Nourish Mantra CEO's WFH view went from the greenery of her India home to NYC skyline

Ritika Jayaswal, CEO, Nourish Mantra, has found the time to pursue her love for making films in the lockdown

My moving space
During the initial months of the lockdown, I was in India. I would sit in a common space at home so rather than a private office vibe, I enjoyed the feeling of working from a co-working space. Then when the monsoon hit central India in June, I started working from my balcony. The calming sound of the rain, the cool breeze, the earthy smell and the greenery in my backyard made it the perfect setup. Now I am back in New York and sit at my rooftop with the view of the city. A big contrast from the greenery I found at home in India, but still pretty amazing.

Flexi is best

Since I live in New York and my team works from India, I have been working from home from much before the lockdown. The benefit of working from home is definitely the flexibility. I am able to juggle a lot of personal commitments along with work while I am working from home. However, this is also a drawback as sometimes it gets difficult to stay focused and motivated as there are many distractions at home.

Up and down
When it comes to working from home, you have to remember that not all days are the same. Some days are fast paced and productive, whereas some days I feel lazy because there are no fixed work hours. What has worked for me is that sometimes I dress up for the day just like I would if I am stepping out to go to the office. That has helped me feel focused and confident even on voice calls. Another thing that has helped me is having an organized calendar. My day starts with internal review calls every day so that sets the tone for the rest of my day.

Side project
I have great interest in art films and have produced a couple of short films. My current project 'Saving Chintu' is running in the film festival circuit right now. It premiered in Los Angeles in January 2020 in the Outfest Fusion Film Festival, and more recently it screened at the New York Indian Film Festival and Kashish Mumbai International Film Festival. This is a passion project and requires my attention from time to time. On a personal level, I organised game nights with my family and binged watched shows over the weekends to unwind and cheer up.