What’s in your “9–5 with a Side Hustle” Toolkit? — Nicole Amma Twum-Baah

I decided to do something different with the October tool kit stories; I am sharing one storyteller a day starting with Nicole Amma Twum-Baah.

I met Amma almost a decade ago in 2011/2012. I had just moved back home from Washington D.C. to Minnesota and she was in the D.C. area looking to hire an assistant. She was running a monthly online magazine, Afrikan Goddess, alongside her full-time job at a D.C. law firm. I got the job, had a blast, and learned a lot.

She taught me about writing from the heart, investing in the things you believe in, and giving your best to what you do. I deeply respect Amma, and when I think of her, I think Brave and Grounded.

Many years after, she is the formidable owner and editor at The Brielle Agency.

Tools: Prioritizing and Time Management

For several years, many years ago, I worked a 9–5 plus a side hustle. That side hustle is now my main hustle. The tools that helped me survive then (and now) were knowing what was most important to me career-wise and managing my time effectively to get the results I wanted to see. Productivity has been the by-product of both.

Because I remained committed to my priorities, it’s been 7 years since I was able to quit my corporate job to focus solely on my work as an editor. The process was not an easy one, I remember waking up at 4 every morning to work on my side hustle (which was a monthly online magazine) before heading in to work at 8:30, leaving at 6 in the evening, and then sitting behind my laptop when I got home for another 2–3 hours, before heading to bed. Then I would wake up at 4 the next morning and do it all over again. Which brings me to time management.

Time management goes hand-in-hand with knowing your priorities. It is a skill that is not acquired overnight but is a process of mindfulness and persistence. Do I always hit the mark? No. It’s a constant struggle because so many things are fighting for my attention daily. I’m now a wife, a mother, a freelance editor, an assistant kindergarten teacher, and so…