External affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar on Friday offered a candid and rare glimpse into his approach to work-life balance, saying his role leaves little room for conventional “off days,” but that balance comes from building stable routines rather than switching off entirely.

Speaking at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Jaishankar said his work does not follow a Monday-to-Friday schedule, as global affairs continue round the clock and across time zones. “In my life, I don’t have off days. It’s not like I work Monday to Friday and say Saturday-Sunday I won’t do anything because the world doesn’t accommodate that,” he said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

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The minister explained that his professional life is spread across multiple time zones, making the idea of a clear on-off switch impractical. “My life is very mixed up; it doesn’t operate on a single time zone, and there is no off switch and no on switch,” he noted.

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However, Jaishankar emphasised that this does not mean living without balance. Instead, he said he consciously builds habits and personal interests into his routine to remain grounded. “What I try to do is, within that, build habits and practices and indulgences which make you a stable, reasonable and congenial person who can deal with the rest of the world,” he said.

Listing his ways of unwinding, Jaishankar said he listens to music, reads books, watches movies and follows sports, adding that, “most of the time I am very normal.” He argued that a well-structured daily routine itself can provide balance, reducing the need for deliberate breaks or digital detoxes. “If you build a physical routine into your cycle, give yourself some time to read, write, think, talk, watch, I can tell you your daily routine itself is so balanced that you don’t need to unplug,” he said.

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Ending his remarks on a lighter note, the minister added that his views on balance might not be universally agreed upon at home. “But my wife is sitting here and she may contradict me,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience.