WomenFitness India

Schauna Chauhan, CEO of Parle Agro in Conversation with Women Fitness

schauna chauhan

Namita Nayyar:

In your early days you learnt horse riding, as of today any sports or recreational activity you pursue.

Schauna Chauhan:

I Loved horse riding and was very good at it too. Unfortunately now, I don’t anymore.  Apart from that, I played Tennis, Volleyball, and Hockey. And used to do a lot of Track And Field.  For me, any of these sports used to be things I used to look forward to and play with passion, which then all brought me to a level where I was the Team Captain. I played very seriously. I play some amount of tennis now but very seldom. 

I feel what ends up happening as you get older is that once you start having a lot more responsibilities the convenience of fitting in a sport in your daily schedule life is no longer possible so easily.  So you end up fitting in any one activity that would help you to destress/ stay active for keeping you healthy.

Tennis is an easier option to still continue cause you can do it more regularly and there are a lot more people who play it. So I now play it to have fun or when my son is doing his tennis class I’d probably get the court next to his and play too.

Namita Nayyar:

Being a multitasker both at the personal & professional end, how do you balance to give your best.

Schauna Chauhan:

I have a wonderful team of people who help me do it all.   

When I travel for work, Jahaan also accompanies me. He’d come and spend time at the factory till the time I’d finish. He was always so happy doing that.

  In fact, our Karnataka/ Uttrankand/ Vijaywada and Gwalior plants were there with me while we finalized the plot of land. ..He would sit there and color or observe and walk around while the team and I discussed.

 He accompanies me Internationally also during my business travels.  And then when I’m here at work, he comes with me to work. Where he spends his day doing different things on a very flexible schedule while I’m focusing on my schedule at work. 

 However, each day/week/month of mine is planned perfectly keeping everything in mind. The hard work honestly comes in the planning.  

I have managed by scheduling out meticulously and ensuring that there is enough amount of time given to everyone and everything that is a priority.  

As he is growing older he is also getting busy with his school schedule or the playdates he has with his friends or the extra curriculum sport that he plays. I encourage him to try as many sports as he wants to decide which one he would like to finally stick to.

Any free time where I’m not working is completely focused on doing things with Jahaan. Whether it be going away for the weekend or planning an activity that we can do together or spending time with the whole family.   Recently I took him off-roading because that’s something he’s so passionate about where he watches videos listening to the “how-to” and also the stories of trips of other people. In order to pursue that further, we decided to go off-roading not too far away, and with the rains, it was such a fabulous experience for both of us.

Nights I always put him to bed. This is an absolute must for us. This is the time when he discusses his day with me and I talk to him about mine. He loves listening to all the stories that I tell him.  

The first day and last day of school are the two days that I always kept aside for him for which I would pick him up from school. This we have followed from day 1. But there was a time when I couldn’t do that because I had to schedule a work meeting at the same time.  Those days are tough when I have to explain to him why I cannot make it. And it’s tough for me as well because I know how excited he gets when he sees me in school.  There are times when I have a work dinner and it’s gotten a little late but regardless of how tired he is he will wait for me to get back to put him to sleep. There are even times where he’s not eaten because he wants to have dinner together but I’ve not been able to. 

Of course, it stresses me out and I’m sure how upset he gets, but the best thing I’ve realized is explaining it to him and making it up to him by doing some other things together that we normally do.  

It’s tough when you sometimes have to prioritize your work but I also don’t feel guilty about it because I can confidently say that I’ve spent so much time with him and ensured that no way at any point in time he would ever feel that I’ve neglected him. And he also has come to realize that for me my work and he is the most important things to. He has seen my work from the beginning. And he realizes and has come to understand.

I had the good fortune to be able to balance out my life well between Jahaan and my work. And I also am the type of person who ensures that it is planned that way too.

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