Let’s hear from some leading women in the industry on how they are balancing their Work-Life during the lockdown.

For working mothers, there is a constant juggling of different roles at home and office, constructing ‘me time’ for them is not easy. Let’s hear from some leading women in the industry on how they are balancing their Work-Life during the lockdown -

Neha Bagaria, Founder & CEO, Jobsforher

For women to succeed in the competitive business landscape, it is imperative that we become comfortable giving equal weightage to our careers as we do to our other obligations, roles and responsibilities. And for that, we need to build a thick skin and a strong support system. Until we do, we won’t be able to create the ecosystem required to support this challenging journey to the top of the corporate ladder. We will need to rally the troops and have our backbone structure in place - parents, in-laws, extended family, friends, and yes, husband too. We will need to stop caring about people who don’t understand and help the people whom we care about to understand. We will need to make sacrifices and compromises about being there for everyone all the time and having everything perfect. And we will need to stop feeling apologetic about it. When you’re at work, don’t feel guilty you’re not at home; and when you’re at home, don’t feel guilty you’re not at work.

Parul Ohri, Chief Editor and Founding Member, Momspresso

These days, being at home all the time, it is very easy to let work and personal life blur into each other but that is where one has to make some conscious demarcations. It took us all a few days to figure out our new world order and ever since, we have all settled into our routines, helping me to maintain quite a happy work-life balance. While work is busy with many ongoing projects, we try not to schedule calls around lunchtime, late evenings, and weekends, as far as possible. 

Three things have helped me tremendously – designating a fixed routine for work, fixing a menu for the week every Sunday and consciously engaging with my teenagers in the evenings, whether playing board games, cooking or working out together. Luckily for me, they are old enough to handle their own online classes and to take on chores and have in fact, even prepared entire meals on their own.

For your own peace of mind, it is important to delegate and then to not be fussy about the way things are being done around you, to just go with the flow. It also helps to keep your Zoom video camera off from time to time.

Puja Punj, Co-Founder, GyFTR (Vouchagram)

"My entrepreneurial journey has been really overwhelming with a family and a kid to care for back at home. When it comes to women entrepreneurs, there is always a question of priority in their life and it is always assumed that it’s difficult to manage both, especially during this lockdown. The Mantra I follow to keep up the work-life balance is to unplug myself from the certain things that can be managed without my attention be at home or office. It always gives a sense of responsibility and accountability to the other person. I always make sure to keep some time of the day for myself to plan and analyze the work in the direction of my goals. I believe in excelling at work through delegating the tasks to people as per their strengths which would not lead to good results but also done with all positive energies on time. To work with the team, the key to motivating them is the self - motivation and letting go of perfection to a certain extent to keep up the spirits high."

Sudeshna Datta, Co-Founder & EVP, Absolutdata

'Being an entrepreneur and a mother of two, I am often asked how I strike a work-life balance. My belief in a holistic approach allows me to bring my whole self to everything I do on both personal and professional fronts. Of course, a little planning and determination go a long way in ensuring this.

Adhering to schedules and boundaries play a greater role when trying to manage personal and professional lives. It lets you prioritize time for family and self-care while being honest with your appointments.

Besides, I try to leverage my role as a parent and a business person to learn from my mistakes. Errors can help you turn things around tomorrow. Lastly, never allow some stereotypical social pressure to bother your mental peace.”