How do you manage time juggling between multiple professions?
Time management is a key aspect without which it would be nearly impossible to succeed in anything you’re doing. In order to ace this skill, you need to have a schedule and follow it to the tee. All my days are planned in advance and up on my calendar, which is kept on my work desk at all times, not on my phone but on my desk so it is constantly in front of me.
I allocate my time according to my work that needs more priority and also a lot a certain amount of time to keep myself updated about what’s trending on social media. It helps me curate relevant content. It is very important to spend some time with family and friends or some me time to distress yourself and start a new day fresh.
What inspired you to break the monotony and choose multiple career paths?
As a kid I got anxious every time I was asked about my future plans and my career choice. The fact that I had to settle down with just one career all my life made me crazy. I could never give just one answer. In school, I was the kid sitting on the first bench taking notes, I was also the kid taking part in extra-curricular activities and winning competitions, as well as the kid doing research about extra project topics. I was never satisfied with just one thing and looked for it in multiple activities.
I always had a curiosity to know things, even if it wasn’t in my field. People often got irritated by my inquisitiveness but my hunger and passion for learning never got discouraged by their comments. All of this eventually built up and I am where I am today. Being a part of multiple professions is honestly much more satisfying than being stuck with just one. Me being me is what inspired me to break the monotony and choose multiple professions.
What were the bottlenecks or struggles that you faced?
One of them was the fact that I wanted to do everything on my own terms. So financially, although I always had my parents to support me, I took up the challenge of doing everything on my own. It wasn’t easy but a happy challenge that drove me to do more in life.The major struggle was to deal with the pressure that came from my parents and society. I was constantly judged and doubted because I wasn’t ready to settle down with just one thing. And during this phase, even I started doubting myself if I was scared to pick one, or if I still hadn’t found my true calling.
The phrase jack of all trades, master of none is so stuck in people’s heads even though its so old and that is exactly what I’m going to talk about at Unplugged by TEDxGateway, that it’s okay to break out and follow your heart because in the end it’s all about being happy and being satisfied with what you’re doing and achieving in life. We need to stop competing with the world, and rather compete with ourselves, be the better version of what we were yesterday. Because a better version of ourselves every passing day will be more successful over someone competing with the world.
How crucial is it to have a relevant educational background while choosing a field?
Well, there are people who start studying aspiring to be something, but end up in an extremely different field. I never thought of a specific career option when I was studying since I had a rush of just learning something new, something I don’t know of.
I have four degrees, namely in English literature, fashion design, journalism and media studies, MBA in operations. I knew I was more inclined towards marketing and overall management but instead of picking marketing that I knew I would sail through, I picked operations so I have an added advantage of having a fair understanding of both, marketing and operations.
But of course, someone who wants to be an engineer will have to do engineering, so it also depends on the field as well. The main thing to have is focus and a drive to be in that field. I don’t feel relevant educational background is important, but education as a whole is extremely important.
What was the hardest decision you had to make while choosing between multiple career?
Every profession looks nice and glam from the outside but when you’re actually in it, it is completely different. While choosing my careers I had to be very precise and make sure I didn’t get carried away with the trends. Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean you have to do it as well. You also don’t need to do everything that you have an interest in.
This doesn’t mean you don’t start, without starting you may never know if the career is made for you or not. Once you start, you need to be a quick learner to understand whether this is the field you want to be in. Its okay to get rejections from the field you’ve always wanted to achieve your goals in, you should know when to quit. There is no shame in quitting something that no longer interests you but that does not mean you run at the first sign of struggle.
