To be the most productive you possibly can be, it’s important to understand your body clock, not fight it."

Anita Dongre is that rare Indian designer who has successfully created several high-street, prêt brands with a combined annual turnover of Rs150 crore. Her labels—the popular AND and Global Desi—are spread across 80 standalone stores and 250 shop-in-shops across India. She also runs a wellness centre in Mumbai. Clearly, she’s mastered productivity. Here, she lays out her top productivity drivers—an early day, a work wardrobe that has the same outfit in 20 colours, a hawkish control on her creative time, and the book she’s read more than a hundred times. 

For me, the most productive day is one where I get to design, create and think. When I began the company, I worked with the 80-20 philosophy—80 per cent of the time would be spent on tasks that needed to be done as an entrepreneur. In the beginning, you have to deal with those things because you can’t employ that many people. You start being everybody, and do every role. As the company grows, you put in the right people in the right jobs, and just supervise them. Today, honestly, even the time needed in supervising them irritates me, and upsets me because I want to reverse the 80-20 principle completely. Now, I want to spend 80 per cent of my time on the creative aspect because that’s something only I can bring. Only 20 per cent of my time should go to things you are forced to do because you run a business. 

But, forget these formulae—all of that goes for a toss if I’ve had a late night. I’m totally messed up the next day which is why I limit my late nights to weekends. In fact, a late night is the biggest thing you can take from me because my productivity comes down to 20 per cent the next day. I’m then harrowed, grouchy and grumpy, and everybody at work can tell she hasn't slept properly. I do most of my creative thinking in the morning. At 6.15am, most of my staff begins getting e-mails from me because my brain is the most efficient after my first cup of tea in the morning. I’ve also now learnt to note down my ideas in my BlackBerry, and to sketch them on my iPad. My productivity peak lasts till lunch time so I make sure I do all my thinking before 1pm. To be the most productive you possibly can be, it’s important to understand your body clock, and not to fight it. Designers are typecast as a tribe that works late, and party into the night. Many of the young girls who work with me can’t believe I get up at 6am.  

Vedanta Treatise by Swami Parthasarthy is one book that I’ve read, re-read and re-read. It’s my work bible, and everything in that book helps you to deal with life, and that extends to how you work as well. I read it the first time about seven years ago—now, it’s my bedside book and travels everywhere with me. I must have gifted 50 copies to everybody I know. That book has changed my life. In fact, I wish my parents had given it to me when I was 18. I would have made fewer mistakes in life. Actually, I don’t know where I’d be if I’d read it 25 years ago. It should be made mandatory reading in schools! 

Every season, I get a work outfit made in 20 different colours. For example, this season I’m just wearing shirt dresses. A lot  of people meet me and say, "Oh, another shirt dress", but I don’t care. It saves me a lot of time in the morning. I pull out any one from the 20 I have. It works for my body type, and the same bag, shoes and belt go with it. It simplifies my morning, and that is what productivity is about.