Before I became my own boss, I had a boss. Straight out of law school I went the “traditional route” by getting a full-time law firm job that often exceeded the 9 to 5 hours. If you’re a lawyer then you know. At the same time, during both law school and my law firm job, I was juggling being a creator. If you’re a creator then you know this is a whole full-time job in itself. Often I get asked how I was able to balance wearing so many hats. Here are 3 tips that helped me when I was working a 9 to 5 while being a creator.

1. Rest is a weapon. 

One of my trial team coaches (a judge) would always tell us this, especially close to competition day. He knew how dedicated we were to win and how we'd sacrifice everything, even sleep, to make sure we were beyond prepared for competition. This is something I had to remind myself in the hustle season of juggling a 9 to 5 while being a creator. I quickly realized that wanting success does not mean I have to be tired or overworked. In fact, a rested mind and body will reap many more benefits than a tired one.

2. Routines are more than just for aesthetics.

Listen, I love a good aesthetic routine as much as anyone, but they seriously work. Routines not only help reduce the number of decisions you make each day, which can help with decision fatigue, but they also exercise your discipline muscle. I’m sure we’ve all been there when motivation ran out and we had to let discipline take over. Doing the same set of tasks in your morning routine can help you start the day with a more productive mindset and can help you with time management, which is key when juggling more than one job. Also, having a nighttime routine can help your mind and body know it’s time to wind down and get some rest so you can function at your highest potential the next day. 

3. It always seems impossible until it’s done.

One of the hardest things about starting something is actually starting it. I can think of many times when I’ve talked myself out of starting something because of the fear of failure and the intimidation of accomplishing a goal that seems impossible. But everyone has to start somewhere. The successful people that inspire us also had to start somewhere. So, guess what we have to do? Start somewhere. This is why I constantly remind myself to not compare my day 1 to someone else’s day 27. If you would’ve asked me on October 6, 2014, after uploading my first YouTube video, if I’d make money from it, let alone build an entire career from it, I would’ve said “that’s impossible.” My response today? “It’s beyond possible.”

No matter what stage you’re in within your creator career, I hope these tips are as helpful to you as they were, and still are, to me.

‍Disclaimer: This is for informative and educational purposes only, thus, this is not legal advice. Although I’m an attorney, I’m not your attorney.‍