Jordan Year – noun | Jor·dan \ˈyir\
When Blink 182 said nobody likes you when you’re 23, they lied. 23 is the best year of my life – I can work as often as I want to, as long as I want to, move as frequently and limitlessly as I want to, and hustle as hard as possible because I don’t have kids (minus a small puppy child) or property, and I have no one standing in my way. Frankly, my biggest obstacle to success and achievement in my Jordan year is me. Taking on too much, failing to care for my mental wellness, and denying evolving technologies during this thriving time actually works to my detriment. Keep reading for five tips toward your best year yet + a sweet giveaway for your (Jord)an year!
Innovative Networking
This isn’t your grandmother’s quilting circle. When networking went digital, the potential for connection became exponential. Whether you’re connecting digitally or face-to-face, the hustle is dependent upon meaningful networking to make gains in your respective field. If you’re on the job hunt, make sure to exhaust all your local opportunities and connections through job fairs, networking events, business social hours, and community events before diving into digital means. If hustling on the digital landscape, invest the time (and possibly funds) to make your online presence as professional and comprehensive as possible. Build that portfolio, find your password for LinkedIn, and search for Facebook groups in your field of interest.
Active Budgeting
Working your hustle often means living within your means as you build your empire. For me, budgeting is essential. Without a regular budget that demands active attention, I would surely be struggling financially. Cooking at home (such as the dish seen below) has been a major game changer for my finances. Between saving on eating out, selling clothes, and accepting a higher volume of blog campaigns with fewer requirements/lower payout, I’ve made major strides towards my annual savings goals and have been able to reinvest some of my monies in my side hustles!
Mental Wellness
Hustle is often accompanied by stress. Take time to identify the stressors in your life and take ACTIVE steps to reduce or eliminate them! Believe it or not, social media serves as a major point of stress and mental conflict for me. Not only do I manage social media for my blog, I manage 9 accounts at work! At times, it feels like social media runs my life instead of me running the accounts. In order to disconnect, I turned off all push notifications for social media (even my blog accounts) to avoid less stress and constant stimulation. I’ve noticed major changes! Puppy cuddles with Prince Winston also help calm the madness 🙂
Defining Success
What does success mean to YOU? Sure, success in society may take the shape of wealth, education, or fame, but that does not take into consideration your needs and personal goals. Sometimes, getting out of bed at all is a win. Other days, securing a new sponsorship or pulling off an event without complication at work is my over arching goal. Allow yourself to think of short and long-term successes. Only you can determine the scope of your goals and measure them accordingly!
Time Management
So far in adulthood and in the post-grad working world, I’ve learned the only person looking out for your time is you. Time management concerns completing all of your required tasks in a reasonable time frame and meeting deadlines provided to you, but it also means realizing how much time you actually have in a day. No matter how hard you hustle, you need time for you that is personal. Whether you spend it reading, running, sleeping, cuddling, or eating, establishing a timely schedule to maintain your work/life balance in key!
What better way to kick off time management in your Jordan year than with a Jord watch?! I’ve teamed up with Jord Wood Watches to bring you the chance to win $100 gift code to use on their site! The contest link is LIVE now! For those who don’t win, all who enter will receive $25 gift code just for participating. Opportunity to enter ends 3/12 at 11:59PM, when a winner will automatically be selected and everyone will be emailed their coupon code. Best of luck!
How do you hustle? What did you learn in your Jordan year that you wish you had known sooner?
