Today, there are numerous opportunities to make some extra cash on the side. A simple online search will present you with a plethora of choices and advice to kick off your journey. However, one considerable challenge often overlooked is the substantial amount of time and effort a side gig requires. If your aim is to reduce outstanding debts, increase savings, boost your income for investments, or fulfill other financial objectives, you’ll want your additional gig to be manageable and not overly exhausting.
Failure to maintain balance might lead to rapid burnout. At the peak of my own secondary job experience, I was juggling between 15 to 20 hours per week in addition to my regular 40-hour job. Regular burnouts could have been the norm, but I mastered tactics to manage my time and energy, enabling me to continue earning more.
Have you found an interesting side gig but are struggling to find the necessary time and energy to initiate it? The tips below will offer guidance.
STAY ORGANIZED
The very first step when introducing a side gig into your routine is to organize. This permits effective prioritization of your time and energy by clearly establishing what needs to be accomplished and when.
Identify when you’re most focused and allocate a specific period for your side gig. Utilizing a planner and creating daily task lists can help maintain a steady pace.
Don’t ignore planning for unpaid tasks, such as promoting your services, responding to emails, commuting, or even invoicing if freelancing. It’s crucial to strategize on how to perform these tasks effectively.
SAVE TIME
Everyone squanders their time in some way or the other. For those with a side gig, maximizing time is key. Thus, you should prune activities that inhibit your ascension.
Typically, reducing TV time is the place to start. Imagine If you watch TV for two hours every night – that deduces to 10 hours elusive weekly. Even slashing it by half garners an extra 5 hours.
You might also consider reducing the time spent endlessly scrolling social media or shooting villains in video games. Other options include meal planning to minimize dinner preparation time or even outsourcing laundry chores. Basically, do an audit of activities that chew your time and strategize on which ones can be eliminated or streamlined, thereby carving out extra time for your additional gig.
SET A TIME
Find the right time to work. You’ll either be an morning or an evening person. That means you’re inclined to either rise early or stay up late for your gig.
Personally, I’m an early bird and would rather spend my evenings with my family. To accomplish more, I opted to rise at 5 am. This concept might seem extreme, but if you thrived more during the night, you could consider staying up late for your side hustle. Ensure this aligns with your level of productivity to derive even greater output.
SLEEP
I wouldn’t recommend anyone dramatically reduces their sleeping hours for their side gig. You require at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night on average. This becomes crucial when balancing between your full-time job and your side gig.
Lack of ample sleep not only leaves you grumpy but also makes you unproductive, thus wasting more of your time. By implementing the tips shared earlier, you should be able to tell when it’s time to call it a day. The pending chores can be carried forward to the next day.
PICK A GIG YOU LOVE
Nothing is more draining than leaving a job you are not passionate about to dive into another uninspiring gig. Given the significant amount of time spent working, your secondary gig should be something you love doing.
The nature of your job can significantly affect your energy and motivation. If your full-time job doesn’t fulfill your creative craving, your secondary job could serve as a creative outlet.
Find what you’re good at and what you enjoy and pick a side hustle accordingly. This could make a world of difference in sparing time and energy to work on it and could even boost your health.
Do you have a side gig? Have you battled with finding time and energy to work on it?
