Appy Pie founder tries to balance work and family life, says no app can replace self-discipline

Abhinav Girdhar, Founder of Appy Pie, recently invested in an Apple Watch Series 5. He says he enjoys the convenience of having everything he need for his workout in one good-looking gadget.

‘Work has increased’
“As I am making sure that my family and all my employees stay safe, all company operations are organized from home. This means we have to depend on technology for all forms of communication and ensuring that all our employees can do their job from the confines of their homes. As for screen time, yes, as virtual meetings have increased and most of the work happens on different digital channels, it has increased. However, I make sure that I compensate it by reducing any personal screen time I earlier had.”

Apple fanboy
“The two gadgets that I can’t live without are my phone and laptop. I am using iPhone 11 Pro and much like other Apple products. I enjoy the brilliant user interface, simplicity, and the security offered by the brand. I love the clean design, the handy size and the fact that it has just the right screen size for quick reach. I like to use my phone mostly for work and research, not a big phone addict. I also use an Apple MacBook.”


Current obsession
“I am a fitness enthusiast and enjoy fitness gadgets. The latest such gadget I am enjoying is my Apple Watch Series 5. The screen size is bigger, and it supports GPS. It is the one gadget with all my music, my fitness vitals, and all the health advice in one place. I enjoy the convenience of having everything I need for my workout in one good looking gadget. I use Bose QuietComfort and they work pretty well when it comes to noise cancelling feature. Not just that, the Alexa integration makes it even more convenient.”

Most-used apps
“I use Skype for official communication, WhatsApp for personal communication, and Watch for my workout sessions. When I switch off, I switch off from all apps. I recommend Apple’s Watch app if you are into fitness and such activities. I’d recommend the Appy Pie app to people planning on creating an app for themselves. It is good even if you have no coding or programming knowledge at all. I like using Slack for keeping all my work organized, at a personal level I like using the native apps on my iPhone particularly Reminders and Notes.”

Safety net
“As everyone in office is working from home, I have invested in time tracking software, upgraded my personal laptop, and have upgraded the security certifications to make sure that in spite of the less-secure home networks, there is no vulnerability in our system.”

Work-life balance
“The workplace has physically changed yes, of course. However, I make sure that there is a balance between my work and family life. This, I do with self-discipline and clear space distinctions. There is no app to replace self-discipline. The idea is to keep your priorities right, then plan your day accordingly.”