StashFin boss follows a strict routine to kick-start the day: Wake up on time, get dressed for work

Shruti Aggarwal, Co-Founder of StashFin, shares her tips on how she manages her professional and personal life while working from home over the last 11 months:

Room with a view
"I like to keep my work from home set up highly efficient, functionality wise. I have a separate office space and my workstation is extremely minimalist with my laptop, my coffee mug, a few notebooks, and a family picture. In a city like Delhi, I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by enough greenery to make me feel closer to nature."

Adaptation is key

"Since we adapted the optional remote working model from the very beginning of the lockdown, it has almost been 11 months since I have been managing work from both office and home. Earlier, I always thought of it as sort of a break where I would not be so productive but now I have come to realise that it is completely possible to be efficient even when you are working from home."

Day breaks
"The biggest benefit is that I am getting to spend a lot more time with my family. Even if I have a busy day at work, I am still able to check up on my kids while taking a quick and relaxed coffee break or have our evening snacks together."

Hack attack
"One thing I follow that ensures my day goes smoothly is getting up on time. I follow my morning routine and get ready for work as I would do while I went to the office. This really sets the ball rolling for the entire day, instead of simply lounging around and working in my pyjamas."

Balancing act
"Managing work with home commitment has not been extremely difficult for me. My family came to a sort of routine where everybody chipped in some part of managing the household work. We adopted the routine and stuck to it."

Down with distractions
"Having a separate room as my home office obviously helps with the distraction bit. Since everyone is busy with their own work or classes, it is pretty much everyone doing their own thing during the day. As far as social media is concerned, if I am getting super distracted, I keep my personal phone on airplane mode and keep my office phone handy."

Must have
"With my children running around in the house, noise-cancelling headphones were a must so as to remain focussed on work. Apart from that, I also bought this really nice extra webcam for all the zoom meetings we had to do since the laptop cameras are not as nice."