Is it any wonder I’m not a criminal?
Is it any wonder I’m not in jail?
Is it any wonder I’ve got
Too much time on my hands?
– Styx
If only we all had the problem of too much time on our hands. Sitting around on barstools talkin’ like damn fools. Alas, few people can do that and still pay the bills.
So when you see all the beautiful people online talking about their side gigs and how they just bought their third yacht from their Google Ad revenue, it’s maddening.
Who has time to do something on the side when you’ve got a day job? Even when you’re off work, when exactly are you going to work on your thing? There’s dinner to make, pets to feed, maybe even kids to take care of, find toilet paper… so, when? After all that you just wanna slip into your comfies, open some wine and chill with your best friend Netflix.
I hear you. Many days end with me and my wife doing exactly that. Yet I still run a custom printing business and have more than a few side gigs. Hey, I don’t even have one yacht, so don’t look at me like that.
So how do I find the time?
Maybe you’ve read about this before and the advice inevitably comes down to something like “Make time.” Hmmm, pithy. Not exactly helpful.
Or maybe you saw yet another instagram meme shaming you about how you’re wasting time watching TV when you could be earning your yacht. Not helpful at all.
I’m not going to do that to you. Glib and pious don’t work here, I fired them from the band. What I am going to do is share some super cool tips that help me a lot. Do I always follow them to the letter? No, because I am human. I do my best, and you can, too.
Schedule It
One of the steps in my Start Me Up side gig starter is about scheduling time to work on your side gig. Yeah, I know. It sounds suspiciously like “Make time.” I wouldn’t do that to you. Here’s what I say in the program:
One of the most important things you can do is to set aside purposeful time for your thing. Like all the other steps you took to get here, it’s about making it clear to yourself and the world that you are actually doing something of importance.
If you try to multi-task this and work it into the chaos of your day, it will feel like fiddling around. Fiddling around doesn’t seem very important. Establishing a scheduled time does, and you will accomplish more if you take your time seriously.
There’s more, but essentially, you’re blocking out little time slots in your day where you only focus on your side gig. Even 15 minute chunks will get you moving ahead.
If you can spend 15 minutes on the toilet hiding from the kids and checking Facebook, you can do this.
Something you like to do
One of the things I’ve noticed that makes people feel like a side gig is going to be just more work is that they choose to do something that’s not a natural fit for them. They read about some online scheme like selling products on Amazon and they hate it. So they don’t do the work because it feels like a slog. Yay, more work. Sign me up.
When you choose something you love doing, that feeds your soul, you won’t have to force yourself to sit down and do the work. You’ll want to do it. And consequently, the money you earn from it will feel crazy good.
*disclaimer: I don’t really think that selling products on Amazon is a bad idea or a scam. It’s just not for everyone (it wasn’t for me). If that makes your heart sing, then go for it!
Stop Self-shaming
Okay, so this doesn’t magically add more time to your day, but it’s important. Listen, you already work hard. Don’t neglect your mental and physical health just for some extra cash. If you’re using your little carved-out chunks of time (like above), you’ll be fine. You can Netflix and chill without the guilt. Go ride bikes with your kids. Take that hike. Go to happy hour.
If you aren’t enjoying your life, what’s the extra cash going to be for, anyway?
These are just three quick tips to help you find time to work on your side gig. If you found them helpful, please share this post with friends.
If you want to dig deeper into creating your side gig, check out my free program on it . It walks you through step-by-step and it comes with a fillable PDF worksheet. Also, there are Rolling Stones references all over the place. Sign up