Balancing the Grind with Gaurav Kawar, Founder & CEO of Book An Artist

Gaurav Kawar is the founder & CEO of Book An Artist, a platform that simplifies the process of finding and hiring vetted artists.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

I was working as a consultant when I founded Book An Artist. In 2018, my friends and I went on a trip to Cuba where we visited Mural de la Prehistoria. The enormous outdoor painting is located in Vinales and depicts human evolution.

Despite its impressive size, it is often the subject of tourist criticism. On the way back, my friend couldn’t help but mention the underwhelming nature of the mural and how a “new, local artist would surely do a better job.” There wasn’t an answer to “how do I find a local artist?” so I took that question back to where I lived in London, and Book An Artist was born.

2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

My days begin bright and early around 7 o’clock in the morning. After half an hour for breakfast, coffee and some IPL highlights I’ll get to the important stuff early – such as processing payments and reading emails.

I spend my first half of the day touching base with the team and sifting through my Trello tasks until lunch time. If the weather is nice, I’ll take a stroll, otherwise I’ll shut my eyes for a bit to refresh myself for the afternoon.

I jump between my to-do list and scheduled meetings, allowing enough time to do some deep data analysis before it hits 6:00pm. I wind down with a walk and dinner, checking Slack a few final times before clocking off.

Before sleeping I enjoy playing chess, relaxing and catching up on a new Netflix series.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

Myself and my team are continuing to work from home, although we are looking into a one-to-two-day week. We are quite used to working from home, as many of our employees work across the globe. Zoom is the most efficient way for us all to come together!

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

Not much to be honest, I do enjoy working so don’t mind it too much. Try to fit in squash as much as I can for exercise and coffee catch ups with friends and colleagues.

I enjoy working and spending my time putting my energy into Book An Artist. I try to fit in squash games for exercise and I spend my weekends grabbing coffee with friends and colleagues.

5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

We as a team, but particularly me, began using Trello. I found it instantly easier to keep track of my priorities and get jobs done faster.

6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

I love listening to David Tennet’s podcast alongside BCC Friday Night Comedy, The Bugle. I do like British podcasts/TV. My favourite book is Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?

I simply cannot live without my chess app. It helps me wind down and I could honestly spend hours playing. I also enjoy getting lost on YouTube science channels, PBS Spacetime, Veritasium being some and discovering new Netflix shows – currently watching Vikings.

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be? 

Barack Obama.

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

I think it’s important to enjoy what you’re doing. Life is too short to be miserable or spend your time doing things that don’t make you happy! Feeling passionate about my business and my career is what makes work fun.

Before you go…

Check out more daily routines from Barack Obama, Arianna Huffington, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Michelle Obama, Sheryl Sandberg, Richard Branson, Warren Buffet and plenty others.