Balancing A 9-5 Job With A Fashion Career: Important Decisions You Need To Make To Be Successful At Both

Have you ever found that in trying to be successful at both your 9-5 job and your fashion career simultaneously you end up exhausted and with so many deadlines to meet? I guess you have.

In balancing your 9-5 with your day job the decisions you make about your time, your health and your business determine a lot of things. Here are some decisions you should consciously make to be successful at both your 9-5 job and your fashion career;

Important Decision to make In Balancing your 9-5 with your Fashion Career.

1. Use your Weekends Productively:

Sleeping in is no longer an option. Yes, before you started your business you were allowed to sleep for longer on weekends but no, you’re no longer allowed to do that. 

Weekends are a time when most 9-5 jobs are on a break, so, they are also a time when you should focus squarely on your fashion career. The majority of your weekend should be used for your startup fashion business and not for relaxation and ‘owambe’.

2. Learn to Say No:

Saying ‘no’ is one thing many of us have not yet mastered. Sometimes it can be hard to say no to people especially when they are your loved ones but sometimes it’s the right thing to do for you and your business. 

If something comes up that isn’t important (to you and your business) and doesn’t fit into the window of your free time then you need to learn to say no to it. Sometimes saying no at that moment means saying yes to doing whatever it is at a later time.

3.Stick to your Schedule:

At the beginning of the week, it is important to plan the entire week as best as you can. After you have planned your week, what comes next? Yes! Sticking to the plan.

Sticking to your schedule means not letting other things distract you from doing what you have planned to do. We are not saying that when something important comes up you should not respond to it, we are saying you should not respond to every invitation.

Don’t respond to every text, don’t pick up every phone call, don’t accept every invitation to go out with people. If It doesn’t fit into your schedule and it is not a priority at that moment then please do not do it.

4. Don’t Take on More Than you can Handle:

As a fashion entrepreneur, sometimes a client will come to you with a big job that you know you cannot handle but the temptation to accept it will arise. Resist it. Not taking on more orders than you know you can physically and mentally handle is a sign of good customer service.

At your 9-5, sometimes there might be an optional task that you don’t have to do, resist the urge to always jump forward and do it instead of letting someone else do it. Make conscious decisions to stick to your capacity and do your best at the things you can handle.

5. Resist the Temptation to Think about Work on your Off Day:

With all the hard work and dedication that comes with juggling a 9-5 job and fashion career, it’s easy to constantly have work on your mind. But you need your rest to be able to succeed at both.

You need enough rest to function properly and you need some free time to let your hair down and spend time with family and friends. In building a business you don’t want to destroy all the relationships that are important to you.

When your off day comes or the time to take a break comes, resist the temptation to keep thinking about work and all the other things you think you should be doing at that time.

6. Don’t Overindulge:

While it’s important to rest, it’s also important to decide not to overindulge in your rest time. Don’t spend extra hours at that party when you don’t need to. Don’t sit out for 1 hour when you had a break of 30 mins.

Just decide to do what you need to do when you need to do it and in the time frame you have set for it.

It takes strength to juggle your fashion career with a 9-5 and we say well done to you for that. Now, just remember to begin to make those decisions that’ll make it easier for you. We know you can do it!

What other decisions do you think are important in juggling a fashion career with a 9-5? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Don’t forget to hit the like button if you enjoyed this read.