Most of us have a hobby, second job, passion or a commitment outside of our regular jobs. Some of are committed to fitness, some are learning to play an instrument, and some are working on that book etc. and this is what I refer to as our side hustle. Mine is this blog. I started blogging as an outlet to express my self (more on that here) but sometimes balancing a full time job, blogging and trying to maintain some kind of social life can be challenging.
If you are lucky and fortune enough to do what you love and don't have to share time between a place you go to work and your passion, I envy you. For rest of us we have to find a way for more of a balanced life. I follow one very simple rule that helps me balance work with blogging; best part, you can apply these rules to many different situations not just blogging.
Everything in moderation – because, let’s face it, you probably wouldn’t be happy if you over worked and exhausted from trying to fit everything into a 24 hours day, right? Unless you can function on no sleep, and because I am very grouchy with no sleep, I follow a 70-30 compromise.
Since I spend most of my time at my day to day job, and partially since I am very competitive, I like to do well while I am there. I commit 70% of my energy to work and related activities to it. Monday to Friday, I show up, and do the best I can to be effective at what I do.
Weekends which make for nearly 30% of the week, I commit to doing the things I am passionate about. This way I leave work at work and have time dedicated to doing what I love. Its easy to get discouraged and let the pressure/stress/demands of your full time career to influence how time outside of your work time is spent; but following a 70/30 rule makes it easier to balance work and your side hustle.
What do you guys think? Do you follow any rules to successfully balancing your side hustle with your full-time job?
