What to Do When Your Side Hustle Takes Too Much Time

— August 8, 2018

There are lots of reasons to take on a side hustle. I had more than one a few years ago while I was deep in debt.

You might need one for the same motives as me. But another reason for a side hustle is to save for a new car or to go back to college. Or, perhaps you want one so you can use the money to invest.

Whatever the reason, sometimes it’s hard to fit a side hustle into your schedule. Yet, there are things you can do when your side hustle takes too much time.

Cut Back

One obvious thing to do when your side hustle takes too much time is to cut back. If you can afford it financially, talk to your boss about cutting back on your hours. If that’s not possible, conceivably it’s possible to reduce the hours or workload at your full-time job instead.

An additional option would be to cut back your hours for a week or two so you can take a break. This idea wouldn’t be a permanent solution, of course. But it might give you the temporary recharge you need to keep going.

Make it Temporary

Did you have a particular goal in mind when you began side hustling? Have you reached that goal? If you have, maybe you don’t really need to side hustle anymore.

Depending on that extra income to buy luxury items once your initial goal has been met is nice. Still, if it takes too much time out of your week, it might be better to make it temporary.

Having both a side hustle and a full time job isn’t easy. This is especially true if you have a spouse or a family.

Quality time with your partner or kids can’t be replaced. Turning down friends time and time again gets old. Although you may not be able to buy as much “stuff”, what you’re missing out on is priceless.

Choose Something Else

At times the fact that you have a side hustle isn’t the problem. When your side hustle takes up too much time, possibly you need a different one.

Let’s say you make crafts and sell them on weekends at craft fairs. Doing this kind of work takes many hours. Making crafts through the week takes time away from other household duties or fun activities. On top of that you must give up your weekends for craft shows too.

But there are other side hustles you could be doing from home. You could proof read for bloggers on your own schedule. Or, maybe you could do professional voiceovers if you have the talent for it. Look around to find a side job that fits your skills but also takes less time.

Get a Partner

Sometimes a side hustle can be worked with a partner. As examples, a childcare service, online store, or lawn service could be done with other people.

Try asking your spouse or life partner if they would be willing to help you out. This is what to do when you feel overwhelmed and stressed from lack of time.

Involve Family

You don’t have to limit your side hustle to involving only a partner. You could also include your kids or other family members. Parents, siblings, aunts, and uncles can all help out if the side hustle is one that could include them.

For instance, a painting service could be run by adult siblings, parents and grown kids, or other relatives. A catering service could be a mother and daughter set-up. There are lots of side hustles that could involve other family members and free up some of your time.

Examine Your Habits

When it feels like your side hustle takes too much time, perhaps you’re simply not using time well. Try to examine your habits to see if there are ways you can save time.

Start a Log

Are you more of a fly by the seat of your pants type of person? Changing that could be to your benefit. Start a log to help you identify how you spend your time. Although it will take time too, you only have to keep track for a week or two.

A small spiral notebook is really all you need. Just jot down the date, begin time, end time, and a brief description of the activity. It might surprise you to see how much time you waste on Facebook or other activities. You could use that time for your side hustle.

Identify Bad Habits

If you’ve identified bad habits that are sucking away your time, eliminate them. Use that time to do dishes, laundry, or clean alternatively.

Then, on the days you work two jobs, you won’t feel as stressed. Instead you can come home to a clean house with the laundry and dishes done.

Get Organized

One of the keys to time management is organization. When you’re organized it frees up time so you can still do your side hustle.

A calendar app is one way to stay on top of your schedule. Most apps have tons of options that are designed to save you time. Explore what your app does so you can take advantage of them and save time.

Look for Shortcuts

You can also use shortcuts to give you time for your side hustle. For instance, many apps have templates and shortcuts created to make your work easier.

There are keyboard shortcuts you can use in most applications as well. While learning them might slow you down a bit in the beginning, you’ll gain that time back plus some.

Create Routines

Creating routines is another great thing to save you time so you can still side hustle. You can create routines at home, your full time job, and your side hustle.

Greater efficiency and productivity are the results of creating routines. Doing things in a certain order becomes second nature so you don’t lose time thinking about what comes next.

Getting into routines takes time. Start with one area at a time, such as your morning routine before work.

After a couple of weeks, add a regular morning routine to your full time job. Then add one for when you return to work after lunch. Finally, create an end of the work day routine.

Once you’ve gotten these routines down so they become habits, make routines for your side hustle too. You can also add them for evenings at home. All of the routines you develop will help you get more done so you have time for your side hustle.

Employ Automation

When your side hustle takes too much time, employ automation to make things faster. The more things you can set up to be automated, the more you can get done.

As examples, you can set up your calendar to send reminders of appointments. You can also create an automated system of invoicing customers at your job. But there are more areas to automate as well.

Turn Down Requests

Although you may have a hard time turning down requests and demands on your time, it might be necessary. If you want to have time for your side hustle you can’t do everything for everyone.

If other people approach you with personal requests for your help, don’t automatically say yes if you have no time. Even though saying no is hard, it may be necessary for you financially so you have time to side hustle.

Obviously there are lots of reasons you might have started to side hustle. But if your side hustle takes too much time you do have options that can help. Use some of these tips to help you decide what to do to free up your time.

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