As a featured speaker at Create & Cultivate Digital Summer Camp 2020, Whitney responded to questions from attendees about how to balance their full-time job with building a personal brand.
Create & Cultivate is a members-only online platform that brings together over a million women who want to create and cultivate the career of their dreams. Summer Camp is an annual summit hosted by Create & Cultivate that includes panel discussions, workshops, and networking. Whitney was featured during the Mentor Power Hour where she shared advice based on her experience as a successful entrepreneur.
How can I maximize my time between working and building my personal brand?
Whitney often works with entrepreneurs who are juggling a full-time job and a side hustle. She sees many of them fall into the same trap of investing all their time and energy into their full-time job without ever being able to devote time to their true passions.
Whitney recommended recognizing areas in your full-time job where you’re spending valuable time on things you don’t need to do. This may be things outside your job description that you have volunteered to do or tasks someone else is asking you to do. If you’re doing mountains of extra work beyond the scope of your role, you’ll never be able to carve out time for your other priorities. Focus on being more efficient with the work you have for your full-time role by cutting out the tasks that aren’t in your job description.
She also encouraged discipline around your work day. Don’t sit at the computer answering emails or doing work after your work day has ended. Choosing where you spend your time is crucial for achieving your most important goals. In order to build something for yourself, you have to create boundaries when it comes to your day job. This will free up time and energy for you to focus on your other priorities.
I have so many ideas and I don’t know what to tackle first. How do I figure out my biggest priorities?
Focusing on the right priorities starts with recognizing what’s most important to you. In Whitney’s experience coaching high achievers, she has seen that the first step in her clients’ breakthroughs is figuring out what they want the most. Determining your biggest priority is a process of getting back to yourself and listening to your own inner voice. Whitney explained the importance of prioritizing the things we care about instead of trying to meet the expectations of what society tells us we should do.
Whitney recommended asking yourself “what do I really want?” When you ask yourself that, you also have to shut down the doubt and the fear that may tell you that what you want is too hard. Instead of focusing on what other people say and what society says you need to be happy, listen to your voice to find out what you really want.
To effectively manage your time, you have to devote effort to the projects and tasks that are going to help you pursue your most important goals. Recognizing your top priorities will help you manage your time most effectively in your full-time role and on your personal projects. Then, you’ll be able to carve out time to work on building your personal brand and growing your own business.