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‘No room for 7-hour sleep cycle’: Jaishankar shares glimpse into his diplomatic grind
One cannot have a “24-hour life and a seven-hour sleep cycle”, Jaishankar said.
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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that he was “feeling good” even after seven years in a stressful job amid widespread geopolitical turbulence, and that he still tries to find time to relax by doing yoga, listening to music, or watching a movie.
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Jaishankar said that every day in his life “looks completely different because often, every day I'm in a completely different place”. This requires him to adjust his schedule continuously to meet the demands of the situation.
“I am feeling good,” he replied when he was asked how he felt after seven years in a stressful job.
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Jaishankar, who has made 161 foreign trips since he became foreign minister in 2019, including 23 in 2026, said: “Every day looks completely different because often, every day I'm in a completely different place. I think today if you're an active foreign minister, in this very turbulent era…it means a lot of travel, but it also means a lot of time zones.”
One cannot have a “24-hour life and a seven-hour sleep cycle”, he said. “You have no time; you adjust your day continuously to the requirements of the situation, you build it into your life. I try to handle the travel, and getting up at night and doing your phone calls and going back to sleep and staying abreast of everything that's happening,” he added.
Besides handling his duties related to foreign policy, he also has to do everything required of a cabinet minister at home. While doing all of this, he attempts to build elements of personal comfort into his routine.
“So, you try to stay physically fit, you try to do something to relax yourself. I do yoga regularly, I listen to music occasionally, try to watch a movie, definitely read a book. I do all the normal things,” Jaishankar said.
