In this study, jugaad – a phenomenon explained as a culturally specific, innovative way of solving problems using available resources – is explored from daily coping mechanisms. While coping refers broadly to strategies individuals use to manage stress or adapt to challenges, jugaad – rooted in Indian sociocultural contexts – embodies a distinct form of frugal innovation, improvisation, and creative problem-solving under constraints. Women, often placed in multitasking roles with limited resources and support, are compelled to take charge of situations in order to pursue their personal and professional goals. They have perfected the art of jugaad in every aspect of life at work including at work and at home. A confirmation that women have a remarkable ability to devise unconventional, low cost solutions in response to systemic gaps and limited resource limitations. This reflects resilience and ingenuity [1, 2]. The study emphasizes jugaad not merely as a survival tactic but as a culturally embedded, adaptive mindset. This research contributes to innovation studies, behavioral science, and gender studies by showing how culturally informed resourcefulness shapes women’s responses to complex life demands across global contexts.
Jugaad integrates foundational constructs of resilience, adaptive behavior, and gendered innovation practices. Resilience is understood as the capacity to recover from stressors while maintaining functional stability, particularly relevant in women’s lives where multitasking and managing intersecting roles are routine [3]. Adaptive behavior encompasses the dynamic and often improvised actions people, more specifically women, take to meet situational demands, such as reconfiguring responsibilities or using available resources innovatively [4,5,6]. These behaviors often manifest as jugaad—a frugal, self-driven innovation strategy developed in response to systemic gaps or resource limitationsFootnote 1. Jugaad manifests across multiple domains of women’s lives. Financial and technological adaptability further illustrates how women use free or low-cost tools to overcome challenges, demonstrating digital resilience and a capacity for tech-enabled frugality [7].
Women demonstrate financial and technological adaptability through a range of context-specific strategies shaped by limited resources and systemic barriers. Financially, they adopt resource optimization, diversify income streams, engage in community-based savings or microfinance networks, and rely on cautious investment and savings practices to build resilience. Technologically, they learn through experiential methods, peer networks, and intergenerational exchange, while also improvising with shared devices or low-cost digital tools. This aligns with the social feminist view that women’s entrepreneurial behaviors, including informal innovation like jugaad, are shaped by gendered roles and access to social capital [8]. Likewise, women are adept in using resourcefulness in managing health and wellness. They often weave reminders in their daily routine. Oftentimes grouping minor tasks with reminders. Such health and cognitive management strategies, such as using visual, auditory, or tactile cues to remember medication routines, also exemplify how women use jugaad to navigate age-related memory decline and manage chronic conditions [9].
Jugaad as a gendered strategy
Adaptive behavior encompasses the dynamic and often improvised actions individuals take to meet situational demands, such as reconfiguring responsibilities or using available resources innovatively [10]. Women are multitaskers. They take upon themselves lot more responsibilities at home and at work than men. In the workplace, women’s use of jugaad often manifests as skillful management of multiple projects, strategic navigation of organizational dynamics, and inventive problem-solving to overcome structural constraints and achieve objectives. Women adapt their approaches contextually, whether by leveraging social networks, negotiating for improved opportunities, or developing alternative methods to accomplish tasks when conventional practices prove inadequate. Women frequently juggle numerous responsibilities at lower hierarchical levels, where the sheer volume of work adversely affects their mental and physical health. Prolonged work schedules further reduce opportunities for self-care or relaxation, exacerbating the strain they experience [11,12,13].
Despite these challenges, many women demonstrate notable resilience and ingenuity in pursuing improved living conditions. These emergent behaviors [14], including creative strategies to manage work and family responsibilities, present valuable insights for designing interventions that promote sustainable coping mechanisms. For example, informal arrangements, such as seeking a neighbor’s help to watch over toddlers—are frequently based on mutual trust and empathy rather than formal or financial agreements. Such practices reflect women’s capacity for resourcefulness, which enables them to manage roles more effectively, particularly in high-pressure environments [15].
At home, women have long been adept multitaskers. They often employ jugaad to maximize limited resources, ensuring family needs are met through creative solutions, such as repurposing household items or improvising meals from available ingredients. This practice of everyday problem-solving is not merely a temporary fix but a survival strategy embedded in daily life [16]. In their personal lives, women similarly use jugaad to adapt to changing circumstances—whether in managing finances, fulfilling social obligations, or responding to unexpected challenges—opting for solutions that may be unconventional but consistently effective.
Ultimately, jugaad extends beyond improvised solutions; it embodies a deeply adaptive and resilient mindset. For many women facing systemic limitations, it has evolved into a way of life that empowers perseverance and success despite structural and personal constraints. It reflects the ability to creatively mobilize available resources and continuously find practical pathways to progress against significant odds.
Cognitive challenges and creative management
Women are particularly susceptible to gender-specific health ailments, such as hypertension, forgetfulness, anxiety, depression, and chronic fatigue, due to the cumulative burden of paid employment combined with unpaid domestic work. The persistent need to balance professional duties, household management, and caregiving creates continuous physical and psychological stress, contributing over time to these adverse health outcomes [17, 18]. Such challenges may impair physical agility required for everyday movements, such as rising from a chair, turning quickly, or getting out of bed [19]. This decline in physical well-being further complicates daily functioning, making multitasking and self-management increasingly inseparable.
Research also suggests that older women may experience more forgetfulness than older men, particularly in certain types of memory decline. Several studies indicate that women are more prone to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias compared to men, which can contribute to higher levels of memory impairment [20,21,22,23,24,25,26]. This has a notable impact on their day-to-day lives, making routine tasks such as managing medications, keeping appointments, or handling household responsibilities more challenging. Memory lapses can lead to serious consequences, such as missed or incorrect medication doses, which is especially concerning for women managing chronic health conditions. Emotionally, these difficulties can lead to anxiety, embarrassment, and a reluctance to participate in social or professional settings, ultimately affecting their confidence and sense of independence. For women balancing multiple roles across work and home, even minor forgetfulness can disrupt daily routines and increase mental stress. In some cases, early signs of cognitive decline may be dismissed as normal aging, delaying timely support, while in others, natural lapses may cause unnecessary worry. Addressing these challenges requires supportive strategies, including structured routines, assistive tools, cognitive stimulation, and empathetic social environments. Hormonal changes, particularly the decline in estrogen during menopause, have been linked to memory difficulties in women [27]. This affects their self-oral medication routines as well, which is a pressing issue these days among not just women but men alike. However, the extent of forgetfulness varies based on individual health, lifestyle, and genetic factors. While women may report more subjective memory complaints, men tend to show a greater decline in visuospatial memory and executive function with age.
Older women often adopt creative strategies, or jugaad tactics, to ensure they take their oral medication on time despite memory-related challenges. Common techniques include visual cues, such as placing medicine bottles in frequently visited spots like beside the toothbrush or near the coffee maker, to serve as reminders [28]. Some also use DIY (Do It Yourself) pill organizers, repurposing containers or labeled compartments to sort medications by day and time, reducing confusion. Household reminders, such as sticky notes on mirrors or calendars with checkboxes, further help track medication consumption. Auditory triggers, including kitchen timers or TV show schedules, also act as mental prompts, and some individuals rely on phone calls from family members. Many women link medication-taking to daily rituals, such as meal times or prayer sessions, reinforcing the habit through routine. Wearable reminders, such as tying ribbons or using rubber bands, serve as a physical cue, while digital adaptations like mobile alarms or recorded voice notes assist those who are more tech-savvy [29,30,31]. Additionally, community support networks within neighborhoods or senior groups provide further assistance by checking in on each other’s medication routines. This survey-based exploratory study aimed to investigate the prevalence, nature, and interconnectedness of creative coping strategies—commonly referred to as jugaad—among women managing career disruptions and work-life stress. The objective was not to generalize findings but to uncover emerging behavioral patterns that illustrate how participants navigate personal and professional challenges with resourcefulness and resilience.