People often ask how I manage being Vice President of the Students'' Union while running a digital agency. The honest answer: it takes ruthless prioritisation, not more hours in the day.
Treat both as real jobs, because they are
Student leadership isn't a side activity — it comes with real responsibilities to real people. So does running a business. Both get calendar time, not "whenever I get to it" time.
Batch similar work together
Client calls, content creation, and union casework each need a different mode of thinking. Batching similar tasks into the same block of the day cuts down on the mental cost of switching between them.
Delegate earlier than feels comfortable
Trying to do everything myself was the biggest early mistake. Whether it's a union sub-committee or a client project, finding the right person to own a piece of it — and trusting them with it — is what actually scales.
The two feed each other
Leading student campaigns has made me a better marketer. Running client projects has made me a more decisive, structured leader. They're not competing for the same hours as much as it first seems.