Juggling

It is 4am on a Wednesday morning. I am in the office trying to salvage a deployment which has gone horribly wrong and as Jay Z would say “I aint seen the back of my eyelids” in 23 hours. The past 24 hours have been exciting! I had my very first radio interview at Cliff Central on Tuesday morning with the incredibly talented Timothy Maurice Webster. I’m such a fan of his work! I was nervous about the interview in general, then to find out Timothy Maurice would be conducting it just made me wonder what exactly I’d be able to add to the discussion. If you have read any body of work that he has published or had the opportunity to see him talk you’d know the tons of experience and wealth of knowledge he has. He is the grand master of personal branding and I’m just a novice getting started on my personal branding journey. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to hold my own against this giant in the industry. I worried my mind would go blank and I wouldn’t have anything smart to say. I worried I would have amazing thoughts to share then would fail at articulating them. I worried I would be inaudible and collapse into a stuttering heap on the studio floor but it turned out to be all good. Better than good actually. It went great! Timothy managed to help calm my nerves and we had an interesting, casual chat about the power of bloggers and blogging. I’m no authority on the matter but I loved that I was able to share my options and thoughts and still managed to learn while at it. I stumbled here and there but I think I rocked for my very first interview. You can check out the podcast here, and please let me know what you think! I’d love to hear your feedback.

KEABELOOK10-15
KEABELOOK10-29
After the interview and brief tour of the CliffCentral.com studio I rushed to work, and worked for the rest for the rest of the day and into the morning. Something we touched on in the interview was what my challenges are with regards to blogging. Juggling my life in general is a huge challenge of mine. It’s hard for people to understand just how much work goes into blogging. Thinking of exciting, engaging topics to discuss, styling looks, shooting the looks, prepping and writing my posts all take a lot of time and energy. Then there’s the added self-inflicted pressure of making sure each of my posts is better than the last. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love blogging and I chose to do it because I’m so passionate about it, but that doesn’t take away how much effort goes into it. Working minimum 8 hour days in corporate, spending time with friends, working on campaigns and attending the odd event makes me feel snowed under. Managing my time is becoming something I have started taking seriously to help relieve the stress and put some order back into my life. My calendar is the most used app on my phone (after Instagram) right now. Any meeting, event, appointment or occasion I need to remember, I put in my calendar. I’ve even taken to having an editorial calendar to manage my blogs posts. I’m slowly starting to ease into it but it’s a struggle to consistently post high quality content when you have a deadline. Something that also helps me is writing everything down. And I mean EVERY. DAMN. THING. Booking flights? Make a note. Need to purchase a gift for a friend? Make a note. Think of ideas for said gift for said friend? Make a note. Sale happening and there are a few items I want to get? Make a note. Taking the pressure out of needing to remember everything has helped ease my anxiety and I feel like I’m in control again. I am my own PA. My last tip for juggling multiple projects is to put everything into perspective. I’m not as busy as the POTUS or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and everything that has been happening in my life I’ve been praying for, for years. In fact, I’m still praying for more. I believe in order to be blessed in abundance you need to be able to handle the little blessings. What are some of your tips you use to juggle the many commitments in your life?
KEABELOOK10-6

This skirt is one of my absolute favourites! This was one of the items released with the Peter Pilotto x Target collaboration. My main concern when high end brands release collections with affordable retailers is whether the collection will remain wearable in a few years. Well this collection was released in 2014 and 2 years later I'm still loving it and people still ask me where I got my skirt. I'm a huge Peter Pilotto fan so the fact that I could afford some pieces from the designer at a bargain makes my heart smile!

Knitted Jersey - Theory

Skirt - Peter Pilotto x Target

Booties - Steve Madden

Earrings - Witchery

 

KEABELOOK10-8
KEABELOOK10-18
KEABELOOK10-27
KEABELOOK10-30

Photographs - @KeganKingsley

Follow:

7 Comments

  1. August 25, 2016 / 2:25 PM

    Hey Buddy, Lovely post as always.

    I think sometimes how we schedule things is important. I try to do the the things that interest me the least (provided they are important to do) first, if not, I will end up postponing them to a point where I cant do them anymore or end up doing them in a rush and not to the best of my ability. A case of saving the best for last.

    • August 30, 2016 / 9:59 PM

      Thank you!
      I agree 100%. Saving the best for last helps you get the dreaded tasks out of the way first and leaves with the fun, pleasurable ones. Great tip!

  2. Neo
    August 31, 2016 / 10:14 AM

    I just listened to your podcast with Timothy Maurice. You definitely held your own and you were true to yourself and expressing that firmly has planted a seed of confidence in myself to consider blogging!

    You’re really a gem and I checked out your Instagram and obviously your blog.

    I find you particularly inspiring for the ‘niche’ and ‘personal branding’ type of view you share! On top of that you do work the 9 to 5 – and being in the same boat- I am inspired to make time for things that I am passionate about.

    Keep going. Keep writing. Keep being authentic because the right people will automatically be inspired to blog!

    • September 1, 2016 / 12:04 AM

      Thank you! I still haven’t listened to the interview myself!
      If you have a passion for writing and anything else, and you are really amped to do it, I definitely suggest you register a blog and go for it! Sometimes your passion is the only thing that will keep you going in the early hours of the morning.
      Thank you, thank you and thank you again for your kind words. Working 9 – 5 and blogging aren’t easy but if it’s something you’re passionate about you need to just do it.
      I know I don’t appeal to the masses which I’m okay with. I would rather appeal to a handful and touch a few people than appeal to the masses and have no credibility. It’s a fine line to walk. Your encouraging words mean the world to me!

  3. Princess
    September 1, 2016 / 2:34 PM

    As for me and my love for reading blogs, yours is one of those I set a reminder to take time and read up on anything and everything you write about. There’s something about the way you use words. Great work

    • September 5, 2016 / 8:54 AM

      Thank you Princess! It’s comments like these that keep me going!

  4. Neo Motshologane
    September 1, 2016 / 4:29 PM

    Thanks so much for your reply!

    1. You should really listen to yourself. It will help solidify that inner confidence! I would like you to hear the part where you answered a rather tough question that Timothy asked you: What is your take on balancing brands paying for exposure of their brands versus your own personal brand?(I am paraphrasing here) – your answer really got me ‘three-snapping’ and it goes back to how I believe you held your own!

    2. In your opinion, what is the best platform to start a blog!? Your own website (coz I see you have a .com) or on WordPress (it seems again like it’s not fully “your own” – if you get what I mean).

    Hope you are having a great day ushering in this new season!