Content creators Anoosha Shetty and Saurabh Chanderiya talk about spending time together mindfully as a couple

Ours isn’t a classic love-at-first-sight tale, but a love story that blossomed over time. In 2015, we crossed paths on a dating app, and little did we know that it was the beginning of our journey together. Fast forward to January 2020, and we were ready to start this incredible adventure called “marriage”. At that time, we were both working in big multinational companies and what brought us together was our shared passion for dance and travel. We spent countless hours getting to know each other and gradually realised how compatible we were in various aspects of life. Eight years since we met and there is still a lot to learn about each other as we grow older together.

No such thing as 'work-life balance' 

Working together as a couple on our entrepreneurial journey is something that we have been handling for the last three to four years. It seemed harder in the beginning but we framed a system to work around the difficulties that came our way. When we take on a new project, we grow and have new things to deal with as a couple. With every new challenge, there come tough times, and when there are tough times then there will be fun times as well. Solving these challenges gives us a sense of accomplishment and joy and makes our bond stronger.

Over this period of time, we realised that there is no such thing as ‘work-life balance’. Often in a corporate set-up, work is something which is generally looked upon as not a life, but for us, it is not two separate things especially when we are working on something that we love. We cannot really draw a line between that work and the rest of the aspects of our lives. We would rather call it: ‘How to balance life’. We certainly believe that balancing all the aspects of life is an important skill for a life with contentment. When we say all aspects we mean bonding with the community, working on your passion projects, taking care of health, and entertainment, exploring new experiences, and working on your inner growth.

We have tried and tested different methods to come up with the best balance. Now we improvise in an ad hoc manner as and when we see scope. Now we have set a routine for six days a week and keep Sundays completely dedicated to doing nothing. We are ‘process-oriented’ people and have realised one should genuinely fall in love with the process rather than getting fixated on the end goal of living a life with contentment each day. We came out of the traditional 9-5 cycle to own our time, which we believe is the greatest asset one can possess. Now that we own our time we choose to spend it mindfully.

Little things spark joy 

Dance has been our love language. Although Anoosha never had any formal dance training, she is a natural and has enjoyed dancing her heart out since childhood. I (Saurabh) started dancing when I was in engineering college (IIT-Bombay) to overcome stage fear and have not stopped since. We knew that we both shared this common interest in dance but it was not until the end of 2016 we attempted to dance together. We both have different styles and that has worked well in our creations. We believe that dance is the work of the heart, not the brain. We dance like no one is watching on most random songs and many a time it does not get posted online.

It is these little things that we do on a daily basis that spark the joy in us. We talk a lot on a daily basis. We cook together. We do a lot of things together, be it having meals or going to the gym. We also make sure to give space to each other where both of us completely own our time. As a couple, it is important to pay attention to each other's desires. We are practically each other’s therapist, stylist, nutritionist and personal gym trainer! We plan our future together while we also make each day count. We cry on each other’s shoulders and make fun of each other. We both are content with our lives and when life isn’t taken too seriously the fun and laughter are meant to stay alive. We help each other to be our best selves every day.

As we continue on this journey, we deeply appreciate the freedom to live life on our own terms. This year, we are thankful for the personal and professional growth that we’ve experienced. We have gained valuable insights into the world of the social media economy, seizing every opportunity to connect with those who support and admire us. Exploring our dream destinations has been a highlight, as well as cherishing the precious moments with family and friends.

Anoosha Shetty and Saurabh Chanderiya quit their corporate jobs and switched to content creation. They focus on creating dance videos and blogging about their lives under their Instagram handle @jodianoorabh.

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