Ayush in Paris: being at home totally changes your work-life balance

27 year-old Ayush Chandel is from India and he is coming to the end of his studies on Audencia’s MSCPM programme. He is currently on an internship with PSA, the French car manufacturer, in Paris. Ayush shares his experience of being on lockdown.

“There is a saying by Anthony T. Hincks that ‘When you work from home there is no such thing as a holiday.’ I must admit that this is how I feel since the breakout of COVID-19, as every business and employee works from home or remotely. When you’re equipped with high tech resources, it’s become simple to be on the same page as what you were while being at work.”

For Ayush, like all other workers in France, it has been three weeks since the beginning of the lockdown. He says that being at home has made him robust, productive and efficient. “There are more meetings but working hours don’t seem as long as it’s you who decide when to log in and log out.” He goes on to say that the positive aspect of being at home is being in control of your agenda and shaping every hour with an activity whether it is to do with work, a meeting or something home-related. Being at home changes the work-life balance and the time spent working or with family definitely goes off track. The best thing to do is to schedule each hour with dedicated activities. “For me, my morning starts at 6am with one hour of cardio followed by spending another hour on breakfast. After that, I start working until around 5pm and after that, I usually spend another couple of hours consulting other businesses or getting news updates. The remaining time is with family.”

Ayush’s main piece of advice is to change activities regularly. “Don’t stick to one thing for too long, involve yourself in many activities and keep to a schedule. Use all of your living space for a bit of variety. I have started gardening, cooking, playing soccer in my backyard and a lot more.” Keeping busy is positive and refreshing says Ayush. “It’s spring so sitting in the sun at the weekend won’t make you sick!” He also recommends reconnecting with relatives who are far away.

How are you keeping in touch with your family and friends during lockdown?
Communication tools were all in place before lockdown but Ayush has noticed that connection times are longer. “You cannot hang-up your mum’s call when she is telling you the same news which you have already heard 10 times before,” he jokes. “The funny thing now is that you work and cook all together with family. Your mom becomes your boss, dad is CEO and other relatives and friends are co-workers.” But all at a distance for the time being.

What advice would you give to friends and alumni in India who are preparing to go into lockdown?
Avoid going outside for the coming weeks! “I know we all need food but we can be smart and stay out of contact with anything which might have been touched by someone else. Remember, all this is for our health and safety,” he adds. Ayush also reminds everyone to make sure they have the basic essentials to work from home – laptop (AND adaptor!), headphones for meetings, VPN access, external drive/hard disk, contact details of IT support and HR.
 
What have you learnt about yourself so far?
I discovered, to my surprise, that I am capable of being productive and efficient while being at home!

Are there any new habits that you are gaining during your confinement that you hope to continue to use?

• regular Cardio training
• spending time in the garden or close to nature to understand its beauty
• cooking – I’ve become an expert!