Effective time management is essential for side gig entrepreneurs. When balancing a full-time job and other responsibilities, spending time on your side gig is a hard sell, especially when trying to convince your significant other!
Plan your work in advance, and hit the ground running each time you have an extra 30 minutes. 30 minutes in the morning combined with 30 minutes in the evening is an hour a day x 30 days and you’ve just dedicated 30 hours a month. Imagine if you had 30 hours to contribute to your side gig. There are endless possibilities when you have a plan in place. Just before wrapping up your tasks for the day, be sure to add a to-do list for the next time you have a few minutes. This will keep you organized and ready to tackle the next tasks.
Wake up early and think about your goals. Focus on some quick wins that align with your goals. Stay focused. Don’t let social media or other news distract you. It’s a distraction – bring your focus to your goal. Don’t give up – this is your side gig and you can accomplish so much with just an hour of focus per day.
Plan work around your schedule. If you live in an area that has a long commute, consider taking a park and ride so you can work from the bus or train. If you encounter traffic heading to work in the morning, consider heading in an hour early and instead of going to the office, drop by a coffee shop nearby and knock out some work.
You don’t need the internet for everything. Think about what you can achieve without the internet. Content comes to mind. You can use your cell phone to look things up and type from your laptop. All of Side Gig Startup Entrepreneurs’ blogs are written while taking the park and ride to work.
When you love what you do, it’s easy to spend all of your free time on it. Side Gig Startup feels more like a hobby so it’s easy to work on it anytime outside of office hours. Enjoy each challenge you face and take baby steps towards fulfilling your vision. You may even feel like Superman – work your 9 to 5 and spend evenings on your side gig but instead of fighting crime, you’re fighting for your future.
Your full-time job is what pays your bills and maintains your career path. As tempting as it may feel to work on your side gig at the office, there’s a trust you’ve built with your employer, and they are not paying you to work on something else. This is very important – your side gig is a side gig, it is not the main source of income. Put yourself in your employer’s shoes, they hired you because they believed in you and your ability to add value to their company – don’t make the mistake of working on your side gig while working on your full-time job. Trying to double-dip will likely get you fired from your full-time job. Protect your main source of income and maintain your integrity. You have plenty of time during your 5 to 9 to balance your side gig’s requirements.
It’s easy to dive into your passion and never come up for air. Don’t forget to make time for your significant other, family, friends, and especially kids. Kids grow so fast and time spent away from them will likely lead to regret – don’t make that mistake. Last but not least, if you ever feel overwhelmed and too stressed, take a break, your health is more important than anything else.
