My good people hello, I got to angel your chief and Carter here and no, I'm not just your chief and Carter I'm also the founder of Maisie Media the new boutique podcast production company that will be responsible for producing this which paper quick Podcast as well as the brand new podcast calls a milli the trailer for a milli is out and available now on iTunes I highly suggest that you stop by and take a listen We're gonna have some amazing guests on that podcast everything from entrepreneurs who are in tech to be it's just gonna be some Real good. It's definitely don't want to make sure you have your items right now and take a listen and subscribe Hey, go ahead and thanks for dropping into the switch paper quick podcast get a combo for the girl being a lifestyle Plot twist when she decided it is time to switch pivot or quit I'm a young angel a former sports entertainment publicist in New York See sir and traditionally published author was Simon and Schuster who quit my own life to write a book live in 94 I may explore my dreams to find my happiness and fulfillment I'm here to help encourage and guide you through your plot twist years as your chief and Carter and host of this which paper quick Podcast be sure to rate review and subscribe on iTunes if you have enjoyed listening to this podcast so far and check out So trivia quick dot com for even more personal and professional development resources But for now just sit back open your mind and enjoy the show Dante show we're chatting with Ashley Sutton author of over time is so over Ashley began her career in marketing with Fortune 500 beauty company Avon products where she built her knowledge in product development on the North American color cosmetics brand team Ashley's eagerness to learn about international business letter to an actual with Mattel Fisher price as Ashley's desire Throughout our marketing skills continue she left into consumer and digital marketing with entertainment ones family division Where her key responsibilities are to secure digital promotions overseas social media and blogger outreach create digital content and asset and work to develop remarking initiatives for preschool license brands throughout her career journey Ashley has learned how to better prioritize her life Working crazy long hours with very little ROI in your personal life could either drive you insane or Lighter fire to make some serious change Ashley chose the letter she channel personal insights and stories from colleagues into her newly published book Over time is so over and that's what we're gonna talk about today How to treat your job like a nine to five not a seven or 11 because over time is so over welcome to the show actually Excited for our conversation today. Thank you. I'm so happy to be here Yeah, so what we're gonna dig into first is a little bit of the pre actually that we know now What was your first paying gig and what were you doing?
Okay first paying gig Yeah I was working at Levi's My girlfriend's her cousin who's a friend of mine now. She actually works at Levi's corporate It's a So you're working at Levi's what we do we don't sell to our own register. Oh all of the above every sales person has to learn how to work Their register. We have to do inventory those are the worst days everybody always had to be very good I know you know and honestly I always tell people that job even though it was working in the mall and people are like Oh, no, no, no, no, no, she worked in mom and lifted that job prepared me for consumer thinking For me for working with multiple different personalities in workplace different types of management styles and quite frankly customer service they have a thing like the seven sets of belly and Yeah, it always stuck with me even in my like corporate life where I'm not obviously not building jeans But yeah, it was one of the best jobs.
I've ever had okay, so I would I would probably get like nasty emails if I didn't at least ask you Do you remember with those seven steps of selling our in Canada? Oh, okay? Great every customer with the first Like check in on the customer when they're in the like a fitting room But like for day I'm right check in Always ask the clients needs are versus you saying we have x like 50 on sale. It really assess like what they really need And of course it's probably right there.
Whatever. It's like outside of the world Compliments I think the first one you know the green every customer and you know kind of being in tune with the customer needs Where the ones that really stuff with the most because I think a lot of times even in the office space people don't think about those They don't say hi right Like go to say hello and so that is You know, obviously something I learned as a child because you see not playing that in my house Like you will read people say hello And then you know second it's like what is it that we're here for? What do you need? Instead of trying to guess what their needs are so to get Or horsemen.
Yeah, yeah, of course. I mean So that's what you are a double major if I answer entrepreneurship in college and study abroad in Spain So it seems like being ambitious was sort of in your nature from early on What was it like moving to New York and starting your career only two weeks after graduation? Did you feel like a sense of pressure or was it a sense of excitement? What about I don't know I felt like it was a sense of excitement People that's just like oh, okay, yeah, sure.
Let's do it. You have always been the adventurous type My mom told me after years after just like I never come back. Mm-hmm And yeah, at the time I think it was only the internship. I have a job I Like everybody else like a good job like all these things I just knew I was trying to do and I always do all these times in work.
I did not bake Be in this log. I did not but you know Once I got here it was just this for real and I didn't have to think about it twice There was no pressure there was no like looming anything other than the fact that oh my god. I had no money Yeah, yeah, that's probably So you got to the city you were excited you were ready for all the challenges. Did you did you feel like you were ready for what was ahead of you?
I definitely thought I was okay. I thought I thought I was I thought you know ambitious I'm a go-getter. I always like yes. Yes.
Yes. Yes. We can do this And in a certain sense Yeah, that works well When you're networking when you're building your own business and you're just kind of like really running for yourself And you can kind of you're the person that's creating and setting those boundaries When you have that mindset 2-H2 corporate environment where all you really want to do because you're precious right your fresh graduate You just want to please your manager You want to be your team and so you fall into this the trap of yes And you fall into the trap of just kind of doing it, you know, no by any in the theory right right What's been the most rewarding part of your career during this are I have to Number one would be people and I know that's like okay, cliche Whatever, but the people that I have met along the way many of whom I still talk to since my first job my first work About back in 2009 that I mean, you know a lot of people come in they go but when you have really Cultated strong relationships with your coworkers and or your partners and your average I think you didn't do things like that You know it takes you a long way. It really really does and I'm so fortunate to have come across so many fantastic people mentors and leaders alike The second thing is I love the fact that I have been so blessed and so fortunate to work in huge companies fortune 500 companies Yet I can work on their smaller groups.
They're smaller entities and for me That really promoted this sense of autonomy and autonomy in my opinion is the key in solidifying that you can actually do the job That you're hired to do right minimal minimal handholding right you're wearing all that Team and so you got a lot of your plate and you know oftentimes you leave college and you're that person that makes the a's And you graduate with honors and all these things that on paper right you could study two nights before but there's a studying where you're in the middle of a meeting And somebody actually works out to your On top of it Exactly and so it was that sort of sensation and I love and I still I have a great work even today. It's great I'm definitely all of that and I like when you can be up even though it's a large organization You can be a part of something that gives you some sense of ownership And it makes it makes you feel empowered to make decisions and feel like you can be going to be a leader because sometimes when there's just like those Hovering people and micromanage situations and it's a large company. You feel like everything you do might be wrong Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so you recently published a book called over time is so over and tell us about that experience first With your picture the book so if you were an elevator with someone and you're like, oh, you wrote a book What is it about? What would you say?
It's about leaving your desk Getting your life Or little to no reward Make you know the big bucks right Right, you know what the cost that you're giving up for yourself Can't spend the money that you're making to actually enjoy this life that you have and it's kind of like a well Exactly, it's like you guys are the most always just guys are the most always Play with them right. No, what's that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah To be clear before before although you study entrepreneurship and college and You are familiar with this world in the space and you read this book You're not doing it right. You know, I'd like to say that I'm a part-time They feel their own website they create their own artwork across all the marketing collateral You manage your social security workshops and all these random PR moments is definitely considered an entrepreneur And since I've described a little taste of what I've enjoyed It's just me.
I do like to comment on how much I know it's a little clear. The full on gig is my nine spot Heather's right now, you know, right, right, and how do you find sort of navigating those two worlds? Oh, you know, it's for me. It's all about compartmentalizing and when I'm at work I mean, I'm not sitting over here answering your questions or anything Podcast related or working on both stuff or anything like I am in the zone I'm here.
I'm having lunch on my teammates. I'm you know in meetings. I'm on calls I'm going to make nice stuff like and I'm on a lunch break or I'm off I'm on the office. It is what do we need to do to build this brand of Ashley Sutton and this brand of over time is still over And it's tough.
I'm not a lot of you because we just established part-time Right it's hard when it's hard when it's hard time because your tired from a long days work Where everybody else when they get off they get to go home drink their wine watch their Netflix and chill You get to go home be tired be stressed you take a break then you get right back up and you work going Okay, what is the social post for tomorrow? Okay? What's the marketing plan for next week? Okay This one coming back for this workshop, you know all these mechanisms that you yourself the soul entrepreneur have to put into place and that It can be taxing so what I do and this is not you know one size for all is I have a little productivity planner and every day There's one thing there's just one that I have to get done like I cannot go fed until that one thing is done And I could be finalizing my marketing calendar that could be falling up with Mindily found a publicist that could be you know working on a rewrite whatever that is I have to get that one thing Everything single day And then on weekends, you know, I do go a little bit harder I do want to make time for myself and maybe go get a massage over shopping or you know whatever that is But because you know the fact is you're nine to five take the most of your time during the week Right, you gotta give up that weekend find something You need yeah looking towards a larger goal and saying an foundation for what might be next for you Yeah, yeah, why do you think like most of us adopt or have this mentality that overworking ourselves is good or equates to success Somehow somehow you're over to plus me successful Why do you think that we sort of like adopted that idea or that mentality?
I just think that is just laughable I used to be there I used to be there not too long ago as a matter of that Okay, and you know, I think we're all still kind of in this mindset of one of these sometimes Yeah, we are just held it on working crazy hours Take social media for example, we love to count likes and followers Sometimes it's really crappy content It is really funny. We like it and we follow you all these things because it's about numbers right The longer somebody is working the longer the laugh We're taught to burn this midnight oil so that people can really know the work of minute Yeah, the only thing I see your committed to is sleep deprivation and then we have the hour That's not actually but no, I think a lot of it just really has to do with shifting mindsets and working smarter and no longer and To break that down working smarter doesn't mean you're just mean there are tools that you need to put into place So that you can make sure that whatever that you really need to get done top line during that one day You can't die and then slowly be surely you're checking off things for that one day Then you check it off for Tuesday by the end of the week you've been powerhouse This whole week and by the way you get to go and have your own life right right Right, hello, you share that at one point. You realize the ROI you were contributing to your nine to five far outweigh your personal ROI Talk a little bit more about that and ideas are like what you were feeling when you realize that yeah, so you know I was actually mentioned earlier I was a finance major So of course we talked a lot about ROI was just you know Return on investment right and we talked about what are the contributing factors and how do you calculate ROI all the things? So I took that very same approach my work life and I saw that while my salary at the time right there was like 50,000 hours or something I wasn't really I wasn't making that once I factored in working in two or three hours every single day Let's say I work three hours for minute by 15 extra hours.
I got on me right 15 I mean, wait a minute that's six extra hours. Yeah, yeah I More in the book on that, but I do not believe if you value in your salary because you think that you know some way somehow You know your manager your VP or whatever can think your community because you weren't the collector hours a day They're already they're like filling. Yeah, so what if you find yourself in that type of company culture We are overworking or being overworked as expected like I can see for myself come from a PR background I learned early on that PR is always about being on call especially entertainment PR Obviously there's different types of PR that can be a little bit more relaxed But we're talking about your payment where you're talking about being responsible for people personal image or working for larger brains that are like these huge entertainment you know entities that Always have something going on there to be because culture where people are expected to be on and available 24 seven How does someone who's trying to balance things out for themselves in not overworked themselves? How do you suggest they go about sort of navigating that type of space or territory when that is an expectation to be Overworked or to be accessible all the time.
Yeah, yeah So I think the first thing is we all have to just be real right sometimes we sign up for Yeah, it was kind of like run of the mail you're gonna work from nine to five and like you leave and you go have like Mm-hmm, and then there are those like the PRs of the world and our elite socials of the world where you have to keep on top of everything Every second of the day. I think there are a couple of things that you can do to kind of make a stress one I look at PR and social as you know One of those things we really kind of manage up and manage other people a lot of times is not you Waiting on right yeah, all right. You got it's like legal has to approve it All these other levels and layers that you have to get done so in instances like that You know, maybe it's something where you have a pre-made template ready to go Hey guys this one can go and all you have to do is attach that document and send right you keep a draft in your in your draft box It's like hi, so it's over legal. See it.
She is what I think it's done, right It's absolutely but you know, you're saving five 10 minutes from drafting an email every single time right I have something that's there. So I love to putting my life. I think it's right The second piece of that is that's kind of like managing things that are to come the second piece of that is managing up And many people around you Now this may or may not work, but sometimes there are some things that may come through the PR does that I'm sorry You don't need 15 people from legal to way you know So perhaps there's a way that you yourself can kind of come up with checks and balances and maybe there's if this is about So and so and so and it's minor if only going on Facebook or Twitter or whatever We don't need xy these I don't know we do need yee Right now you minimize the amount of people that actually see this they trust because we're not talking right Right right that you can get your job done They trust that you know the layers and the levels of the office a lot of this Let's be real is the fact that everybody always feels like they have their eyes over everything. Yes, and that's just it's a highly inefficient And you know, you'll have some people say well, you know, of course I have to come out I know the voice of this brand.
I know who all of our contacts are I've been doing this job over here Or however many years you've been doing it You know, I will definitely come to you within the first couple of rounds that we do this but after that like I should be here If you still need to approve Simple as clean up social media And then you know what I also say is that you can still be off But maybe there are alerts that you set to your phone if you're like if there's a certain thing that's trending or you know Something that's gonna turn on lights or if there's a certain celebrity or company that you have to follow you can set your own Google alert us, you know alerts that they send out there's Twitter They're all kind of tools out there to help you keep your phone the polls without having to have your phone on every five seconds So I think those are my three suggestions for that and again, it just depends on how open Your main theme is and it's rare. It's very very rare Right, you know one thing I thought about your sentences to start piggybacking off of your second tip is to maybe think of ways That you can create a streamlined process Maybe they haven't been doing it this way and whether that's your NPR or marketing or you know finance or are we more anything else Maybe there are ways that they ever have been doing things They're usually able to make you come in and in order to really see pretty take some stress off yourself You create a streamlined way or process that doesn't require as much it makes life a little bit easier for everyone else And then what you could also do at the same time and you're creating that process that works more efficiently for everybody You then draw attention to the fact that your problem's all there and that you've now done something that nobody else can seem to figure out or do so Exactly and what do you call that a win win? Hello? Absolutely.
So yeah, you'll be like winning all over the place So how do you navigate writing a book and working a full-time job? What was that process like for you? Oh, absolutely It was chunk of my chunk of it by the end that it comes that work compartmentalizing during the weekend I wrote very little during the week I'll pay your two maybe every day and that was that was it and a lot of it I can just take my personal laptop To on the train with me right? I'm like, I know but I had to come home I can't let you know it's a great but on the weekends.
Oh my god The weekends were sit at five in a little eight or three or whatever the tree is on the other left side And I would sometimes be in there from you know afternoon to evening just writing and I of course, you know They're looking at me like I'm like I'm a little too. I'm a copy and I'm just freaking out. I can't I do that every Saturday and Sunday and you know It wasn't all you'd go in right goes I'm not lying you but um, but it was a feeling and that was something that I knew that there was a reason why I knew to write this I knew there was a reason why I really wanted to get that message out How long did it take you to complete the mainstream? I would say it took its total because you know often It's total about four months four months Yeah, really short amount of time.
Yeah, the book is look. I'm very I'm very to the point I'm not one of these people that you don't need to take pictures for me to tell you why you need to work like that Yeah, it's you're the most Yeah, I'm in trouble to what the idea is and everything exactly, you know It's like it's meant for you to really have actionable things that you can do and you don't execute in your day They work like and so it's a quick read and then also one of the people that when I patch it out something I just go full for so you know even a format saying short to some people for me. I was just like Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah What's been one of like maybe those pieces of advice that you got throughout your career that has really stuck with you? Hmm There have been so many gems in my life I'm a one that was by my then executive director her name was Rashina for me.
Love that woman And she said actually there is a difference between For a suggestion and perception and I was like oh, okay So in my head, I'm thinking I'm walking around all this. I'm thinking you know one thing Like you know that may be your perception, but what you're projecting Something totally different your projecting that you you know You don't want to be here. You're projecting that you're like all these different things are so that is really good because a lot of times We create these narratives right? I'm so right so this I'm a little black.
I'm a hard worker. I don't know But really you're not you know and and sometimes you really have to take a step back and think about the ways in which your work is represented And how you ever said it and it didn't matter that really didn't want to be there I did But when you're sitting in a little bit interesting Yeah, yeah, exactly or you know when you are talking about how you really take pride in your work that you got like Swindling it in failure. They're like all different things right like it's like if you really take pride in your work Then take pride in your work Yeah, yeah Do you have any tips or maybe tools that you learn to use when dealing with let's say difficult colleagues or maybe challenging management situation? Meet another I think it's always important to take a beat and really think before you see I take two I take two three beats depending on how I think about I'm right And you know whenever I have a challenge or I just need some clarification on whether I perceive something a certain way I'm always in a room with someone or somewhere intimate and I come with an example of what happened How it made me feel and some sort of solution on how to move forward?
Some people are always going to think that they are just the best things it's like right and then you quote-unquote to get the wrong way Or you know, whatever the latest you say can pull out of the air right, but That doesn't make your concerns in that because obviously it struck a chord with you Right, so that you had to set up time to had a chat with this person Okay, so bring it to the forefront the most important thing is that you laid out everything out in the open and in a professional manner Yeah, right. I love that. Yes How important is self discovery in your opinion in a person's journey to reach like their larger goals or greatables or you know The things that they want to achieve in life. It can be business or personal But how important do you think self discovery is in that process?
Yeah, how do you know what you want if you don't know you? Oh, I do that. Yeah, but how does one do that and I I think about it because it happens every day You know, hey going through the motions and they are showing up to work They're showing up to jobs that they hate they're showing up to relationships It's not not for no we can hold it like I thought that's right You know, I you know, what why are you going through these notions? And you don't really actually know what you want and we continue to get these experiences that are less in seller Because you have been quite defined what you're looking for be that it made to be that in a company You know the friends that those things are important And I think that also the underlying beauty and self discovery is that it's constantly evolving So you can change your mind You can if you don't want to be in second more and you want to go be a librarian right You can actually do that right actually do that and guess what if no value higher you because you don't have experience at 45 now you've been a corporate and you've never worked in a library.
Don't start your own library ask program There are options. You don't have to just stick with what you're doing. Yeah, yeah I have to remind myself that too every single day, you know, you don't have to be in a situation that you don't want to be in What you do but you do need to learn yourself you do need to know yourself so that you can actually answer what's next Absolutely so many people are like talking about taking a break as I'm recently like like within the last few weeks I've been hearing a lot more people talking about this taking a break from there on my business days or maybe their presence on Social media or just online period and I know for many people they have cited the reason being burnout You know, they've they need like some time, you know, what are your thoughts on that whole idea? And do you have any tips to potentially avoid maybe this type of burnout and this culture that expects accessibility all the time And that's not even just on online just on at work and everything else too.
Do you have any tips for like maybe combating my burnout or how to make exactly whichever Not we? Yes, I think a couple of a couple of things so for the people that are talking about taking a break from their online business or you know Their presence. I think you've gotten a brand to a point that you know is acceptable for you And you can afford to take a break absolutely do it I think that we all need those mental health moments and some self-care moments But those of us that maybe don't want to you know kind of shut it off completely and we want to keep pushing forward I would say to really try accomplishing this one thing like I do Okay, and so you can really get back on a wagon full-speed So that's just what people that are out there building businesses and you know really just trying to build a brand of their presence Things like that for those that you know kind of need help to not reach those breaking points one I would say we really have to think about energy Like do a little bit over here, but you kind of have to look at the things that are adding to your energy and the things that are taking away from your energy It's at the addition and these attraction and addition is just the thing right people Two and so sometimes you are reaching burnout not just because of work, but because you feel obligated to go and have that drink you feel obligated to go and hang out with everybody every single day of the week Instead of just having some then moments with yourself It's not exclusive to work. Yeah, is burnout.
Okay, you can be family That I'm doing millions and you're always the person I can get it done It can be your relationship and you know Maybe one person is just not emotionally available or whatever you're doing overtime You're not sure you're so many different levers to burnout that it's you know If you got to really dig deep into what really is attracting from that energy from you and so one It's just that it's really taking that introspective look and then two I would say you know No, it's a full sentence Sometimes you just need to say no, yeah, you know and I think that's okay And I know a lot of people say oh, I don't like it, but you don't really know because you say yes You're addicted to saying yes, like I want you to just flip it down ahead say no and walk away You'll see you like you have to explain for hours about why you say no No, or this doesn't work for me right now. So no That's it. You know. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. What are some of the things that you find yourself doing to give back to yourself or maybe like to practice So care to be back to so care. Yes.
Oh, I definitely do I Was I was I was a dick and working out when I was a dick to say yes And then I honestly want to say it wasn't until hmm. I'm around 2014 14 I've really started to understand what Ashley wasn't it it would actually needed to feel her joy You're happiness and not just like little fleeting moments of like oh, yeah I know like that's really getting my joy and I have found it just coming home I've like put my phone in the other room. I'm going to file it and I just sit there be the book I can watch TV. I always have my glasses Everyone I'm gonna be in the morning.
I'm gonna be on the coffee and I just I just relish. I love natural life It's I open up a windows and it's great. Yeah. I just I love that and then now I'm also currently looking for a therapist.
I don't think there's anything to be ashamed about when talking to an unbiased party, right? About me I don't know not like considering you know suicide or anything like that But I think that it's critical for me to be able to talk through some things And I don't think that we should play stigma on that. I think so care is the best care and so you know for me being able to kind of have my Me know, it's coupled with that could have an amazing beautiful and supportive family by my side And you know So I wear my little 18-year-old fellow probably with it Like you know, it's actually a big bigger, but um But now my my my my either wise or woman would say being able to experience what I want to experience it But what experience what I want to experience it And that could be taking a trip that could be going to the store and just grabbing some water or whatever that is Really being able to do the things that I used to not really be able to do I had some really really tough times Really, you know, and we have all been there And I am not ashamed of that in fact I am gloating it because guess what now I'm here. Yeah, Drake said we started about a year I'm not rich I'm not you know, I still have to budget my money sometimes.
I have to say no something right But the things that I do say yes, oh for me I mean, I'm happy to say yes, yeah, exactly Yeah, that's what looks like me. I love that and we'll get to touch on this I know there's there's probably people that we listening to get to go to in New York And you know, she's not much. She has a great life There was a tough times What do you feel like the source of the tough times where was it because I naturally you weren't getting what you needed from the job that you had or was it just like Nice in the city and maybe like oh, you were getting you know We make a movie and you're in between and this is not like how she just happened sometimes What would you say to source of your tough times? And it was a while when she talked about this before we go because I just want to take that picture for people so they know all sides Because there might be people that are thinking about making a certificate of getting actually re-okating to the city Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, I lost my job Yeah, I lost my job And my view coming in and honestly it was like I thought I thought it was a Saturday Yeah, I just I just the first time I never lost my job It was like I was really I was so devastated But what I did know right is that when you have purpose in life There is not one thing there's not one person that can stop you from getting to whatever next level You are meant to get to and it was tough And I had to hold on. I was collecting unemployment I was really paying attention. It was just me didn't have a roommate to lean on I mean lots of lots of things and you know at one point I had to you know really love check to check And and that was it was really really tough But I think when you're focused and you really take time to be proactive about your career and what you want next And that means going out networking that means talking to people building up some resources And I just applying a lot You know how many resumes actually get rid of online applications lens and not but you know what it's read when you have referrals Almost all of them. Yeah, at least all of them.
Yeah, exactly And so for me it was really about that resilience You just kind of keep pushing over it, but I'm going it was a mother Yeah, yeah, I've been there. I'm experiencing the same thing I only been in the city like a matter of months and lost my job And I was just like what even though And once it felt like a weight with my shoulders It felt like pressure like okay because everyone was asking like Are you gonna go back to California? You know like that was the first question Everyone everyone found out about my situation And that became frustrating as well because it's like geez I'm out here trying to wait and I feel like you have no faith or confidence any minute You know exactly so yeah It's challenging. It's definitely tough But you know I think we're all examples that you can persevere if you really try to even want to be the dedication there Yeah, that's just a bit such an awesome conversation for that And let everyone know where they can find out more about your book I'm about you follow you keep up with you get in touch with you all that it's up Absolutely so you can find the book on Amazon and all your users at Amazon.com Type in overtime.
It's still over. Look it will pop around I love it around The Ashley Sutton that's just CHA is a really light as UTT. So the Ashley Sutton I do You can also visit the website over time. So there are tons of resources on the website We're working on we've got the site as well.
So I'll have some more blog post for you and send some some Awesome. Thank you so much. Actually. It's been great chatting with you today.
Thank you so much I really really do appreciate it. Yeah, and as always keep doing it guys