For solopreneurs with day jobs, it can be very hard to manage one’s daily work-life balance. The difficulty even increases if we were to include the schedule for a side business. So how can you utilize every moment of your day for running a business successfully while working for someone else? Read until the end.
1. Talk to your boss
It somehow sounds kind of counterintuitive to talk to your supervisor about your side hustle. But you can do this right by asking if you can come to work early and have some overtime instead of time-off.
Another smart move is to ask your boss to let you work from home for at least two days per week. This will allow you to save time from commuting and traffic.
2. Side hustle during lunch
How long does one really take to eat lunch? If you finish your lunch early, you’ll have a lot of time to manage your side hustle. Tasks such as checking your emails or messages would be perfect to fight the midday slump after your meal.
This strategy also will help you keep your energy up during the afternoon hours.
3. Outsource
You’re probably managing or starting to build your own website. Don’t do everything yourself. Find a developer to set it up and hire someone remotely to keep it running. When it comes to managing your personal emails or some appointments, you can hire a virtual assistant for that.
At the end of the day, you’ll be left with most work done. Then, the only thing you’ll need to do is think about new marketing strategies to expand your business.
4. Prep your meals in advance
Cooking for ourselves takes a lot of time. If you have a fridge, then good for you. You can cook one big meal and divide it for the entire week. Cook a week’s worth of breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the weekend.
Put them in separate day-labeled containers. You’ll be saving a lot of time as you’ll just take the cold food out of the fridge and heat it in the microwave oven. During the wait, you’ll also have a lot of time to work on small side hustle tasks.
5. Make a “One Touch A Day or Week Only” policy
Another way to use your free time efficiently is to lump your side hustle tasks and do them in one go. Managing your emails? Read them all and respond to them at the same time. Then close your email tab.
Or, when managing your remote team, schedule a meeting with all of them instead of contacting one by one. Then, discuss all the urgent issues as quickly and effectively as possible. Always aim to finish all that’s needed so you’ll no longer discuss again the next day. Then use that free schedule of the next day for other important matters.
6. Utilize your fringe hours
During your drive or commute to work, use those moments to listen to your favorite business podcast. If you’re on the wheel, you can record the podcast using your phone. You can also use Google’s speech-to-text or Speechnotes for an auto-transcription.
If you’re commuting, it’s the perfect moment to take down the podcast’s notes yourself.
7. Work overtime
I don’t mean that you’ll work overtime on your day job. I meant you should stay a little late at your workplace or the nearest coffee shop to work on your side hustle undistracted. This strategy is very useful because you’ll avoid being swept up with your house chores leaving no time for your side hustle at home.
The key to making time for your side business is to train yourself on how to avoid relaxation and procrastination. Do all your day job’s tasks and home chores by bulk in the fastest and most efficient way possible. When you have no work to be done anymore, use that free time to your free hustle.
