How to Fit a Side Hustle into Your Busy Schedule

It’s no secret that as you are working your way out of debt one of your most limiting resources is money.

I’m currently working my way out of $18,000 of  credit card debt and student loans and I know I think about money way more often than I probably should, like 200 times a day. (Okay, maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.) Money helps me make all of my life’s decisions right now, from what to buy at the grocery store and what to eat at home, to what I do on a Friday night, usually I just spend my Friday night working. Money is definitely one of my most limiting resources right now.

But what you may not know is that my next most limiting resource is time.

Between working a full-time job, a part-time weekend job, spending time with friends and family, working out projects at my house, and everything else life brings my way, it has been difficult to find time to fit in my side hustle.

My side hustle is freelance writing and blog management. It’s something I love and I’m so glad I have the opportunity to do what I love and make money via my side hustle. But nevertheless, it can still be hard to have time to fit everything into my busy schedule, including my side hustle. Here’s how I make it work in my life.

Choose Your Side Hustle Carefully

Technically, I have more than one side hustle. My part-time job could be considered a side hustle, and I also sell cosmetics out of my home. But my biggest side hustle is my freelance writing and VA business. It makes me the most money but it also takes up the most time out of all of my side hustles.

When choosing a side hustle, you should carefully consider a few factors, like how much money you’ll make, how much money you’ll spend to operate your business, how much time your side hustle will take up, and finally how much you’ll be making for the time you invest in your side hustle. That last one is probably the most important as you don’t want to take on a side hustle that takes a lot of time without much financial return.

Another consideration when choosing your side hustle is wether or not you get to set your own work hours. With my cosmetics business and my online work, I’m able to work at my own pace and whenever I have free time. But with my part-time job I have a set work schedule, which can be a detriment.

Set Deadlines and Use a Calendar

Once you’ve chosen your side hustle, you should set deadlines and keep a detailed calendar with all of your events on it. I use Google Calendar to track all of my events, like meetings at my full-time job, deadlines for my freelance business, my work schedule for my part-time job, and my social events with friends and family. Without out my calendar and set deadlines, there’s no way I’d be able to balance all of my activities without letting something fall through the cracks.

Get Up Earlier

Ok, so this one is something I still struggle with. Getting up earlier in the morning is a great way to get a jump on your day. You can either utilize your early morning hours to work on your side hustle or to do other routine tasks that often take away from your work time in the evenings, like washing clothes and doing dishes. Personally, I’m not a morning person so I know I can’t focus on writing detailed blog posts in the m ornings, so instead when I have extra time in the mornings I focus on doing routine, mindless tasks around the house. This allows me to have uninterrupted work time in the evenings so I don’t have to stop writing when I’m on a roll to change the laundry or wash dishes for supper.

…Or Stay Up Later

Some people REALLY aren’t morning people and that’s ok. Instead they may opt to stay up later to work on their side hustle and other life tasks instead.

My side hustle is essential to my plan for getting out of debt, but I still don’t want to spend all my time working. So I use these tips to help fit everything into my life and still have some fun too.

How do you fit a side hustle into your busy schedule?