6 Tips to Balance Your Career and Your Side Gig
As Cesar Millan said, “It’s all about balance.” Sure, he was talking about dog training, but the same rings true when it comes to keeping your life in order. Too much of anything, even a good thing, can throw the balance out of whack. Check out the following tips to keep the harmony between your career and your side gig!
1. Create a schedule for your career and your side gig. “Having a set routine and schedule while balancing a side [gig] and full-time job is crucial. Without a schedule, you’ll quickly become overwhelmed and you may even give up on your side hustle.” As for what kind of schedule you should use, that is really up to you. Some people prefer digital methods that can sync to all of your electronics, such as Google Calendar, and others prefer analog methods such as bullet journaling, or perhaps a combo of the two. They key is to find what works, and stick to it.
2. Use your extra time productively and wisely. “You may have a side [gig] that requires learning about business tactics and earning more money. If so, I recommend taking advantage of any commuter time in your daily life. If it takes you an hour to drive to work every day, take advantage of this time by listening to podcasts on growing your side [gig] or business.” If you are working remotely, you could similarly use time spent out on a walk with your dog or loading and unloading the dishwasher to listen to those same podcasts. Additionally, you could set aside one evening a week to take an online course in a skillset you want to improve.
3. Make self care a priority. This one might feel contradictory to the last item on the list, but part of creating a healthy balance includes taking time to relax so you do not run the risk of burnout. “When you give yourself quality time to relax and do things you enjoy without any pressure, it can be a huge stress reliever.” Self care looks different for everyone, so find what makes you feel relaxed and recharged.
4. Set an income goal. After all, making money is the point of a side gig, right? “Once you have a side [gig] and make money from it, it’s a great idea to create an income goal. This is exciting and motivating and keeps your brain open to the idea of making a lot of money with a side [gig].” You might surprise yourself by how quickly you end up needing to revamp and increase your goals!
5. Eliminate distractions. “Eliminating distractions is key when you’re balancing many tasks. When you stay focused, you get all of your work done and your mind is on one smooth flow of work, instead of changing thoughts and tasks repeatedly.” Of course, it can be tough to stay focused when all of our devices are set up to ping with constant notifications, but you can do things like temporarily turning off notifications, using a productivity app, or turning off access to distracting websites while you are in the zone.
6. Set up boundaries and stick to them. Having a side gig takes up time—there is no getting around that. As such, it is important to set up boundaries for yourself and adhere to them. For example, “if you decided Saturday mornings are for your side [gig] and you wake up on Saturday and don’t follow through, you’re not respecting your time. Would you not show up to your full-time job? Probably not.”[1] This also goes the other way; if you decide you are off the clock from both your career and your side gig at 5:00 PM, then stay off the clock. Unless something is actively on fire, it can wait until you are back on the clock. Boundaries not only keep you on task, but they can preserve your sanity and contribute to self care.
What are some of your favorite tips and tricks for creating a career/side gig balance? Tag us on social media @therealbodepro and show us how you side gig fueled by Strong OG!
[1] “10 Practical Tips for Balancing a Side Hustle and Full-Time Job.” Fitnancials, 26 July 2021, https://www.fitnancials.com/side-hustle-full-time-job/.