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Balancing the Grind With Kristy Nguyen, Founder at The Talent Society

Kristy Nguyen is the Founder at The Talent Society, an influencer management and communication studio agency, representing social media influencers and content creators.

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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

Hi there! My name is Kristy, founder of The Talent Society (TTS), an influencer management and communication agency based in Sydney, trading since 2017.

We represent social media influencers, talent and content creators in all areas of fashion, beauty, lifestyle, health fitness, food, travel and tech across Australia, whilst providing a full end to end support for brands looking to communicate their message effectively through influencer and content marketing, digital advertising and branding.

In 2019, I launched our Communication Studio, a division of TTS with my partner and Creative Director Nathan, where we strategically approach brand objectives by applying creative thinking with a wealth of media and design knowledge to connect, engage and grow target audiences through consistent content and results-based campaigns executed at the highest calibre of production quality.

2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

I know it sounds cliché, but no day ever looks the same here at TTS! However, I usually start the morning going through my emails, reading articles and news, and compiling a list of priorities.

I’ll then have a look at my calendar to see what’s on for the day so I can organise my time. Then I’ll look at my Asana board, where ALL my tasks are. It helps me track the workflow and where projects are at.

Starting Feb this year, we’ll have 2 new staff members so this will also help me assign tasks and follow up on the team on progress and when we do our weekly WIPs. I’ll then check the TTS IG account and do a daily community management sweep to keep up to date.

Basically my morning will determine how my day will play out. Often, we’ll have last minute, urgent briefs come in, last minute event invites, and ad hoc requests throughout the day, new content to add into the plan, chasing approvals, chasing content, or pitching to brands.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

Yes! Perks of running your own business is you can work wherever and whenever, so it’s just a part of my daily routine. Most of the time I’ll work from home, sometimes I’ll go to a cafe, beach or a nice spot for a few hours just to have different locations.

4) Do you have any tips, tricks or shortcuts to help you manage your workload and schedule?

My saviour is my Google Calendar, diary and Asana board. If it’s not in my diary, it won’t exist. Even the smallest things for me like follow up on a client or dinner with a friend even workouts, go into the calendar. It helps me manage my time and foresee deadlines.

I also love the traditional pen and paper way. There’s something satisfying about crossing a task off your list and having it all crossed out by the end of the day. I’ll write up my priorities for the day in order.

And lastly, Asana, or any project management software is key for me. With multiple tasks and multiple talent, it helps me keep track of projects and to also see who’s involved.

5) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

Work-life balance is one of my 2020 goals this year! It’s extremely important to me, especially having your own business, it’s hard to switch off.

I had a few months at the end of last year where I was extremely overworked and got to a point where, mentally I was in quite a bad place. Being in that state of mind where you need to give yourself the time to not think about work and just relax your brain is really important, especially when my job is to be on all the time.

Even something as simple as taking a lunch break. It sounds crazy, but I had it ingrained in me that I was too busy to be able to make myself a salad. So this year, I’m working to take a break!

6) What do you think are some of the best habits you’ve developed over the years to help you strive for success and balance?

One of the things that has helped me switch off is doing a workout. It’s one of those times where you can’t really think about anything else besides what you’re doing and I’ve found really high-intensity workout has helped immensely.

I also love to read and have given myself more time to do that. Being in front of a screen most of the day, reading a book helps me relax and also give myself the time to be away from work and rest the eyes.

7) Are there any books that have helped you improve over the years?

Last year I read Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by David M. Kelley and Tom Kelley.

I have never really considered myself a creative type, but wanted to learn how to be, or how to not be afraid to be. The book was a great read that helped me get over my fear or mindset that I wasn’t creative. Other than that I love fiction books!

8) What is the number one thing you do to make sure you get the most out of your day?

I make sure I have my top priorities listed out for the day and look at my calendar to ensure I can time manage those priorities.

I’m most productive in the morning, and normally as soon as I wake up I’m in work mode, so that’ll set the tone for the rest of the day. I’m borderline OCD with my organisation, so if I’m feeling overwhelmed and cluttered from the start, most likely I’ll feel clustered and behind all day.

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

It’s so much easier said than done, but really take the time to separate work from life and don’t let it consume you to breaking point. The littlest actions like going for a 15 minute walk, taking 30 minutes for lunch, going for a workout can make a huge difference to your mental and physical state.

 

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About Author

Hey there! I'm Hao, the Editor-in-Chief at Balance the Grind. We’re on a mission to showcase healthy work-life balance through interesting stories from people all over the world, in different careers and lifestyles.