The entertainment and fashion industries have a lot of underage professionals. These are talents who have an early start in their career to appropriately fill the specific requirements of both sectors.
In the fashion modelling world, it is somewhat a standard for models to start as young as the age of 12 or 13. Teenage girls possess the youthfulness, as well as, the leaner figure fit for the runway. Fitting the physical requirements is considerably easy, especially for those who are scouted. Learning industry demands, however, can be a challenge.
For young models, one of the essential dynamics of the industry to learn is smart management of time. Being an efficient manager of time is vital, especially when juggling school and a budding modelling career. This is one of the reasons why it’s a huge advantage to be signed with a highly respected modelling agency to help in managing assignments.
But, even with the assistance of a trusted talent agency, young models need to have time management skills because the agency will only stay on top of modelling jobs. Other aspects of life are all to their control. To help in creating a work-life balance for teen professional models, here are the nine time management skills to learn.
1. Goal Setting
It’s essential to establish what your goals are for both work and personal life. This will help you identify what’s worth dedicating your precious time to and what distractions to control.
2. Priorities Identification
You will find that demands for your time can come from the different aspects of your life. You do not have to meet all of those demands if you have a packed schedule. Identify the most important tasks to do based on the impact they can have on your goals and focus on them first.
Typically, the top priority tasks consume a lot of time to perform. But, once you’ve accomplished them, it becomes easy to squeeze in other things to your schedule.
3. Creating To-Do Lists
To-do lists will keep your time and tasks organized to help you do what you need to more easily. When working with to-do lists, follow these tips:
* Start by writing down all your tasks such as auditions, appointments, assignments, and deadlines.
* Prioritize the tasks in order of importance from high priority to low.
* Strike out completed tasks as soon as you are done with them and add new ones to ensure you’re fulfilling everything that you need to.
4. Creating a Logical and Workable Schedule
Scheduling is not just about assigning tasks to certain hours of the day. It is also about doing things at the right time. For example, if you are more productive in the morning, schedule top priority tasks early in the day when you have high energy and are mentally alert.
5. Focusing on One Task at a Time
This is often difficult for young people who believe that the best way to get more done in their tight schedule is by multitasking. But, studies reveal that multitasking usually uses up more time – about 20 to 40 percent.
Also, when you multitask, there’s always a reduction in the quality of your output. So, do what you need to do properly by focusing on a single task at a time.
6. Shunning Distractions
Do away with things that can delay you from getting your to-do tasks done right when you need to. For example, keep your smartphone away from you when you need to study for a test in school.
Even if you need to stay on top of trends for your work as a model, the school test is a higher priority task because it’s time-bound. So focus on studying more by keeping your smartphone away that gives you access to social media.
7. Avoiding Procrastination
Stick to your schedule. Do not put off tasks for later. You will find that procrastinating causes a lot of stress in the end because it’s simply not a smart usage of the time you have.
8. Giving Yourself a Break
For young models who are living a life quite different from their contemporaries, their time to rest and chill puts them in a reflective and appreciative state. A break is a perfect moment to breathe and enjoy the fruits of their decision to create a career early in life.
9. Saying “No”
Young models should be able to say no to everything that is not a priority or prevents them from getting closer to their goals.
Say, your talent agency presents you with a TV acting gig even if you are signed up as a model. It’s an opportunity that you do not have to accept if all you want is to be a catwalk model. Your teen modelling agency should respect what your goal truly is and take a lesson from your “no” to focus more on relevant projects for you.
With these time management skills, you can make sure that being a young professional model can be a thoroughly enriching journey instead of a burnout-inducing risk.
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Author Bio
Adam Jacobs is the Managing Director of Bubblegum Casting, the longest-running agency specialising in babies, children and teen talent in Australia. Bubblegum Casting works with some of Australia’s biggest brands, media properties, and agencies to secure talented children to work in Television, Film and Modelling roles.
