Making time for your side hustle

Surely I can’t be the only one who is juggling the demands of life? I work full time, I have my own home to run, I have a social life I should make more effort with. Oh, and to top it off I also have a blog. Which is as demanding and as time-consuming as the full-time job. Would I change anything? No. When I started this blog back in 2012, I had no idea it would become more than just a hobby. But these days it’s common to have a job and a side-hustle, right?

It can just sometimes be a struggle to balance it all. But I love my job. I love my blog. And I love my home, friends and family. But making time for your side hustle is a tough balancing act. With six year’s juggling experience under I belt, I thought I’d share some of my tips of how I *just about* balance it all.

BALANCE IS KEY

I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise to most people but the only way to make time for your side hustle is to find a balance. Sacrifices are a given. You can’t run a blog full-time and work full-time while still giving the other areas of your life the attention they deserve without sacrificing something. And for me, those sacrifices have come in the form of MANY evening’s and weekend’s spent working on my blog and not seeing my friend’s or family.

For me, that just wasn’t sustainable, which is why I’ve cut back on the amount I currently blog. I now get to see my friend’s and family more, WHILE still getting to produce the content I’m excited about. I still work on the weekend, but now I dedicate one day to blogging and one day to having fun. Because we all need at least one day off a week!

SET YOURSELF GOALS

It’s easy to become disheartened when you’re just plodding along, trying to juggle it all, without ever thinking you’re achieving that much. Which is why I’m a big believer that setting goals are a must! Whether they are short-term goals, of clearing everything off your to-do-list, or not leaving it to that last minute to schedule your social media content *guilty*. Or long-term goals like working with a particular brand, or hitting a follower milestone on social media. Whether your goals are short-term or long-term, or both, these will keep you motivated to keep working on your side hustle and find that balance that we all need.

DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF

And finally, without going all Jess Glynne on you, don’t be too hard on yourself. I started my blog for fun. It’s a hobby. And it’s something I’ve enjoyed working on and building over the past six years. And something that I hope I’ll continue to enjoy for many more year’s to come. But it’s just that. A hobby. Do I wish it was my full-time career? Sometimes. Do I look at the opportunities that other people achieve and think why am I not achieving more? Absolutely!

But then I have to remember that I’ve spent the past six year’s building my blog and the past 10 building my career to get to where I am today. So don’t be too hard on yourself, your blog is just that, it’s yours. So look at all your achievements and be proud of what you’ve achieved.

Let me know in the comments how you manage to juggle your career and side hustle too. Or just how you manage to juggle life in general!

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