This post is from our regular Wednesday contributor, Erin.
With the holidays coming, many of us are finding ourselves short on time. We’re busy buying or making presents, working, cooking, spending time with family and friends, and exercising due to all the holiday food we’re eating!
In light of all this, you might be wondering how in the world you’re going to find time to develop your side hustle, especially when you want to earn more to buy gifts.
My fiance has been guilty of this. Lately, he’s been talking about how he would like to get into designing logos for people, but his actions say otherwise.
After working a 10 hour day, he comes home, runs 5 miles, and is tired. His mind isn’t in any shape to focus on trying to create a portfolio of his design work (and I can’t blame him).
Admittedly, I fell into this trap last year as well. Blogging was simply a hobby for me, and while I enjoyed it (and still do!), there were times I came home from work exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was put my brain to work by writing a post.
However, there are ways to beat the “I have no time” and “I’m too tired” excuses that we all make (and hear) so often. Today, I’m highlighting a few of those ways so you can make time to develop your side hustle.
1) Figure Out What Time Works Best for You
Some people will recommend that you get up at 4am, before anyone wakes up, to start working on your side hustle. Others will say wait until the kids go to bed, and work until midnight or later.
Trying to fit your side hustle in amidst all the other activities you have going on is tough, especially during the holidays.
What if you’re focusing on working out in the morning or after work? What if your job requires you to get ready at 4am, and you come home wiped at 7pm?
There’s a simple solution: sit down and map out a typical week (or month, if your weeks aren’t typical). Are there any gaps in your schedule where you can work on your side hustle?
If so, mark those times down, and experiment with what works the best for you.
A few things to keep in mind here – if you commute to work via public transit, take advantage of that time! An hour here and there adds up, and you can easily get some work done then.
Also, if your job is flexible with the times you work, ask for different shifts so that you can work on your side hustle when it’s convenient.
2) Figure Out Your Priorities
If there aren’t any gaps in your schedule, then you need to consider what your priorities are. This sounds really harsh, but it’s true. If you have too much going on, and are committed to a lot already, then maybe right now isn’t the best time to develop your side hustle.
Consider ruthlessly cutting down on any activities that aren’t worth your time. If there’s a few things you’re committed to, evaluate what you’re getting out of it. Would you be better off spending that time on your side hustle instead?
Do you think you’re too busy, when in reality, you just don’t want to put in the effort? If your schedule consists of waking up, going to work, coming home, and watching TV for the rest of the night, that’s not being busy. That’s prioritizing relaxing over working.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with that, but you should realize exactly how you’re spending your time, and how that might be costing you.
If you want it bad enough, you’ll make the time for it. Be honest with yourself and the level of commitment you’re willing to make.
3) Keep Tabs On Your Energy Levels
While figuring out what time works best for you, you should also consider when you have the most energy.
For example, I am not a morning person. I have tried to be, and failed many times. I’m much more comfortable working late into the night, gaining traction as the day goes on.
Other people hit their strides in the afternoon, after they’ve had a chance to wake up a little.
Pay attention to when you’re most alert and most tired for a week, and go from there.
If you’re drained from work in the evening, then maybe you need to focus on your side hustle in the morning.
Don’t force yourself to work when you’re not interested in being productive. Whenever I tried to wake up early before work to get a blog post done, I almost always ended up re-writing it later that evening, because it wasn’t my best work.
4) Start With What You Can
When hearing that some people spend between 60-90 hours a week working between their full-time job and their side hustle, that can seem a little intimidating.
You might dismiss the idea of a side hustle simply because you can’t afford to spend 10 extra hours a week on it, let alone 30.
Don’t let that stop you. Everyone has to start somewhere. Whatever time you can dedicate counts. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?
If you have an idea of what side hustle you want to pursue, break it down into tiny actionable steps that won’t take much of your time.
For example, you might dedicate 30-60 minutes to coming up with a name for your business, another hour or two to brainstorming who you want to market to, a few more hours to getting content on your website, etc.
Start slowly, and build from there. Again, just because you can’t dedicate 20 hours a week to your side hustle doesn’t mean that you’ll fail, or that it’s not worth it. Not all side hustles require that many hours of commitment, either.
5) Consistency is Key
However, don’t try to fit developing your side hustle into sporadic time slots during the week. You need to train your mind and body on when to expect to work.
Why? Getting into the groove is important! Trust me, as someone who has been sorting out working from home for the past six months, this has been crucial in getting a routine down.
If you’re a morning person who truly enjoys writing at 5am, then do that day in and day out. You’ll train your mind to be creative and clear at that time. If you choose to work on things at 8pm one day, you might find you’re entirely too tired or distracted to think or be creative.
Besides that, consistency means dedication, and dedication means prioritizing. If you’ve decided that work can get done at 6pm-8pm every night, and someone asks you to hang out at 6:30, you’ll have an easier time prioritizing your side hustle and asking to reschedule. Treat the time you carve out for your side hustle like having an appointment with yourself.
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Starting a side hustle often requires major sacrifices where time is concerned. Prioritizing and figuring out how you can work your side hustle into your existing schedule will go a long way toward helping you conquer the “I’m too busy/tired” excuse!
For those with a side hustle, how did you manage to make time for it? Have you been guilty of saying you’re too tired or busy to hustle?
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Photo Credit: Photosteve101
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As a mom of a (of sick) little one, finding time is super hard. I just try to do what I can and I’m careful not to over exert myself. A stressed out mom is not good for anyone.
Mr. FW and I have ruthlessly prioritized our time and now get up at 6am every day so that we can do a few hours of blog work before going to our 9-5’s. It’s a good system and I’m always motivated to get out of bed because I know coffee will greet me :). I think you’re absolutely right that mapping out your whole week lends a lot of insight into how you’re allocating your time. Cutting out most TV in the evenings has also freed up more time in my day. You’ve got me motivated to see if there are other efficiencies I can create! Thank you!
I work part time during the middle of the day but I’m an independent contractor and can basically set my own hours. Works well for side hustling. Right now I just pet sit. Usually involves a morning/evening visit, which fits my schedule perfectly. I need to somehow work in more side hustles to increase my income. 2015 is going to be a rough year.
Definitely agree that seeing,people with waaaaaay busier lives than me making it happen every day is motivating–it pretty much nixes any potential pity parties. I’m usually motivated to workout after work, but have learned that my brain power is dead after a day working with kids. I do all of my blog work first thing in the morning or just before bed if I’m really behind.
I worked on my side hustle before and after work when I had a 9-5 job. Now that I work from home, I still hustle a little bit but most of it is my full-time job.
I am active duty in the military and a single mom so I’m sure you can imagine how busy I am during the week. If I do not plan my days ahead of time there is no way I can be productive. When it comes to my blog I really just try to work on it as much as I can. My lunch hours and my weekends is when I really hit the blogging really hard, but your right you have to know yourself and what makes you tick in order to prioritize what works for you.
Erin, awesome and motivating post as usual!! I can’t imagine how R does all that he does, but as you said, a quick check of priorities will help him find time for his biz. And that’s a valuable skill he has, too!
Time management is one of my specialties. With that, I will say that the best thing you can do for yourself when it comes to “making time” for anything (side hustle or something else) is PLANNING! If you put something on your calendar and block out the specific amount of time you’ll spend doing it, you’re so much more likely to actually do it. If you have other tasks to complete that you fear will get left behind, plan your entire day – hour by hour. I do this every night for the next evening, including everything from running, blogging, laundry, cooking, reading, applying for jobs, etc. My success rate for increasing time to complete everything I want to is about a 95% rate when I plan – actually write it out on my calendar (versus about a 10% success rate without planning my day hour by hour).
Great tips Erin, we do many of them ourselves. The scheduling is key in my opinion, especially if you have less of it to use. I used to get up prior to my day job to work on my hustles, but now that we run our own business I stick to a similar schedule.
Haha, I have a very similar post in my queue! I am lucky that I have a commute that lets me work on things, but outside of that, I am a very “spurty” writer, so when the juices start flowing, I let them run. I have to be scheduled way in advance, or I end up completely dropping the ball.
The best way I manage more projects is by organizing my time in chunks. I will schedule chunks of time for writing or working on client plans or blogging, etc. Over the past year, I have really gotten a good grasp on what projects work best during specific times and when I stick to those plans, I have the most success. The only problems I have is when my schedule gets thrown out of whack with travel or something.
Great tips Erin. Finding time and prioritizing is really the key to it all. When I’m able to get up in the morning before work, it feels really good and I get a lot done in just an hour or so. The problem is consistency with me. Trying to work on it thanks for the motivation!
I feel like I have time to manage on most days, especially because I am not in the office full time anymore. When I started, though, I was working probably 50 hours a week and trying to blog at night or early in the morning. It was really tough, and I’m actually not sure how I did that now that I look back. I also still worked out every day, kept the house running relatively well, and had to keep up with a 4 year old. I think I knew it was only for a limited period of time because I was in the middle of some major life changes. You can do anything for a little while. Hopefully a side hustle is a means to an end, whether that means paying off a bill or quitting a job or even retiring early. If you have a goal and some sort of time frame, I think that makes it easier.
I think doing a time audit is crucial. So much of our time is wasted doing mind numbing activities. Hey, I’m guilty of it too, but if you can eliminate the low level distractions, you can free up some time. For me playing ukulele every night and mediating became priorities, which meant just a little less TV at night. In the end it’s better anyway because I have more entertainment to watch on Hulu on the weekends instead of having to rent a movie or go out to see a movie.
indebtedmom I was going to say something similar! Just when I’m feeling proud of myself for having a detailed plan of what I’m going to accomplish in an evening, my daughter throws up all over her bed. Plan obliterated. Just gotta press forward.
indebtedmom Very true, Kirsten, and I think you do an awesome job of working when you can. It’s important to prioritize your health!
Mrs. Frugalwoods I kind of wish I had something like the allure of coffee to get me out of bed in the morning (I’m not a huge coffee or morning person). Sometimes it’s too warm and cozy under blankets! I do think it’s important to try and relax, but if you’re adamant about working toward something, you’ll have to make sacrifices. Optimizing your time and finances can be fun!
debtperception That sounds like an awesome setup as far as hours go! Pet sitting is something I’d love to get into, though I’m not sure how it’s viewed in an apartment complex. Focusing on online hustles gives you a bit more flexibility as far as time constraints and commuting go.
bnwilliams500 It’s great you learned what times work best for you! My fiance is the same way with running and working out – he needs to go immediately after work, or it’s too easy to say, “I’ll go tomorrow.”
Holly at ClubThrifty You were the queen of getting work done around the clock, Holly! I remember you posting your schedule back when you were still working your 9-5.
Debtfreemartini Oh boy, that’s got to be challenging! Planning is instrumental for me. I have my daily task list planned out usually a week in advance, and I add things as I go along.
Laurie TheFrugalFarmer Thanks Laurie! He does work a lot. I always felt bad complaining about how tired I was back when I was working in an office, meanwhile, he had 10 hour days comprised of physical labor to contend with!
theFinancegirl I love planning and writing things out like that! I have tried to schedule hour-by-hour before, but with freelance work, it’s sometimes hard to gauge how long a project will take me. I’m getting better at it, though. You should become a time management coach. =)
FrugalRules As a freelancer, it is so easy to sit at the computer and either get lost in work, or get distracted, and let time fly by. Keeping yourself on task and scheduling things out is definitely key!
moneypropeller I wish that happened to me! =) When it comes to my own blog, I have a running list of topics, but barely any time to write them – that’s mostly because I don’t prioritize my blog enough. I can obviously use my own lessons there!
blonde_finance I think I am going to start scheduling chunks of my time, too. I have a lot of different tasks to handle for different clients, and dedicating 4-5 hours to one client, versus 1 hour to one, 2 to another, seems more efficient.
thebrokeprof Glad to help! I used to love waking up early and getting stuff done, too. It makes you feel really productive! Since I’m mostly a night owl now, I try to switch it up – if I can get a lot done between 11pm-2am I feel accomplished and ready to go to bed!
Eyesonthedollar Whew, that sounds tiring Kim! I don’t know how you did it either. =) Thinking about it in terms of time does help, though. When I am overwhelmed with the amount I need to get done in one week, I try to breathe, and remember that next week won’t be as bad. If you’re hustling just to pay off debt or meet a savings goal, the defined timeline makes a difference!
Beachbudget I like the idea of being productive during the week, and giving yourself a little break on the weekends. Or working on the weekends, and taking it easy during the week. Everyone is human and needs a break at some point! I’ve given up on TV completely, and I don’t miss it – it’s worth it for people to try and figure out what’s more important to them!
I work on my side hustles mostly on the weekends. I usually start working at 9 in the morning and won’t stop until 3 in the afternoon. If I do happen to find myself tired I force myself to get the work done because the empire won’t build itself.
I have had side hustles for years and there are times where I have had the energy to take on more whereas nowadays I am trimming back a bit and choosing quality over quality work in order to free up time for other important objectives. As you said, it will take some experimentation and evaluation in order to come up with a plan of action that will net the best results. As with money, it’s amazing how much time gets frittered away on things that are not really productive if you don’t pay attention!
I wonder who coined the term “side hustle” and how long it’s been around. I’d never heard it before I started blogging. I’m definitely a morning person, but I don’t do caffeine. I guess everyone has their natural rhythms. I’m still looking for a side hustle myself. Great tips, Erin. It sounds like you’ve really found a good routine for working from home. :)
Great article here Erin, I feel like I keep saying that but it’s the truth :)!
Energy levels are vital and for me the best way to moderate this is to get some exercise but also make sure I have outside interests, which makes it a balancing act though..
I think your point number 1 has worked best for me – I get up around 5.30am or so and usually have at least an hr before the rest of my family wake. It’s become automatic for me to wake early now and spring out of bed so I can work on this! I’ve also started doing a little on my 30 minute train ride to work, and even windows at work when I have a break or a slow period. It’s amazing that when you start getting into a groove with your time slots it becomes such a habit and starts to feel easy! (at least at the moment – until burnout phase kicks in I guess!).
Finding time for exercise (lunchtimes at work) and getting a full nights sleep (going to bed early!) are critical to keeping my energy levels maintained though – a few nights of bad sleep and it all falls apart!
Jason @ The Butler Journal Way to go Jason! I think working a bit on the weekend and leaving the week open is a good way to do it. Plus, you still have the rest of your evening left!
Kassandra @ More Than Just Money That last part is really true – it’s crucial to keep yourself on task. If I’m getting distracted, I allow myself to take a little break to get it out of my system before returning to work.
kay ~ lifestylevoices.com I hadn’t heard of it before blogging, either! I think there’s truth to natural rhythms. I don’t drink any caffeine in the morning either (though I don’t find it helps me). If you need any help figuring out a side hustle, get in touch! I’m constantly thinking of new ideas.
mycareercrusade Thanks Jef! I hear you on the balancing act. Sitting down and staring at a computer all day isn’t great for energy levels. Maybe try scheduling in a walk/run for a half hour to an hour at some point, and picking nights to go out with friends?
Jason@Islands of Investing I’ve always admired people that can wake up so early with no problems! Glad you’ve found a schedule that works well for you. Sleep is really important, and something I’ve struggled with. I’ve always been a bad sleeper!
Agreed, even if it is creating a habit of 30 mins a day, using the Seinfeld example where he ticked a calendar each day he wrote material for his stand-up shows..
Hey Erin, awesome post! I’ve found that plotting out times of the day (or week) when I have the energy works the best. I’m my best early weekend mornings, so I try to get as much done as possible then. I’m a serious morning person, but I work early morning hours at my full-time job, so getting up even earlier isn’t possible. Hence, weekends! And I guard them like a crazy woman, too. Those are my side hustle hours! :)
sunburntsaver Thanks Melissa! I don’t blame you for not wanting to get up any earlier, though I do applaud you for being a morning person. I think the mornings on the weekend are a great time to get stuff out of the way – you can always enjoy the evening with friends!
I’ve been meaning to schedule a typical week for me! I want to devote more time to my side hustle and i know the time is there! I just need to find it.
LisaVsTheLoans That’s a good way to look at it – most people say they’re too busy without bothering to think about how they’re actually using their time. =)