How To Make Time For Your Side Hustle (9 Steps)

Having a side hustle sounds exciting until you realize how much extra time you have to put in to make it work. If you’re employed full-time, chances are you don’t have a lot of extra time on your hands to dedicate to your side hustle. So how do you make time for your side hustle?

In this blog post, we will go over multiple steps as to how you can make time for your side hustle, without sacrificing your full-time job.

Step 1: Get Organized

The first step to making time for your side hustle is getting organized. This means setting a schedule and sticking to it. Figure out what days and times work best for you to work on your side hustle, and make sure to block off that time in your calendar.

This is very important, if you don’t do this you’ll never reach your goals.

Step 2: Time Blocking

The second step is similar to the first, in that you need to set a schedule. But this time you need to be more specific. Time blocking is when you take your daily schedule and break it down into smaller chunks of time, and then assign a task to each chunk.

When I first started this blog, I had a very hard time focusing for long periods of time on what I had to do. Until i read the book “Deep Work” by Cal Newport, and he talked about time blocking. I decided to give it a try, and it worked like a charm!

An example would be to set a timer for 60 minutes and at the end of that set aside 20 minutes to mess around and go on social media or take a break. This will help you to focus better when you are working, and also give you a chance to rest.

Step 3: Set Priorities

The third step to making time for your side hustle is setting priorities. This means that you need to figure out what is the most important task that needs to be accomplished each day, and make sure that gets done first.

For me, the most important task is usually writing blog posts. So I make sure I get three blog posts done every day before I start working on anything else.

Step 4: Wake Up Early

The fourth step to making time for your side hustle is to wake up early. This means setting your alarm clock for an hour or two earlier than you normally would and using that extra time to work on your side hustle.

I know this can be tough, especially if you’re not a morning person. But trust me, it’s worth it. I’ve been waking up at 5 am every day for the past year, and it’s made a huge difference in my productivity.

those extra three hours per day of work add up to an extra 15 hours per week, or 21 hours per week if you work every single day. That’s a lot of extra time to get things done!

Step 5: Learn To Say No

When you don’t have a side hustle, it’s easy to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. But when you have a side hustle, you need to learn to say no.

This is because there are only so many hours in the day, and you need to make sure that you’re using your time wisely. If you’re getting invited to a lot of social events, or you’re being asked to do a lot of favors for people, learn to say no.

Even if you’re used to going to lunch with friends a lot, it’s time to start saying no. You can still see your friends, but you’ll need to do it less often to get your goals accomplished.

Step 6: Delegate and Outsource

If you’re trying to do everything yourself, you’re never going to make time for your side hustle. delegation and outsourcing are key.

Delegation means giving tasks to other people to handle. This could be hiring a virtual assistant, or asking a friend or family member to help you with something.

Outsourcing means hiring someone else to do a task for you. This could be hiring a graphic designer to create an ebook cover, or hiring a social media manager to help you grow your Twitter following.

This becomes great to do especially when money starts coming in. You can start to reinvest in your side hustle by hiring people to help you.

Step 7: Set Some Time Aside For Learning

Side hustles are never set in stone.

The google algorithm changes and bloggers’ traffic drops.

Social media platforms add and remove features.

You will never know everything there is to know about your side hustle. But that’s okay, because part of the fun is learning new things and growing along the way.

Set some time aside each day or week to learn something new. This could be reading a blog post about SEO, taking a course on Facebook ads, or attending a networking event.

The more you learn, the better you’ll be at your side hustle. And the more time you have to devote to it.

Step 8: Take a Look At Your Phone Screen Time

You may feel as if you have zero time to do anything. That’s until you look at the amount of time you spend on your phone. If you don’t spend much time on your phone this isn’t directed at you.

I was surprised to see I had spend 6 hours on my phone in a single day. Since then I’ve used that time more wisely and directed it more towards my side hustle!

Step 9: Venture Off Into Different Side Hustles

Once you get to the point where you can outsource the majority of the tasks for your side hustle, you’ll have more time on your hands. And that’s when you can start to venture off into different side hustles.

Let’s say you started a blog and it’s making income pretty passively. Maybe it’s time to start a YouTube channel or launch an ebook. The choice is yours but you could always start small with just one new side hustle.

You could also use this extra time to start working on your long-term goals. If you want to eventually quit your day job, this is the time to start planning and saving up for that.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to side hustles.

Conclusion

There you have the steps to making time for your side hustle. These are all things that I’ve personally implemented in my own life, and they’ve made a huge difference.

If you’re struggling to find time to work on your side hustle, give these steps a try. And if you have any other tips, please share them in the comments below!

I hope this has helped, and I wish you all the best of luck with your side hustles! Take a look at our other most recent blog posts below:

How To Make Time For Your Side Hustle (9 Steps)
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