If you are working a full-time job, it is important to put some careful consideration into starting a side hustle, despite its growing popularity as a lucrative opportunity for entrepreneurial growth.
Considering your goals, the specific side hustle that captures your interest, and the amount of time you can truly dedicate to it, proves to be beneficial.
If all of that appears to be too much to handle, don’t worry. These intelligent habits can assist you in preventing exhaustion while balancing a side gig with a full-time job.
1. Pick a side hustle you’re passionate about.
According to Gowtham Kandavel, a senior UX designer who also manages Thrilla, a website for UX designers, having a motivating source of income is crucial for successfully balancing a full-time job and a side hustle.
He said that only by having passion would you be able to stay up all night without breaking down.
When initiating a side hustle with the intention of transforming it into a business, it is crucial to contemplate activities that you envision yourself engaging in for the foreseeable future. Reflect on your passions and leverage them to develop potential side hustle concepts, enabling you to pursue something you genuinely enjoy. By doing so, the experience of balancing a full-time job and side hustle will feel less burdensome, akin to having a singular vocation.
2. Set clear boundaries.
Andrew Chen, a product manager at Google who has three side hustles, including running the personal finance website Hack Your Wealth, emphasized the importance of establishing clear boundaries and priorities when you are an entrepreneur with a full-time job and limited time.
In total, Chen approximates that he dedicates 55 to 60 hours per week to his primary occupation and an additional 15 to 25 hours per week to his secondary endeavors. Consequently, ensuring sufficient rest and socializing occasionally take a lower priority.
Chen emphasized the significance of establishing limits for yourself and others regarding the extent to which you are willing to push yourself in order to achieve success when juggling a full-time job and a side hustle.
He said that this will facilitate conversations with family members and friends in a manner that reduces one’s feelings of guilt.
3. Have a schedule.
Mayuri Kashyap, a human resources consultant who works full time and simultaneously manages the travel blog To Someplace New, emphasized the significance of having a routine to effectively balance both responsibilities.
Kashyap said that organizing a weekly and monthly timetable assists him in remaining focused and on schedule.
By utilizing her two-hour daily commute on public transportation, she makes an effort to accomplish minor tasks such as posting on social media or answering emails on her smartphone. Additionally, she wakes up earlier to allocate an hour to her side hustle before commencing her workday.
Maximizing productivity can be enhanced by establishing a predetermined timetable for dedicating time to your side job. If you’re not adhering to a schedule, consider keeping a week-long record of how you allocate your time each day. Then, determine areas where you can allocate additional time towards your side gig.
4. Take advantage of small pockets of time.
It is a common misconception to believe that you can only dedicate large chunks of time to either your full-time job or side hustle in order to achieve a balance. Albert Lee, a doctor who dedicates 50 to 55 hours per week to his profession and also manages the home improvement website Home Living Lab, emphasizes the significance of utilizing small pockets of free time effectively.
For instance, rather than devoting your whole lunch break to social media, utilize that period to focus on your side project.
Lee said that even though these small increments of time may appear unimportant, they do accumulate. Lee personally discovered that by maximizing these moments, they are able to allocate approximately 45 to 60 minutes of productive work while on the job.
Having a time log can assist you in identifying those small opportunities in your day, which you can then maximize using the following tip.
5. Eliminate distractions.
Maximizing the available time for your side hustle proves to be a significant challenge when it comes to striking a balance between your full-time job and your additional venture.
Brendan Heffernan, who owns Dunk or Three, works full-time for 45 hours with high school students and also has a successful freelance writing and editing job in his spare time. Being a parent, he focuses on minimizing distractions to make the most out of his side hustle hours.
According to Heffernan, if you allocate time for work, it is important to utilize the entire duration productively instead of browsing the internet or watching YouTube videos.
No matter if you choose to engage in a side hustle before or after your usual job, it is crucial to eliminate any distractions. Keep your phone in a separate room, switch off the television, and contemplate utilizing a dedicated web browser extension such as StayFocusd to prevent accessing websites or applications that may divert your attention from the task at hand.
6. Take care of your health.
Neglecting basic self-care is a common mistake when juggling a side gig alongside a full-time job; however, this will inevitably result in burnout. It is imperative to prioritize your health to ensure sufficient energy for both endeavors.
At age 32, Chris Panteli was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which made him recognize the significance of prioritizing self-care while juggling a full-time job and managing his personal finance blog, Life Upswing. Consequently, he devotes 50 hours per week to running his restaurant and working on his blog simultaneously.
Panteli stated that the way she maintains balance in her life is by ensuring she gets a sufficient amount of high-quality sleep at night.
While it may be tempting to invest more hours into your side hustle to foster its growth, it is important to weigh the potential impact on your health. Exhaustion can negatively affect your performance at work, putting your primary job at risk. Furthermore, you may find yourself lacking the energy to dedicate to your side hustle once you return home from work.
7. Remember your why.
Having a clear rationale for your actions right from the start is crucial when juggling a full-time job and a side hustle, which can undoubtedly be quite demanding.
Staying committed to the purpose behind starting your side hustle is what will provide the motivation to keep working on it, even during moments of exhaustion or when you feel trapped, according to Lucy Reyes, a supply chain specialist and mother who manages several blogs, including her primary site, Cheers to Life Blogging.
If you find yourself unable to remember why you started side hustling, it’s important to pause and remind yourself of the objectives you had in mind. Whether it was to remove debt, establish financial stability for your family, or eventually quit your main job, utilize your goals as a foundation to remain rooted and concentrate on your path.
Online Side Hustles That Don’t Require Experience or Skills
If you are new to side hustling and seeking ways to earn some extra income alongside your full-time job, these online money-making methods are excellent options.
These are not only great for beginners but also relatively easy to manage alongside your full-time job.
1. User Testing
User testing is a service that involves testing websites for companies from the perspective of one of their customers or a regular user of the site.
While navigating through the website, you comment on your experience while simultaneously recording your screen and audio.
During a user test, you will be provided with a task to accomplish, such as locating and adding a pair of white shoes to the shopping cart in an ecommerce store. While performing this task, you will be voicing your thoughts to provide the company with valuable insights on the customer’s experience while using their website.
You have the option to register and receive payment for user testing by using platforms such as Conversion Crimes, known for providing excellent user testing training, or through sites such as usertesting.com, userbrain.com, and intellizoom.com.
On average, tests last for about 20-30 minutes in total.
It takes approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete the registration process and complete a few training tests.
Starting is extremely easy. The training is straightforward and simple to understand.
Typically, the age requirement is 18 years or older.
The typical payment timeframe is one month.
The pay for each test varies based on its type, ranging from $5 to $15 on average.
It is essential to be aware that work frequency is irregular. It is necessary to monitor your email inbox closely as tests are received and completed rapidly due to others also awaiting their turn.
Requirements: fluent English, age 18+.
2. Online Surveys
The main purpose of this service is to complete survey forms on behalf of companies to gather information for conducting research on products, services, or industries.
When you create an account with certain survey providers, they will make surveys available for you to complete. The process involves answering the survey questions, and in addition to this, some of these providers offer other methods to earn money online, such as watching videos and using search engines.
Websites such as swagbucks.com, inboxdollars.com, qmee.com, and surveyjunkie.com allow you to register for surveys.
Typical duration: Surveys typically range from 2 to 25 minutes in length.
It takes approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour to set up and create your account.
Starting is very easy, as explainer videos are frequently available.
The minimum age requirement is 13 years and above.
It takes 1-2 days for payments to be processed and completed.
The pay range for this job is between 50 cents and $20, on average.
It’s important to be aware that certain surveys offer gift cards in lieu of cash or point-based rewards equivalent to a cash value. Given the low payout of surveys, it is necessary to regularly complete a large number of them in order to generate a substantial income.
You must possess an online account such as PayPal or a bank account, have proficiency in English, and be at least 13 years old.
3. Amazon Mechanical Turk
Amazon businesses can utilize Mechanical Turk (MTurk), a crowdsourcing marketplace, to locate human workers for basic operational tasks, ranging from data deduplication to research implementation.
Signing up on the Amazon Mechanical Turk website is possible.
The amount of time required varies depending on the tasks you commit to.
You have only 30 seconds to set up your account.
Creating an account is a simple process, making it easy to get started.
Minimum age requirement: 18 and above.
Workers receive their payments according to a consistent payment schedule.
The average pay can greatly differ depending on the specific work tasks you perform.
It is important to understand that your work will be evaluated by the person who requested it. If the task is not completed satisfactorily, you might not receive payment.
You must be at least 18 years old and possess either a bank account or an online payment account like PayPal.
4. Sell Old Clothes
You can sell your pre-owned clothes on various platforms. One such example is Poshmark, which offers a sharing platform where you can list your clothes for sale. Additionally, they also provide prepaid labels to facilitate sending your clothes.
Nevertheless, eBay boasts a significantly wider audience due to its status as an open marketplace.
The overall time required includes the duration for capturing photos of your clothes and crafting your posts, as well as addressing any customer inquiries during the duration your clothes are available for purchase.
It takes just a few hours to set up your account and list your clothes for sale.
Starting is extremely easy – all you need to do is create an account, capture photos of your clothing items, and put them up for sale.
Minimum age requirement: 18 years old and above.
Payment will be processed and completed within two business days after the sale.
The average pay varies depending on the platform where you sell your clothes and the type of clothing you offer for sale.
It should be noted that different platforms have specific clothing brand preferences. While eBay accepts all brands, they do conduct authenticity checks on select items.
To meet the criteria, individuals must possess clothing items available for sale along with high-quality photographs, and be at least 18 years old.
5. Share Coupons
You can earn money by sharing coupons that you come across on the internet on certain websites.
You may encounter a promotion or receive a coupon while shopping online. If you have such coupons, you can share them on couponchief.com and make some extra money.
It only takes a few minutes to set up your account.
To initiate, simply create your account – it’s that simple.
Age requirement: minimum of 18 years old.
You will receive payment as soon as someone utilizes your coupon.
The average compensation consists of a commission ranging from 2% to 3% for every coupon sold.
It is important to be aware that there could be a restriction on the maximum amount of income you can generate by distributing coupons for each store.
Age 18+ is a requirement for selling coupons, and they must not have been shared previously by any other user.
Finding a perfect way to juggle your full-time job and side hustle is not a quick fix. It requires careful planning and being patient to achieve success in both areas. However, regardless of whether you dedicate a few hours each day or just a few hours every week to your side hustle, these tactics can guide you towards striking a balance between working for someone else and striving to be your own boss during your free time.
