How to Balance Work and a Side Hustle: Your Guide

Do you have a day job but want to do something on the side? You should consider how to balance work and a side hustle.

That way, you can make the money you need to support yourself. However, you won’t have to sacrifice your lifestyle!

Choose the Right Side Hustle

There are so many different side hustles out there, so you need to choose the right one. Some side hustles are more like full-time businesses in that they require more of your time.

Meanwhile, other side hustles are more flexible. You may be able to work on them for a few hours a week at your home.

Here are some more specific things to keep in mind to help choose the right side hustle for you.

Find Something Semi-Passive

If you work full-time, you’ll want to find a side hustle that doesn’t pay you solely based on your time. Look for side hustles that can grow with you without requiring more hours of work.

For example, I make some side money from this website and another website I run. I don’t have to answer to clients to get paid.

As long as I post consistently and get traffic, I have the potential to earn good money. And my earnings have increased as my websites have grown in size.

Do Something You Enjoy

Unfortunately, a lot of more passive side hustles don’t exactly pay anything in the beginning. That means you’ll need to enjoy what you’re doing to stay motivated before the checks start coming.

I enjoy writing blog posts and creating other types of content. Because of that, I was able to keep going for the first few years of not making any money from it.

If you choose something just because it can make money, you might not like doing it. Then, you could lose your momentum and never have your side hustle amount to anything.

Use Your Existing Skills

Another thing that can help you balance work and a side hustle is to be good at your side hustle. You won’t have to spend time learning how to do the thing you want to do.

Instead, you can spend more of your already limited free time doing stuff that can make you money. Then, you may start to see a return in less time.

You can do a ton of different side hustles, so think about what you’re already good at. Make a list, and choose something that you have the skills for and that you love.

Create a Sustainable Schedule

The next big thing that can help you balance work and a side hustle is proper scheduling. Of course, you should start with your work schedule for your day job.

Find time during the day or week when you can work on your particular side hustle. Make a note of what you’ll do and when, and make it a schedule you can stick to.

Sure, you may be able to teach music lessons all day on your days off. But you can easily burn out, so find a schedule that you can manage for months or even years.

Know Your Productive Times

One thing that can help you balance everything is to work on your side hustle when you’re the most productive. I’ve found that I can get a lot done in the mornings since I have a lot of energy.

So I may spend an hour before work writing a blog post for either of my blogs. Or maybe I’ll spend that time taking pictures or working on graphics for social media.

If I try to work late at night, I know I won’t do my best work. You may be the opposite of me, and that’s okay; the important part is determining what works for you and working with that.

Take Advantage of Your Days Off

You may be able to do little things before or after work. However, your days off from your day job are when you’re going to get even more stuff done for your side hustle.

Schedule a few hours in those days to work on stuff related to your side business. For example, I’m writing this on a Sunday (a day off work), and I’ve written two other blog posts already.

Since my side hustle is flexible, I can do a ton of work in the two days I’m not at the office. But if your side hustle has more set hours, try to get off on those days from your traditional job.

Consider Working on Holidays

A lot of businesses close on major holidays, and some do on smaller holidays. These days are a great opportunity for you to work on your side hustle even more.

For example, maybe you don’t go into work on Labor Day. While you could take the day off, dedicate a few hours of it to your business.

Then, you can get a little further ahead on projects. You can still take a few hours that day to relax and hang out with your loved ones.

Start With One Side Hustle

It’s hard enough to balance work and a side hustle; don’t try to add multiple side hustles to the mix. I’d recommend starting with just one service or product on the side.

You can always expand later once you get into the groove of running your side hustle. But you don’t want to overwhelm yourself when you first start earning money outside of your job.

To help choose which one to start first, I have a couple of tips.

Look for Multiple Earning Opportunities

Some of the best side hustles are those that allow you to earn money in a few ways. For example, I earn money from my blogs through ads, affiliate links, and digital products.

It’s still one side hustle, but adding those different streams has allowed me to increase my earning potential without needing a whole separate business.

Maybe you start by teaching private music lessons. You could expand this by selling sheet music or exercises to your students, for example.

Avoid Client-Based Work (for Now)

Especially if you’re just settling into a full-time job, you don’t want to deal with more client deadlines. While a service-based side hustle can be great, it can also be stressful.

Look for ways to earn money that don’t involve direct client work. Instead of selling private lessons, maybe you record videos and turn them into a course you can sell over and over.

Making money from that will still take effort, but it will be more flexible than booking a ton of private lessons with students.

Make a List of Side Hustle Tasks

To help balance work and a side hustle, make a list of everything you have to do for your side hustle. Break that list into daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

Try to include everything you need to do to start and grow your business. This could include things as small as engaging with your Instagram audience to something as large as releasing a product.

Keep this list handy for whenever you have free time but aren’t sure what to do. That way, you can make the most of the time you have for your side hustle.

Consider One-Off vs. Repeating Tasks

When you first start a side business, you’ll have a lot of one-off tasks. You’ll want to build a website, write a business plan, and choose a name for your business.

But you’ll also have tasks you have to do over and over, such as posting on Instagram. Keep these things in mind when scheduling time for your side hustle.

For example, if you have extra time one week, you may do a one-off task.

List the Smaller Tasks

Within your overall list of tasks, make another list of small things. Think about what you can do from your phone and that only takes a minute or two.

For example, you can respond to comments on your social media or respond to any messages you have. It’s easy enough to do that while you’re on your lunch break at work or waiting in line at the store.

Doing these smaller tasks in small chunks of time can save you a lot of time later. That way, when you only have an hour to work on your side hustle, you can do a task that will take more time.

Think About Hiring Help

One of the nice things about having a side hustle when you work a regular job is that you have consistent income to put toward your side hustle. If you’re short on time, you can use that money to hire someon.

Hire an assistant for even just an hour a week. They can take care of the tasks that you don’t enjoy or that seem to take longer than you plan.

Of course, this expense may be out of the question for some people. But if you can swing it, hiring an assistant could help you earn more money from your side hustle much sooner.

Don’t Forget About Your Personal Life

As much as you may want to balance work and a side hustle, you can’t forget that you’re a person first. You need to make time to care for yourself and to enjoy life.

Sure, you may have less free time than someone who doesn’t have a side hustle. However, you don’t have to sacrifice all of your free time.

Here are some things to keep in mind to maintain a personal life.

Make Time for Self Care

Self care doesn’t have to take forever or be complex or expensive. It can be as easy as drawing yourself a bath once a week to decompress.

Either way, find a few small things that you enjoy, and add them to your routine. You need to remember to take care of yourself first.

If you neglect yourself, you could end up burning out. Then, your side hustle could come crashing down.

Visit With Friends and Family

It’s super important to maintain your relationships with your loved ones. I like to text my parents at least once every day to check in, and we video chat every couple of weeks.

You can also make time to hang out with friends and other relatives. It could be as simple as meeting up for lunch or as big as taking a whole weekend trip with someone.

When you get back to your side hustle, you can dive into it more deeply. But you won’t get so consumed by it that you let your relationships die.

Don’t Sacrifice Sleep

This may be a controversial tip, but I believe you should still get as much sleep as you need. Don’t let your side hustle keep you from resting.

If you don’t get enough sleep, it can affect your performance at work and on your side hustle. That can cause a lot of problems in your life.

Instead, try to sacrifice other types of free time. Maybe it means you eat out one less time per week, or you may go to the movies less. Just keep sleep a priority.

How Will You Balance Work and a Side Hustle?

If you want to make more money, you may need to balance work and a side hustle. Doing so allows you to earn money from your normal job, so you can get other benefits.

However, you don’t have to feel stuck or like you can’t pay your bills. Just make sure you choose the right side hustle for you.

Overwhelmed by everything on your plate? Download Time Management for Busy Musicians!