Harappa Education CEO can’t imagine running a company without WhatsApp
Working from home has been efficient, productive and effective for Shreyasi Singh.
By Rohan Abraham, ET Bureau | Updated:
Agencies
Shreyasi Singh, Founder & CEO, Harappa Education, depends on WhatsApp for most of her official communication. For her, working from home has been efficient, productive and effective.
In order to stay healthy, Singh sticks to a balanced diet and daily brisk walk for almost an hour.
Work schedule
“Monday through Friday, I formally begin work around 9am, although I do spend about 30 minutes from 7:30-8am exchanging WhatsApp messages on important work, or new ideas, with a few key people at work; it goes on till about 1:30. Usually, this includes back-to-back Zoom calls, most of them with the video on, so they do seem quite engaged and in-the-moment. I take a break for an hour or so for lunch to hang out with my son, who is also at that time taking a break from his online school. My next round of meetings start at 2:30pm, and I usually finish around 7pm. I eat dinner early, hang out with the family till about 9, when I go for a walk. I then have a 10:30pm To-Do List, to catch up on emails and individual tasks I have to do, and work till about midnight, or a little beyond.”
Staying connected
“Work from home has been better than I had thought. WhatsApp, Zoom and Google Meet are my most often used apps to stay connected. I can’t imagine being able to run a company without WhatsApp. I am quite a social person, and I loved the vibe of our office, and it was a joy to work alongside our team, but I do find working from home to be very efficient, productive and effective – for the most part. But, I do want to get back to working from our office, although we’ll have to re-learn how to do that.”
Family time
“I am not sure why but somehow I don’t struggle with this. My husband is an entrepreneur too, and is quite busy, and my son, who is 13, keeps busy through the day. Also, since I have been working from home, I get to see them more often – and this concept of having to take out time for them on a weekend doesn’t seem much of a worry. I do try and ensure I don’t work at all on Sunday, and try and work fewer hours on Saturday, say from about 11am – 1pm, and then maybe 4-6pm.”
Fitness hacks
“I have been quite good about fitness, both in terms of eating smartly, as well as going for a 45 minute to 60 minute brisk walk, every day. This is about 9pm-10pm, and it’s something I really look forward to; and has helped keep things balanced.”
In praise of email
“I try and write detailed emails: it’s a great way of updating several people at one go, and keeping decisions and conversations documented. I wish more people would write better emails: for all the flak email gets, I think it’s less intrusive than most people think it to be.”
Workplace simulation
“Shower and get dressed, almost like you would if you are going to work: I find that gets me in the head space quite well, right in the morning. Take time to share a laugh or two, and have some regular conversations, with your team mates, before starting a meeting. It helps simulate a more natural environment. Strike a healthy balance between audio and video calls to ensure you have the privacy and convenience of an audio call, and the warmth and focussed connection of a video call.”
In order to stay healthy, Singh sticks to a balanced diet and daily brisk walk for almost an hour.
Work schedule
“Monday through Friday, I formally begin work around 9am, although I do spend about 30 minutes from 7:30-8am exchanging WhatsApp messages on important work, or new ideas, with a few key people at work; it goes on till about 1:30. Usually, this includes back-to-back Zoom calls, most of them with the video on, so they do seem quite engaged and in-the-moment. I take a break for an hour or so for lunch to hang out with my son, who is also at that time taking a break from his online school. My next round of meetings start at 2:30pm, and I usually finish around 7pm. I eat dinner early, hang out with the family till about 9, when I go for a walk. I then have a 10:30pm To-Do List, to catch up on emails and individual tasks I have to do, and work till about midnight, or a little beyond.”
Staying connected
“Work from home has been better than I had thought. WhatsApp, Zoom and Google Meet are my most often used apps to stay connected. I can’t imagine being able to run a company without WhatsApp. I am quite a social person, and I loved the vibe of our office, and it was a joy to work alongside our team, but I do find working from home to be very efficient, productive and effective – for the most part. But, I do want to get back to working from our office, although we’ll have to re-learn how to do that.”
Family time
“I am not sure why but somehow I don’t struggle with this. My husband is an entrepreneur too, and is quite busy, and my son, who is 13, keeps busy through the day. Also, since I have been working from home, I get to see them more often – and this concept of having to take out time for them on a weekend doesn’t seem much of a worry. I do try and ensure I don’t work at all on Sunday, and try and work fewer hours on Saturday, say from about 11am – 1pm, and then maybe 4-6pm.”
Fitness hacks
“I have been quite good about fitness, both in terms of eating smartly, as well as going for a 45 minute to 60 minute brisk walk, every day. This is about 9pm-10pm, and it’s something I really look forward to; and has helped keep things balanced.”
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In praise of email
“I try and write detailed emails: it’s a great way of updating several people at one go, and keeping decisions and conversations documented. I wish more people would write better emails: for all the flak email gets, I think it’s less intrusive than most people think it to be.”
Workplace simulation
“Shower and get dressed, almost like you would if you are going to work: I find that gets me in the head space quite well, right in the morning. Take time to share a laugh or two, and have some regular conversations, with your team mates, before starting a meeting. It helps simulate a more natural environment. Strike a healthy balance between audio and video calls to ensure you have the privacy and convenience of an audio call, and the warmth and focussed connection of a video call.”
The Covid-19 pandemic posed a plethora of challenges before humanity - the cancellation of major events, economic slowdown and job crisis to name a few. One of the biggest challenges was faced by workplaces around the world, as they struggled to work out an arrangement where employees could stay productive without being physically present in the office.
However, workplaces soon embraced the new normal and got accustomed to the changing times, so much so, that many of the tech and IT giants decided to extend their WFH policies even after the pandemic has subsided, with many of them deciding not to return to offices till summer of the next year.
Here’s a look at all the major companies that are on WFH till July 2021.
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