Meghna Mohan is the founder at The Kebabsmith, a gourmet frozen food manufacturing company based out of Singapore.

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Let’s start with your background! Can you share with us your career journey and what you’re currently up to?

I’m the founder of The Kebabsmith, a frozen food company based in Singapore. Cooking has always been a passion of mine; even as a child I was always concocting dishes to feed to my family and my dog – luckily no one was food poisoned! I pursued culinary arts in college and then went on to do a degree in business administration. I worked for the Hyatt Group for many years in the US & the Caribbean before moving to India to set up my own corporate food service company. The company did well and we started another food service company. A few years ago I moved to Singapore to be with my husband and took some time off when my kids were small. But once they were older I started a frozen food company specialising in kebabs and other snacks. 

We’d love to know what a typical day is like for you. Could you describe a recent workday?

I start my day early to get my son ready for school. Go for a walk, come back and get my daughter ready for school. I drop her to school and head to work. The first thing I like to do at work is to check in on production, make sure that the kitchen has everything they need.

I then take a look at all the orders going out that day both through our website and the various platforms that we deliver on. Make any changes to the production schedule. Being the founder of a startup, there are always a ton of things to do and I don’t know where the time goes. Some days it’s exciting stuff like creating new products or meeting people but other days it’s regular operational stuff. 

I try to be back home in time to have dinner with my family and spend time with them before we go to bed. We catch up on the events of the day and it’s always fun to hear about what each one did. 

Can you define work-life balance for yourself and share with us your approach in maintaining it?

Maintaining a work life balance is hard as there is always so much to do. But off late, I’m making a conscious effort to do the following:

1. When I am at work I make sure that I am making full use of that time efficiently. I set time brackets for myself to complete my various tasks. 
2. When I’m home and spending time with my kids I try to put aside my devices and do whatever they want to do. Sometimes it’s playing with beyblades or princesses and sometimes it’s building a balloon-powered car. Quality time spent is better than quantity, I feel. 
3. Done is better than perfect.
4. Prioritise! It’s ok to say no sometimes. 

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Change is constant, and it’s essential for growth. Have you made any lifestyle changes in the past year to improve your work-life balance?

The one thing I’ve started that has helped me improve my work life balance is to wake up earlier and go for a walk. I use that time to listen to podcasts or Ted talks and it helps set a positive and inspiring tone for the rest of the day. 

We’re always on the lookout for new resources! Can you recommend any books, podcasts, or newsletters that have helped you in your journey towards balance?

I listen to a lot of Ted Talks when I’m walking or on the way to work. Some of them have helped me in my journey towards balance. One that I really liked was Ashley Whillans’s 3 Rules for better work life balance. 

Before we wrap up, do you have any final words of wisdom or insights on work, life, or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

Work life balance is important for everyone and if possible make it a part of your company culture. In all my years of being an entrepreneur I have realised what helps in keeping employees happy is to give them the flexibility to manage their own schedules. If they prefer to come in earlier so that they can leave earlier to pick up their kids let them. If they’re happier, productivity and loyalty increases. 

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