It's all about the Intent

Its been a while since I have written anything for the Sandarbh blog. Every time I was asked, I would say that I had been busy and writing a blog just wouldn't fit into my schedule - but Sai would counter me saying that it's just about the intent. I would promptly disagree with him. But as I think about my journey through this office, I can distinctly see what a difference just intent can make.

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Chilling on the Tree House

I remember the first time I entered the Sandarbh Design Studio. I found the office to be a small, quiet space. There were a few interns sitting in the space we then called the 'garage'. The office and garage had a distinct separation. There were fewer conversations, less laughter and was generally a space with lower energy than it is now. 

Today, the office I stepped into this morning, can nowhere be compared to the office that I entered on the first day of office.  This morning was filled with so much bustling energy, that even if you enter the space with a low vibe, there is no way you would be getting out of there with the same energy. There were multiple layers of conversations taking place, Sai's table - where once people had to be called to, is now occupied all day - with various conversations about future strategies, design conversations, project management going on throughout the day. Having said that, the discussions are not just limited to Sai's table anymore. It takes place near the swing, on the bench in the garden and sometimes in the treehouse. You would not find any time that the studio or the office is silent or empty. People have found their cozy nooks to work from - the space that I described as a 'garage' in the first blog I had written about the office, cannot be just seen as a garage anymore.

Project Management discussions in the garden

The energy in and around the office makes it a lovely space to work out of. 

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Athira and Nandini busy setting up the studio space

This transformation of the office is not just a coincidence. It was a made through a series of decisions made with one intent in mind - to make the office a fun space to work out of - even before the core team that now makes the office was put together. The intent was to fill the office with people who compliment each other's strengths, where everyone who works within the space, gets out with a sense of fulfillment. Every little decision taken was done with this intent in mind. Starting from the design process to the process of picking our employees, from renaming and redesigning the garage to transform it into the studio, to creating specific job roles within the office - a lot of decisions were taken with this particular aim in mind. 

"Think about the big picture", Sai would say. I didn't understand why it was necessary back then - but today as I look at the office functioning around me, I understand where just the intent would make a big difference.

- Ananya