Sidharth Singh

Job: co-founder, CupShup

Professional mantra: Have a long-term view. Don't work on anything or with anyone if you cannot continue doing so for a lifetime. 

Personal mantra: Wait it out. You feel great? This will pass. You feel miserable. This too shall pass. 

6:30am: My body clock wakes me up mostly before my wife’s alarm does. No, she isn’t an early riser. I use her mobile for the alarm to avoid my own phone early in the morning 

7-8am: 15 minutes of meditation followed by 45 minutes of brisk walking. I usually plan for the day and set the agenda while taking the walk. Mostly I listen to music while walking. But on odd days when the day tries to get the better of me, I switch to Geeta on Spotify. Chapters 2 and 3 of different versions of Geeta are on my playlist. 

8-8:30am: Check mails and messages. Try to sneak in a couple of YouTube videos in this 30-minute window if I can. Mostly videos of Think School or Cut The Clutter (Shekhar Gupta’s show) or Podcasts and sometimes even The Kapil Sharma Show (I absolutely love the show). 

9-10am: Can’t help but drive in the traffic madness on the way to the office. How I utilise this time is a reflection of the work ahead. If all looks hunky dory (which most of the days don’t), I listen to music. Else, I utilise this time to listen to long-form podcasts. Joe Rogan, Naval Ravikant, The Barbershop with Shantanu, Advertising is Dead and Figuring Out are some of my favourite podcasts that give a lot of learning while driving to the office.  

10-10:30am: Set the agenda for the day. Prepare To Do list, write action points and get things rolling! 

10:30- 11:30am: Taking stock of Sales. This hour is reserved for discussing the sales strategy of individual sales folks. Clients that need a push, brands that have changed briefs mid-way and giving the team jitters. To see through the enthusiasm of a fresher who has landed on a big brand and getting hyper to get his or her way. To help my team understand the brief clearly and made them stay on course in case they have lost the way. Or to say Thank you and move on from the unreasonable marketing manager on the other end who refuses to buzz. I love discussing the briefs, plan of action and proposals with my team. 

11:30am-1pm: Taking stock of the existing accounts along with coffee. Problems being faced by the account managers. A new requirement that has sprung up and is bothering the team. And yes, sometimes lending them a patient hearing about how their account wasn’t taken seriously and their work not put on priority by the operations team. It is all about balance. To listen to their complaints, go back and figure out the problem, understand it, solve it if you can or go back with learnings. Many times just listening to a fellow team member settles the matter. 

1:30pm: I am particular about having my lunch at 1:30 pm and seldom compromise on it. And lunch is often followed by a break of 15 mins where I loiter around in the office chatting with people from departments that I have little knowledge of. 

2:30-5pm: Time to meet new folks and interact with them. A founder should always be in pitching and hiring mode. I believe that interviews aren’t just about evaluating and judging the person at the other end. Every interview gives me an opportunity to peek into the psyche of the other person and thus gives me nuggets of wisdom about human psychology. Thus, I try meeting with new folks every day, interacting and learning from them. 

5-6pm: Helping my operations team with the pending tasks. When the day is about to end and you have tasks piled up infant of you, it is only natural that you get disillusioned and confused about what to take up next. Thus, I meet the team to understand what the pending tasks are, how to prioritise them and chuck the less important ones, if need be.   

6-6:30pm: Coffee Break  

6:30 - 7:30pm: An overview of how the day went and a short review of departments and what needs attention the next day. I also utilise this time to brainstorm on any new pitch that I would like to work on.  

9pm: Dinner followed by GupShup with parents and wife. I like reading at least a couple of pages before going to bed. 

11pm: Retire for the day and go to bed.