Mayuresh Patole, Co-Founder & CEO of Chronicle, a fast and interactive alternative to presentations, changing the way people craft and tell compelling stories every day at work.

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

Currently, I am the founder and CEO of Chronicle. We are building the future of presentations. Presentations have been a consistent theme and problem in my life since the last 5 years and I am passionately working towards building the presentations format of the future.

My first job was being a management consultant at BCG. Interestingly, while at university, I used to freelance as a UI/UX designer on the side. So after BCG, I wanted to try out design again and I moved to Sydney to join Digital Ventures to be a designer.

Here we built game-changing startups for some of the largest corporates. After double hatting for a bit I switched back to the business side. And now I have taken the leap to start up.

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

I usually start my day at 7 am. The first thing I do is plan my day. Most days I try to set aside 1-2 hours just for one important task that I need to do for my day to be a success.

I usually go for a morning walk by the ocean or meet friends for coffee. I try to spend my mornings away from the screen as much as possible, either in coffee catch ups or a long walk.

Once I am back I usually spend 1-2 hours deeply focussing on the key task for the day. I have team discussions after 1 pm as my team is spread across the globe, this is usually when we sync up.

I spend my afternoon/early evening on things that need brainstorming or discussion. I often take a walk if I need more inspiration.

I am definitely a night owl – if I am doing something creative, I often end up spending time on it at night.

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

Yes. One of our goals as we are building Chronicle is to build a remote, global team that can work flexibly. We believe that remote work is the future.

Working remotely has not only allowed me to save a lot of time, but it also affords everyone in the team to spend each day as they want.

I bring my best self to work each day because I can work from wherever I want. A routine where I can start with slow mornings and 1-2 hour bursts of focus time is only possible with remote work. This certainly improves my experience at work.

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

I think work-life balance is less about the number of hours but more about sustainability. To me, work life balance is making sure that work doesn’t get in the way of your life.

At Chronicle we have ensured this by constantly striving to enable everyone to work on their own terms without blockers. I am lucky to have a fantastic team who support each other and create an amazing work environment.

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

A few habits that have made a massive difference day to day:

• As soon as I get a thought, an idea or a task I remember, I write it on a sticky note so that it doesn’t take any mind space anymore. This was suggested to me by Alex Logan, my ex-colleague and good friend.
• I try to write down the single most important thing I have to do that day. I spend the first 1-2 hours of my working day on this.
• I have stopped watching Netflix/TV before going to bed. This has made a lot of difference to my sleep and saves me countless hours.
• I uninstalled all social media apps from my phone. While I still check them from time to time on my laptop – it helps me not get distracted constantly on my phone.
• I try to avoid saying “I am busy” as much as possible. It keeps me true.

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

I love listening to After Hours, an HBR podcast. Benedict Evans is my favourite newsletter – I would highly recommend it.

I have recently been reading Atomic Habits – it is a great book and has given me a lot of ideas on how I can spend my time better. A friend of mine, Bohdan Kostko, recommended Meditations by Marcus Aurelius – a life changing book.

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

I love the Muzli extension on Chrome. It is a dose of inspiration whenever I need it. I love Notion – it is hands down one of my favourite apps. Most of all, I cannot live without a pen and my notepads that I constantly scribble on.

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

My mother. My mom’s a gynaecologist who at one point managed an entire hospital, took care of two kids, studied and got a degree in psychology, started teaching at the university, cooks every day, learnt how to sing, has been doing yoga and meditation every single day for the last 3 decades and still manages to find time to maintain her garden. It just baffles me every time how she does it all.

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

I am slowly starting to understand that the conditions we grow up in, strongly shape what our work and career means to us. But it is extremely important to take a step back every 3-5 years and ask oneself – what do I want now and where am I going? Sometimes the answer may surprise you.

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