10 Practical Tips For Balancing A Side Hustle And Full-Time Job

I started side hustling in college while nannying full-time.

Side hustles helped me earn extra cash, learn new skills, and one of my side hustles eventually turned into a full-time job.

That’s why today we’re talking all about the best tips to balance a side hustle with a full-time job because if you’re like most people, you’re already juggling working full-time or being a stay at home parent. 

After reading this post you’ll learn:

• Actionable tips for balancing a side hustle with a full-time job
• Side hustle ideas to start today
• Benefits of side hustles
• Free resources to start side hustles

Let’s get started! Here are 10 tips for balancing a side hustle with a full-time job.

1. Ask yourself these questions

One of the most important things you can do before you start a side hustle is find out what you want out of a side hustle. Answer these questions below to create a solid foundation for your potential side hustle. 

• Am I an introvert or extrovert?
• Do I want to work alone or with people?
• Do I want to be my own boss or work for someone else?
• Do I want to work remotely or leave the house to go to work?
• Am I looking for a relaxed side hustle or something that takes patience and commitment?
• Do I want to make enough money for groceries or am I looking for something to replace my full-time job?

Now that you’ve answered those questions, you’ll have a better foundation for your side hustle.

People often ask me what side hustle they should start, and it really comes down to your unique preferences and lifestyle. 

You can also read this post to find the best side hustle for you.

2. Create a side hustle and work schedule

Having a set routine and schedule while balancing a side hustle and full-time job is crucial. Without a schedule, you’ll quickly become overwhelmed and you may even give up on your side hustle.

I recommend using a planner or taking advantage of Google Calendar. I personally use Google Calendar and highly recommend it because you can easily make edits and check the calendar from your phone or laptop. Here’s a handy article on time blocking with Google Calendar.

When you create your schedule, write down the hours you work at your regular job. Let’s say you work 9-5pm.

You could then create a side hustle schedule where you work on it from 8-9AM every weekday.

Or you could wake up really early and work on your side hustle from 6-9AM. You could even do your side hustle on weekends only, freeing up more of the weekdays.

Below is an example of a side hustle and full-time job schedule. Let’s say you want to create printables and sell them on Etsy. Your side hustle schedule could look like this. Full-time job: Work a 9-5pm weekday job.

Side hustle: Work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s from 8-9am, Tuesday and Thursday’s from 5-6pm, and Saturday’s from 9-12PM.

This gives you 8 hours a week or 40 hours a month to make money with a side hustle.

3. Use extra time wisely

You may have a side hustle that requires learning about business tactics and earning more money.

If so, I recommend taking advantage of any commuter time in your daily life. If it takes you an hour to drive to work every day, take advantage of this time by listening to podcasts on growing your side hustle or business.

I work remotely so I’m rarely in a car.

However, I walk my dogs every day for an hour or ride my Peloton bike, so I have about an hour to listen to podcasts. 

Recommendations for side hustle podcasts:

• The Side Hustle Nation
• Side Hustle School
• Smart Passive Income

Let’s say you wanted to start a blog and make money from it.

In your free time, you could take a course on growing a profitable blog or learn how to get traffic from Pinterest.

Taking a course or listening to blog podcasts in your free time can rapidly accelerate your growth and side hustle income. 

4. Make self-care a priority

Now that you’re balancing a side hustle and full-time job, you may become overwhelmed or overworked.

This is why self-care has to be a priority. When you give yourself quality time to relax and do things you enjoy without any pressure, it can be a huge stress reliever. 

What does self-care look like for you? Maybe self-care is:

• Reading a book out in the yard under the sun
• Drinking coffee and talking with friends
• Taking a bath and listening to an audiobook
• Playing with your dogs at the dog park
• Using a self-care planner to reflect on your day

This sounds cheesy, but I have a note in my iPhone Notes app titled: Things That Bring Me Joy.

Whenever I’m feeling stressed or anxious, I go to this note and do something that brings me joy. It really works. 

5. Set an income goal

Once you have a side hustle and make money from it, it’s a great idea to create an income goal.

This is exciting and motivating and keeps your brain open to the idea of making a lot of money with a side hustle.

For example, if you’re a Pinterest Virtual Assistant, create a goal to make an extra $500 a month with 1 client.

Or create a goal that by month 12, you’ll have 5 clients and making $3,000 a month with your Pinterest business. 

6. Incorporate family into the side hustle mix

A side hustle doesn’t mean less time with your family or friends. It can actually be the opposite and be an incredible bonding experience. 

Let’s say you’re a flea market flipper.

When you’re out picking up items to flip for profit, you can bring along your friends and family. You can even get the kids involved by having them find a toy to flip on Ebay.

My friends over at Flea Market Flipper make over $100,000+ a year in their reselling business.

They even bring their kids along to flea markets and garage sales and get them involved in the reselling process. So while the parents are making money, the kids get to see entrepreneurship at work and even get to make money themselves.

7. Eliminate distractions

Eliminating distractions is key when you’re balancing many tasks.

When you stay focused, you get all of your work done and your mind is on one smooth flow of work, instead of changing thoughts and tasks repeatedly. 

You can eliminate distractions by:

• Turning off notifications on your phone and laptop
• Use RescueTime to take back control of your time
• Turn off access to sites that are distracting
• Use the Forest app to stay focused and be present

If you’re a freelance writer and working on your laptop, it can get distracting with notifications and the option of browsing the web. I used to have a huge problem with distractions until I got the Productivity Planner.

This planner uses the pomodoro technique, which is where you break down tasks into 25 minute intervals. You work on one task and one task only for 25 minutes, and then you can take a short break and do whatever you want.

Then you start the 25 minute interval again. These 25 minutes are a short enough time to stay on task while getting a ton of work done in a small interval.

8. Take advantage of weekends 

Weekends are gold for side hustlers. Typically, people are off from their full-time job on the weekends, freeing up 2 full days of time for a side hustle. 

Before the weekend even starts, create a list of things you want to do for your side hustle.

By creating a list of things you want to do ahead of time, you’re making the most use of your time.

For example, if you’re earning money as a Facebook Ads Manager, your task list may include things like: 1) Reach out to 5 local businesses 2) Come up with list of 10 local businesses to contact next week 3) Complete 5 lessons in Facebook Side Hustle Course.

9. Create rules and boundaries 

Now that you have less time, creating rules and boundaries is crucial.

How important is your side hustle to you? If you want your side hustle to turn into a full-time business, you need to treat it as so.

If you decided Saturday morning’s are for your side hustle and you wake up on Saturday and don’t follow through, you’re not respecting your time. Would you not show up to your full-time job? Probably not.

If your side hustle is just for fun and you’re only doing it to make a few extra hundred dollars a month, this rule may not apply to you as much. 

10. Ask yourself one final question

Would you pick this side hustle again? Just because you started a side hustle, doesn’t mean you have to stick with it.

Are you not finding joy with the side hustle? Or do you think this side hustle can lead to exactly what you want: financial freedom and a lot of money each month?

Only you can answer this. 

Side hustles to start now

• Sell printables – #1 recommended side hustle for people looking for a low-stress way to earn passive income from home.
• Pinterest Virtual Assistant – Help businesses shine on Pinterest as a Pinterest manager. Create your own schedule, work for yourself, and work from anywhere in the world.
• Sell dog treats – Make up to $2,500 a month selling dog treats with this fun side hustle perfect for people who love dogs.
• Proofreading – Earn $20+ an hour proofreading from home. Be your own boss and set your own schedule.
• Surveys – Make money for answering simple questions. You can take as many surveys as you want and earn up to $5 per survey.
• Bookkeeping – Start your own virtual bookkeeping business and earn up to $80,000 a year from home.

Resources to have a successful side hustle

• Create a side hustle schedule and pick out times you will work on your side hustle. Use a planner or take advantage of your phone’s free calendar app.
• Read the blog post: 30 Best Productivity And Time Management Hacks.
• Set goals. Use a goal setting planner to hit your goals and maximize results.
• Networking. Meet new people at business conferences, conventions, or side hustle groups on Facebook.
• Get rid of distractions. Use a time management timer to eliminate distractions and stay focused.
• Read books on boosting productivity and time management. 
• Increase skills when you’re working out or walking the dogs. Listen to podcasts on how to excel in the particular side hustle or business you’ve chosen.

Final Thoughts

What’s your best tip for making money with a side hustle while balancing a full-time job?

Related articles:

• How I Make $10,000 A Month With These Side Hustles
• 10 Side Hustles For People With Less Than 5 Hours A Week

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