Mamaearth’s Ghazal Alagh says 'work-life balance is myth' and shares the secret to survival

Entrepreneurship often looks glamorous from the outside, but for Ghazal Alagh, it has been anything but picture-perfect. A BCA graduate from Panjab University and the co-founder of Mamaearth, who gained widespread recognition from Shark Tank India, for her, the hustle isn’t about chasing balance—it’s about surviving the chaos with a few hard-earned rules. Alagh calls the idea of “work-life balance” a myth, choosing instead to embrace the constant tug-of-war between roles as a leader, mother, and individual. Over the years, she’s discovered her own set of non-negotiables- her secret to survival.

Sleep

One of the most underrated tools in her toolkit is sleep. Alagh refuses to treat rest as a luxury. For her, good sleep is the foundation of clarity, energy, and resilience. Even if she can’t get it daily, she ensures she makes up for it weekly, giving herself the reset needed to show up as her best self.

How to spend weekends

Equally important is how she spends her weekends. Instead of leaving them unplanned or simply catching up on work, Alagh treats weekends like intentional downtime. She blocks time on her Google Calendar to recharge, spend moments reflecting, and even jot down her thoughts. That half-hour of personal check-in, she says, helps bring calm to the chaos of the entrepreneurial grind.

Acceptance

But perhaps the most striking of her learnings is her acceptance that imbalance is the norm. Alagh doesn’t chase the illusion of balance. Instead, she has found peace in the constant shifts between different roles—entrepreneur, wife, mother, daughter. To her, not having everything neatly figured out is perfectly fine.

Happiness

The pressure of entrepreneurship also means that happiness is fleeting. Alagh admits that founders often don’t experience joy for more than a few seconds at a time. To combat that, she has learned to consciously seek happiness, even “pretend” to be happy when things get tough. She calls it a powerful tool for optimism, a way to keep moving with courage when challenges feel overwhelming.

Everything is an investment

For Alagh, everything counts as an investment. Money is just one part of it. She sees her time, relationships, passion, and even self-improvement as assets feeding into each other. Nurturing these investments, she believes, is what leads to true growth and sustains her through the ups and downs of running a business.