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But how will this work with my busy life?

Your life is already full. You’re working a job, building your career, running a household, taking care of children and elderly parents, volunteering and supporting causes you believe in, and taking care of yourself. How do you fit a campaign and then, a term in public office, into it? Don’t let the question paralyze you. Consider how being elected or appointed to a leadership role may affect your professional life and use the exercise in this lesson to analyze how you are currently spending your time and identify how you can create time to run and serve.

Do you have time for this?

  • What are you currently doing with the hours available to you?
    • Log everything you do for 2 weeks
    • Break down your activities into categories (these are flexible based on what best fits your life)
      • Paid work, self-care, family care, free time, to and from, housekeeping, partner care, work/career investment, volunteering
    • Total and average to see what a “typical” day looks like
    • Where and how can you create more time for a potential leadership role?
      • What can you outsource?
      • Could you ask friends and family to help with family care? Housekeeping? To and from?
        • Note that men and women can use campaign funds to pay for childcare expenses.
      • What time do you want to protect?
Ashley Peele, former candidate for Mayor of North Charleston and Charleston County School Board, on evaluating your current time commitments. (2 min. 17 sec. watch)

How will this work with my job/career?

  • Make sure your current job doesn’t prohibit you from running for office.
  • Do you have to leave your job, ask for time off, or reduce your hours to run? Can you work and run at the same time?
    • Note that the way you define motherhood as a job or career is entirely up to you and also must be considered.
  • Could winning lead to future job opportunities or political aspirations?
Tameika Isaac Devine, former Council Member and Mayoral Candidate, City of Columbia, on how to balance a run and a career. (2 min. 17 sec. watch)

Exercise:

Use the interactive pdf Time Management Worksheet to log your time. What can you set aside to free up time? What could family and friends help with? Is it possible for your to reduce your hours at work? (Leave finances out of the equation at this point.) What time do you want to protect?

Time-Management-Spreadsheet-fillableDownload

Additional Resources:

Ashley Peele, former candidate for Mayor of North Charleston and Charleston County School Board, on evaluating potential future time commitments. (3 min. 35 sec. watch)
Ashley Peele, former candidate for Mayor of North Charleston and Charleston County School Board, on running and serving as a single mom. (2 min. 43 sec. watch)
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