24 hours with…Rachna Kanwar

Ever wondered what an ideal day in the life of someone from advertising/marketing/media is? We're here to spill the beans on it.

Campaign India's '24 hours with' column which used to be a part of the print magazine, now returns in its digital avatar. 

Every Tuesday, we'll have a person from the advertising/marketing/media industry profiled in this section.  

Name: Rachna Kanwar 

Job: Chief operating officer - digital media, Radio City and Mid-day

My mantra: I create my own happiness

7:30am: Wake up time on weekdays. On weekends, I allow myself to sleep late.

Need a big cup of black tea and a copy of Mid-Day and two other dailies. While I love holding a newspaper in my hand each morning, I have to check the latest news on the Mid-day website too, as a lot can happen in the eight hours that you’re asleep. This is also the time when my fur buddy, Astro returns from his walk and seeks my undivided attention.

8:30 am: Spend time with my plants every morning to see which one needs tending and which one has flowered or is ready with fruit.

9:15 am: Leave for work after a quick breakfast of eggs, almonds, honey and gluten-free toast.

9:45-10:00 am: Ready to take on the day! In the morning, a quiet, green tea fuelled half hour is for planning the day and morning meetings with the team heads. I try to pack in cross-functional meetings before lunch because if there are follow-ups they can happen throughout the work day and don’t get pushed to the evening or the next day.

1:30 pm: Lunch time. I try to keep a fixed schedule unless I am in a meeting or something urgent comes up. It’s always a home-cooked meal ( and snacks) that my cook of 10 years prepares and packs in an embarrassingly big bag. 

2 pm: A little chit-chat on the floor with my teams is a great way to connect with them and also have a few laughs and de-stress if there’s any pressure building up. I love listening to their stories and telling some of my own. Post this I check on the progress of the tasks of the day. I usually plan external meetings or interviews around this time.

4 pm: As the energy starts sapping, I turn to green tea and fruit. A quick check on what’s happening with the family is done too at this time. 

6:30 pm: Time to leave work behind. I plan for the next day before I leave so that I don’t have any of that on my mind and I can spend quality time with my family. On some days there’s yoga or cardio after work. On the other days, I relax with stories from the day and chatting with my sister on the phone.

8:30 pm: Dinner time with family. On weekdays it is usually home cooked and on the weekends is strictly outside with friends and family. This is followed by playing with Astro and general relaxation time with my husband and son. Sometimes, if it’s been a particularly tiring day, a nice martini hits the spot before dinner.

10:00 pm: Watch a show on weekdays as weekends I am out with friends.

11:30 pm: Read a few pages from a book before I call it a day.

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