In these uncertain times where you can never be sure where the economy stands, it’s smart to not put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to earning an income. Instead, it is much wiser to hold a day job, and also have a side hustle running in the background. This will ensure you have a steady income so that you have the space to take risks with your side hustle.
Your side job could be anything from home-based baking to freelance graphic design on portals like Upwork and Behance.
It all depends on what skills you have and how you utilize your time. This will ensure that even if something goes wrong with your day job, you won’t have to sit around unemployed waiting for a staffing agency to contact you. Your side hustle will give you the freedom and security you need to keep yourself afloat. Who knows? It might even take off and become so popular, that you become a well-known business owner in your own right! However, before you make these castles in the sky, you need to make sure you’re giving time to your side hustle. It might be difficult to balance with your day job, but here are a few ideas that will help you manage.
Create a Work Schedule
The first thing you must do is create a detailed work schedule and follow it as much as possible. This schedule should take into account your day job, the free time you have in between, and the time you have after your job. You need to allocate a couple of hours to focus on your side hustle at home. A good way to implement this schedule is to have a space that is off-limits for others during that time period.
Once you have a schedule, you can plan out the associated tasks accordingly. Furthermore, you should also look into automated bots and social media scheduling so that your side business is not completely off the grid when you’re working at your day job. This scheduling will make your mind rest easy and keep your business activities throughout the day.
Outsource Tedious Tasks
Starting up a side hustle involves a lot of tedious and labor-intensive tasks which may not even be in your skillset. For example, you don’t need to make your own website or do all the graphic design for your posts yourself. There are a number of freelancing portals out there, which have people offering these services at a range of prices.
To start off with, you should outsource these tasks to these freelancers. Alternatively, you can work with other entrepreneurs on a partnership basis, and work together on your businesses. You can offer themes services you are skilled at, and vice versa. This will also foster a sense of community and create a network of entrepreneurs which will come in handy in the future.
Use Your Commute Time
You must use your commute time wisely, and not just spend it seething about the rush hour. Avoid driving yourself, and take public transport, so that you can sit and work on your side hustle while traveling to and from your workplace.
This sort of multitasking will also ensure that you don’t spend all your time at home working on your side hustle, and not giving yourself a break. Work-life balance is extremely important, especially for your mental health, so use opportunities like your commute time or long lunch breaks to work on your side hustle.
Plan Your Week
If you’re taking on the massive responsibility of a side hustle, you need to plan every aspect of your life, so that you have enough time for your day job, side business, and your personal life. Therefore, you shouldn’t leave things to chance.
Carry out meal planning over the weekend, so that your week is freed up a bit for both your jobs. Furthermore, make sure your friends and family know that you won’t be able to meet them on short notice. Schedule all social meetings a week or so in advance as well. Of course, there can be exceptions sometimes but stick to your plan, so that you can handle all the aspects of your life in a balanced way.
Don’t Waste Time on Social Media
The most successful people out there do not spend hours scrolling through their social media feeds. Only use social media for work purposes and do not let yourself fall into the dopamine trap of wanting likes on your personal posts. Use it as needed, to share special occasions and such, but discipline yourself and install apps that let you know how much time you’ve spent on those pages.
In conclusion, having a side hustle is quite admirable, but you need to make sure you know how to make time for it. Once you do, you can have an optimal work-life balance and become a successful entrepreneur as well!