Starting work in the communications arena, young rookies like myself are learning just how valuable time is. Like a shirt with the right cuts and stitches, my time is precious, expensive and if you’re good at what you do, then its hard to come by. I provide a service – whether its research or monitoring the news or reaching out to the media, my entry-level time is worth something.

However, things might be getting a bit out of hand. This past weekend when my friend made me wait an hour for her I thought to myself, “If you were my client that would have cost you around 100$ give or take.” Which of course is an absurd thought! Of course there is some blur of where to draw the work -life balance and as much as you may want to, you just can’t bill your friends for wasting your time! So where do you draw the line?

This leads to my evolving definition of PR: Time is money but only during the hours of 9 to 5 (with the occasional overtime).  Stepping outside of the office doesn’t necessarily mean you are off the clock. Going to client events or taking work home allows you to still be billable in a different environment and sometimes in the presence of some cocktails. But if I’m not picking up the phone saying, “This is Sanah, how can I help you?” I’m off the clock and I need to leave work at the workplace and enjoy my time outside of work without continuously thinking of work. But what makes pr interns transform into pr superstars is when you are enjoying your social life and can think of a great idea for a client – still can’t charge for creative thinking but gives you a good idea of where you get your best ideas… Maybe more brainstorm sessions should take place at 2 a.m. at the local bar on Saturdays. There I go again – blurring the line between work and social life. I may never fully get this down but I’m just beginning and you know what they (aka Justin Bieber) say… never say never.

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