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Are you currently struggling with managing your full-time job and side hustle?  Perhaps you desire to start a new side-hustle, but you are worried you can’t find the time.  In this blog post, I wanted to share with you how you can find and make time to work on a side-hustle even if you have a full-time job.

I totally understand the desire to make some extra cash to pay bills, wanting to build a new business of your own, achieve financial freedom, get out of debt, etc.  The way most people achieve this is by finding more ways to make money and thus the side-hustle is born!  You have found this post for one of two reasons:

1. You are currently side-hustling, but are struggling with time management or feel constantly pressed for time as if you are working 24/7!

2. The desire to start a side-hustle is there but you are not sure how you will fit into your already busy schedule!

Hopefully, I can offer some tips to help with that.  I have been working side-hustles for at least 20 years.  In that time, I have picked up on a few tips and tricks to find time for the extra work involved.  These tips have saved my sanity and made it possible to make money with my side-hustles which at this point, includes this blog!  Let’s jump into the tips and get you in harmony with your side-hustle in no time!

Tip #1: Create Efficient and Powerful Routines

Most of us don’t realize that we have underlying routines that we inherently follow!  One way to better manage our lives including our work is through routine management.  You probably have a morning routine and a night time routine.  Most people have those pretty solid, but have you thought of a routine for your workday?  Do you follow one at all?  If you don’t, start today!  Having a routine that balances everyday living with your work can be extremely powerful.  It can increase your focus and encourage a healthy balance between work and leisure.

Start by writing down your morning and evening routines.  Those parts of your day that seem to be pretty solid and predictable.  After you have those identified, look for patterns in your work.  You could map out your entire workday, but for the purposes of this post we are focusing on fitting in the side-hustling!

Determine how frequently and how much time you need to spend on your side-hustle.  For example, work on blogging twice per week.  One of those sessions involves planning, analytics, and projects.  The other is creating the content and getting it published to the website with a few million stepping stones in between.

However, this pattern works well with my full-time job because I work one evening a week and one weekend day on my side-hustle.  I can plan around other important events in my life and still have days where I am able to “turn off” and not worry about work at all.

Create checklists or a list of tasks that you need to complete to structure your time until you have a solid work flow going!  As you become faster and more efficient it becomes less of a struggle to find the extra time.  At this point, you are capable of completing the tasks in a shorter amount of time!

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Tip #2: Don’t Neglect Self-care

When lost in the world of full-time work and part-time hustle it can become easy to forget about yourself and what you need to remain balanced and happy.  Be sure to carve out time for hobbies, events, and activities you enjoy.  Spend time with those closest to you and take in every moment of happiness.  The more balanced you remain, the less likely it is you will become burnt out.

Sleep is also very important.  This one is a big struggle for me.  Especially when I am thinking about projects, brainstorming ideas, or thinking about my to-do list at night before bed.  I try my best not to engage in any work after 9 p.m. so I can unwind and sleep.  This isn’t always possible, but I do my best to stick to it.  If I don’t, I lose sleep, get tired, and start slowing down.  I become more inefficient and as a result end up spending more time on tasks I could’ve done faster if I’d been well rested and balanced.

A few other big areas to pay attention to are connecting with others you care about and making time to exercise and eat healthfully.  All these things play a part in your happiness and show up your best self when you are working either your full-time gig or your side-hustle.

Tip #3: Use Scheduling and Planning Tools

Even if you have a good memory, you will want to be using scheduling and planning tools to keep things organized.  I personally use several.  For my business, I use Trello.  With a tool like Trello, you can create and customize “boards” which act as a bunch of organized checklists.  I keep track of all my tools, affiliate programs, tasks, to-dos, and ideas in Trello.  Using Trello is free!  That makes this tool too good to pass up.  

In my personal life, I have to wrangle a household of six.  I keep an electronic calendar that keeps everyone informed of the family schedule.  This calendar is called Cozi.  Without my Cozi calendar, I’d be completely lost.  The Cozi app sends me reminders of where I need to be and when.  There are lots of other functions as well.  You can color code your family members, send family members reminders, make lists, record journals, and find new recipes to make your family for dinner.  Using Cozi on a basic level is completely free, but if you upgrade to an annual membership, you get the option to set more reminders, and view your calendar in a monthly and weekly format whereas the free version only allows a weekly view.  I highly recommend giving it a try!  You can sign-up for Cozi here.

In addition to my electronic tools, I still use a good ole pen and paper system.  When I make a daily list, I tend to accomplish more.  I end up being more productive, and can reflect on what worked for me and what didn’t.  It might be a bit crazy, but I use one type of planner for my business and another for everything personal.  I use the Full Focus Planner for work.  This planner is FIRE.  I get so many tasks done every day utilizing this planner.  It is a daily planner built for quarterly use.  This works perfect for businesses because each year is broken down into four quarters.  If you are interested, you can check it out here.

For my personal planner, I use whatever speaks to me!  That usually includes some mission boards, list space, and monthly calendar views.  Use whatever feels good for you.  

Tip #4: Give Yourself Grace

Side-hustling isn’t easy!  Don’t be too hard on yourself. There are a lot of growing pains as you start and grow a side-hustle.  Believe in yourself and keep moving forward.  Everyday is a new opportunity to achieve greatness!  The most important aspect of being successful in your side-hustle is perseverance and showing up consistently even when its tough.  Make sure to carve out some time to just relax.  For a long time, I was hard on myself when I felt the need to use my time away from my full-time gig to recharge.  However, taking the time to decompress is a must.  If you don’t it is a quick road to burn-out!  If you are struggling with sticking to your side-hustle plans, try some mindset work or find a coach to help you achieve the confidence and clarity you need.  There are also a lot of amazing online communities that you can be a part of.  Check out ours here.

If you follow these simple tips you are on the way to side-hustle success even though you are still working full-time.  Whether your goal is to make a few extra bucks to pay unexpected bills, make ends meet, or grow you side-hustle and eventually quit your job you can do this! 

If you need more inspiration and guidance for your new side-hustle, grab my freebie below.