Finding time for your side hustle

If you have a side hustle that you use to pursue your passion, but you still have a full-time job, you may find it hard to devote enough hours to your role as a solo entrepreneur. Here are some strategies that can help you make the most of your time:

• Make a schedule

  Your side hustle is a job, and it involves a lot of routine tasks. Having set times to get these tasks done can do wonders for your productivity. Think about your workdays. Could you get up 30 minutes earlier each day? Do you take transit or an Uber to get to your full-time job? Do you spend too much time watching TV when you get home? These are all opportunities to be more productive.

• Set goals

  Identify where you want your business to be next month, next year, and five years from now. What specific tasks will get you there? Divide those tasks into manageable steps to be undertaken weekly and monthly and establish a routine that will help you get them done. Measure your progress and celebrate your successes!

• Find space to work

  Think about how you like to work. Do you need quiet, or do you prefer the energy of other people around you? Your best work space might be a desk at home, or a local coffee shop that plays music you love. Either way, being in that space should put you in the mood to work.

• Use productivity apps

  There’s an app for just about every business task. Do you collaborate with a team or your clients to get projects done? Use a project management app to make sure that work is completed on time. Do you hunt for passwords daily? A password manager will help you keep track and, as a bonus, you’ll be more secure online. Do you struggle with accounting, or collecting payments? Apps can simplify daunting tasks like bookkeeping and make it easy for clients to pay you as well.

• Automate and replicate

  If there are specific tasks you perform repeatedly, think about ways to streamline your processes. Using templates is great for written work and there are products that will help you compose routine email responses. If your side hustle is an e-commerce business, keeping your products within specific size and weight categories will help simplify your shipping options.

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• Pay for convenience

  Don’t be afraid to spend a bit of extra $$$ to gain some more time. This might mean using the paid version of an app that offers higher functionality, paying for parking that gets you closer to where you need to be, or hiring a babysitter on a regular basis to give you a few hours of uninterrupted time away from your kids.

• Get things done

  Often the hardest part of undertaking a task is sitting down to start. When you start work without worrying about perfection, you might be surprised at the good ideas that emerge! And if you follow a schedule, you’ll know when to start things so that you’ll still have time to polish and revise your first steps.

• Think about fitness

  You’re already busy with your full-time job and your side hustle, so you might think that there’s no time for exercise. But even a short workout daily can bring many benefits: you’ll feel better because you’ll have more energy and you’ll sleep better. All of these will help you work more effectively and get more done.

• Learn to say no

  This can be hard, especially if your side hustle is just getting going. But not every job or client will be the right fit for your business. Rather than pushing yourself to extremes to produce something that’s beyond your capabilities, save your energy for the opportunities that will bring you the biggest rewards.

Don’t live to work; instead, work so that you can live your best life. You’re doing your side hustle because you love it – and it shouldn’t feel like work! With a bit of planning, increasing your productivity will let you do your full-time job, work on your side hustle and still maintain a balance between your work and your life.