Time is literally money y’all… and today I’m going to tell you six recent switches I’ve made in my life that helped me reclaim my own time in my business.
For those of you who aren’t *super* familiar with me and my journey, hi! I’m Karly! I’m a lifestyle influencer and content creator. I own a size-inclusive clothing line called Confidence Club, host a top 5 Sexuality podcast called Hey Bitches, and am launching a brand new sex tech company called Kum As You Are. In January 2020 I was fired from my corporate job (again) and decided to dive full-time into being an influencer. Flash forward to January 2022, I am entering my 3rd year as a 100% self-employed content creator with a team of 5 (almost 7)! Hiring on my time was truly a lifesaver for me that helped me be able to focus on growing my business rather than running around trying to do all the jobs at once. Whether you own your business, work a 9-5, are a stay-at-home mom, whatever the case, time is truly so valuable… so here are some things I’ve recently switched up in my life that allow me to work on the things I’m passionate about without compromising my time. Let’s go!
Meal Services vs Cooking
And no… I’m not talking about pulling a Lisa Barlow and only doing drive-thru’s for every single meal of the day because I refuse to cook, k?
If you’re a person who really enjoys cooking, good for you! I also envy you a little bit. It’s not to say I don’t enjoy making a meal, because that’s simply not true. BUT… being in the “self-employed start up every minute matters” phase means that a cooked-from-scratch meal just isn’t high on my priorites list every single day. That being said, I obviously still have to eat! One of the biggest places I fall short when it comes to nourishing my body is the grocery shopping and planning. I can order my groceries online, have a beautiful week of food planned out in my head, maybe even meal prep a thing or two… but by day 3 I’m bored of everything and resort to takeout. I know there are so many different recipes, ways to cook, etc. that might combat this but the #1 thing that has really helped me out is skipping the grocery runs and signing up for a meal service. Specifically, Hello Fresh!
Meal services have literally been changing the game for me because
1. I live alone so even though the portions are meant for two people to split a meal, I just eat one for lunch and one for dinner
&
2. Nothing goes to waste!
When I was trying to be the best grocery shopper and cook I could be a LOT of food was going to waste because I just couldn’t be bothered to eat it. With a meal service I get 3 different types of meals so that even if I do eat it two days in row, it’s not enough time for me to actually get bored of it. It also gives me SO much time back that I don’t have to be scrolling on Pinterest, cooking a weeks worth of food, doing a TON of dishes, picking up my groceries, etc. And you know besties? I would go as far as to say… when I become a millionaire, I’m hiring a private chef!
Getting A Weekly Blowout
THIS has been so good not only for time-saving but also for my self-care and mental health! For those of you that don’t know, I am half German half Jamaican and have naturally curly hair. It’s honestly very versatile and not a super huge hassle to blowout on my own but here’s why instead of doing it myself, I get someone else to do it.
Whenever I’m traveling I don’t bring my blowdryer or blowout tools with me. This is mostly because I’ll wash and blowdry my hair before I leave on the trip and for the most part I’m never gone past a week (which the frequency I was my hair). However, when I was in LA in October I was there for 10 days. Now, pushing it to 8 days and no wash is already a gamble… 10 days was out of the question. So I did what I always do when I’m in the US and booked a session at Drybar. I’ve been a hardcore Drybar stan since the brand literally CAME OUT and I never miss an opportunity to visit a Drybar in whatever city I am in. Not only does it save me the room in my suitcase, it’s a chill hour that I get to treat myself to. Coming home from LA this time around I thought to myself… “why am I not doing this at home”? The obvious answer is there’s no Drybar in Edmonton BUT… there are definitely salons that offer blowouts! So I did a little research and found the salon that I now visit on a weekly basis. Now every single week I spend 45 minutes having someone else wash and blowdry my hair and it’s pure BLISS! And also… here is why it saves me time.
While I pride myself on always having great hair, I’m not a hairstylist! It’s also hard for all of to make sure the back of our heads are completely pristine like the parts we can see which leads to way more time spent perfecting your blowout. By actually just going to a professional not only am I cutting down the entire process, I’m also able to multi-task! I’ve sent voice notes, answered emails, posted brand deals, filmed vlogs, all while getting a blow. The way I see it, I have to get this done anyways so why not invest in a service that allows me to work on my business while it’s happening. And also because… *self-care*
Hiring A Cleaning Service
If you know me IRL you’d know I’ve struggled with being messy for the entire 25 years of my life. Moving into my own apartment was definitely a shocker. Suddenly I had a whole household to take care of instead of a couple rooms. And let me tell you… it was a hot mess. Recently, I also shared on YouTube how my depression disorder Dysthymia takes me into lows where I can’t even think of cleaning my house at ALL. It was a really interesting experience watching last years vlogmas videos back and really seeing myself coming out of a depressive episode and something that helped me do that was hiring a cleaning service!
To give just a *little* more backstory… I used to be the person who would let my apartment get messy throughout the week and do one BIG cleaning day every single Sunday. I’m talking cleaning literally everything including doing all of my laundry. While that worked for me for a bit, I quicky realized how easy it was to skip if I wasn’t feeling up to it but also how much time it takes me to clean up 6 days worth of mess vs. just cleaning a little bit every single day. On top of that, there were things that I wasn’t regularly doing like washing my shower walls, cleaning my toilets, or mopping my floors. Eventually, I came to the ultimate decision that I needed to hire a cleaning service… so I did! I started off with a deep clean of my entire place and now I get cleans bi-monthly and it’s working great! I’ve recently developed a habit of cleaning up my kitchen and living room at the end of the night so it’s not a complete disaster and I fully contribute that to the internal fear that your cleaning ladies will judge you based on how messy your place is (they won’t but…it’s a fear lol). Not only does this save me literally the ENTIRE DAY every single week, it’s teaching me new habits that are making me a tidier person.
Batching My Social Media Content
This is tried a true time-saver y’all!
I’ve been batching my content since I used to work a 9-5 while also being a full-time university student because let’s face it… when did I ever have time? Planning out shoot days for things like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc. has been so helpful in my business and it makes sure that I never run out of content to post or get stuck in the “what’s next?” phase. On top of that, I live in a FREEZING climate (it’s -36 as I am typing this blog) so shooting outside isn’t always available. Batching your content allows you to mitigate any problems that might arise in the future because you already have content ready to go until your next batch shoot day.
This is also SUCH a good option if you are working a full-time job or are a full-time student and are doing some hustling on the side! Taking the time every single week to dedicate to your side-hustle really does make all the difference. You’re putting in the hours on one day so you can reap the benefits for the rest of the days. Now pop that into a scheduling platform and you are good to GO baby! Time = saved. Stress = non-existent.
Creating Meeting Hours vs Always Being Available
This is something brand new that we’re implementing in my business this year and I really cannot WAIT to see the impact it has!
Now, I know a lot of people think that being an influencer or a content creator means taking tiktoks all day or shooting photos or filming videos… but most of the day is spent in your inbox. Or your editing software. Or in a meeting. Actually creating content probably accounts for 30% of my work wee. The other 70% is spent editing, doing admin, working on copy, or in meetings. Because I want to maximize my time in 2022, a switch I’ve made was going from always available to accept meetings to having set out meeting hours.
Obviously, I have set meetings with my team and my employees but this specific switch is for any brands that are looking to do creative campaign calls. Aka when they walk you through the campaign and you have a chance to chit chat with them directly vs. all in emails. While most of these meetings are only 30ish minutes, having a meeting thrown into your schedule when you’re supposed to be batch shooting content can really mess things up. So instead of saying yes to every meeting time, my team and I have implemented set meeting hours every single week where we let the brand know “hey, this is the times we are available for a call”. This allows me not only to have an efficient and effective schedule, it also makes sure me and my team are always on the same page about where I’m at in my day.
Hiring An Assistant
Omg! Isn’t that exciting!
I am actually currently in the process of hiring for this role as I am typing out this blog but I am SO excited to be bringing another member onto the YGK as my first ever in-person employee. Like I mentioned, I do already have a team that have their respective roles (video editor, podcast editor, manager, etc.) but what I really needed was someone in-person who could assist with my day-to-day business. One of the biggest things I am looking forward to about hiring an assistant is having someone I can shoot content with. I’ve spent the last 3 pandemy years getting REAL familiar with my self-timer and trying to capture content in the most creative way a one woman show CAN but… this year I want to take it to the next level! Hiring an assistant onto my team will not only allow me to uplevel my content this year, they’ll also be able to take smaller tasks off my plate like pulling outfits, organizing my calendar, trend hunting, etc. This opens me up for more time to work ON my business rather than IN my business and I can’t wait to find the perfect person to join the Nation!
And there you have it! Six switches I’ve recently implemented into my life that have saved me SO much time. I do want to say, I did these switches so I could have more time to work on my business BUT that doesn’t have to be the goal. You could make switches that save you time for all sorts of things! From getting to bed earlier, having time to cook an entire meal from scratch, picking up a new hobby, etc. making efficient switches in your schedule allow you simply to have time to do the things you love.
That’s it for me bestie!
xo, your girl karly
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