If you are someone has a job that you aren't looking to leave but want to have something on the side to bring in extra income and joy, you are not alone. And you don't have to give up that steady salary, healthcare package, and other benefits to be a thriving side hustler. When having a full-time job and a side-hustle, it can be exhausting. You usually are burning the candle at both ends, and although there are benefits to the lifestyle, namely security in income, you can burn out relatively quickly. Here are four ways to avoid burnout as a full-time employee and side hustler:
Create and adhere to a schedule, be disciplined
It is very important to establish a routine around downtime. Some people find time to exercise in the morning before work, while others make a beeline straight to the gym after they get out. After the gym you’ve still got to prepare dinner and eat, work on your business, possibly socialize and relax before going to bed and repeating the process the next day.
Creating a schedule will help you establish consistency while accounting for the unexpected, be that an emergency phone call from mom or grandma or a spontaneous happy hour gathering with friends. Schedules can vary from hourly (detailing what you'll be doing each hour of the day) to daily (detailing which days you'll work on your business and which you'll leave free). It’s important to be just as diligent in planning your downtime activities that promote rest and relaxation as it is to plan for being productive.
You have to be disciplined to that schedule for work, for your side-hustle, and also for the time you are setting aside for yourself to decompress.
Establish boundaries between your day job and your business
Some employers will want you to dedicate all of your time and energy into corporate citizenship and might feel threatened by the knowledge that you have aspirations that exist outside of their organization, while others might embrace it. It’s important to know what your employer’s culture is around extracurricular activities, whether or not your projects could be considered a conflict of interest and what your employer’s policy is around disclosing your responsibility as an owner, board member or officer of another organization.
I’ve had both positive and negative experiences with disclosing and not disclosing my extracurricular projects in various organizations and have learned that in the establishment of my personal brand, it’s almost impossible to keep these things from coming up. It’s important not to use company time or resources for your outside projects, but it's equally important to establish boundaries so that you can work on your business after hours.
Understand your “why”
Author Simon Sinek has made a name for himself focusing on the principle of understanding your “why.” Working around the clock is not for the faint of heart. It requires sacrifice, discipline, learning how and when to say “no” and effectively juggling multiple priorities. If making money is the sole reason behind your ambitions as a side hustler, you'll crash and burn — doing harm to yourself, your business and possibly even your performance at your day job.
Understanding your why is what’s going to keep you going on less sleep, more stress and days, weeks or even months of no results. When your why, or your purpose, is aligned to what you do, the fuel you run on is more potent than any double shot of espresso or energy drink. It'll carry you through the bad times and the good.
Get plenty of sleep
It might seem intuitive that sleep be part of your routine, but there are many entrepreneurs, side hustlers, and executive clients of mine that need to be reminded of this. And believe me, I totally get it. There are deadlines you want to meet and goals you have for yourself, and sometimes it just doesn’t feel like there are enough hours in the day. However, if you don’t take adequate time to sleep, you are setting yourself up for exhaustion and burnout. And what'll happen is your body will then make you rest, because it needs time to recoup. Then, you'll spend more time recovering from an illness that came on because you were run down than you would have spent actually resting and getting sleep.
Always remember that YOUR HEALTH should come first whether you work for yourself, someone else, or both.
If you are looking for some coaching to help you accelerate your growth and revenue with your side hustle, contact me here and let's chat.
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