4 Tips for Balancing Your Full Time Job and Your Side Hustle

This post is sponsored by Erin Condren and contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Though I don’t talk about my full-time job much on my blog, my 8-5 is jam-packed as an in-house attorney. One of the many reasons I started Goldwill Digger was to release my creative juices pent-up from years of legal writing and contract drafting. With the additional deadlines and commitments as a blogger, it’s important to balance my full-time job, side hustle, and personal life.

1. Organize and Write EVERYTHING Down. If it’s not written down, it doesn’t get done. I have been a devout planner user since middle school! I am on my fifth Erin Condren LifePlanner™, and the LifePlanner™  has made my  hectic and daunting schedule manageable. With the vertical layout seen above, I divide my day into three sections, personal, blog, and fitness. I record ALL of my commitments, events, deadlines and to-dos pertaining to each area of my life in the appropriate section. Compartmentalizing each area of my day has vastly improved my time management and organization.
2. Prioritize Your Time. Yes, you have as many hours in a day as Beyoncé, but it doesn’t always feel that way.  At the beginning of 2017, I made a goal to work on my side hustle 10 hours per week. I had to figure out where to get these hours, and I was not giving up my sleep. I encourage you to do a self audit and figure out what activities in your life are time suckers. For me, it was mindless television. I cut the cord at the beginning of the year and magically found a few extra hours in my day!
3. Wake Up Earlier. Ew. I know. After months of coming home drained after a full day of work and a workout, I flipped my schedule. Because fitness is important to me, I started working out in the morning a couple of days a week. I commit to myself to wake up early and write it down in my Erin Condren LifePlanner™. The changes to my schedule have freed up a couple of hours after work to focus on my side hustle. Maybe you work better early in the morning, so the few hours before your full-time job are the most productive.
4. Be a Weekend Warrior.  After a long day at your full-time job, how focused and productive are you at your side hustle? If you’re anything like me, you have a good 1-2 hours of focus, and then your brain turns to mush.  I plan my larger tasks for the weekend where I can block 3-4 hours to tackle big projects. I allocate 1-2 hours a day during the week for answering emails, scheduling posts, and promoting content.

Shoes: Sam Edelman (ON SALE!)

 Do you want to take the first step in balancing your life, side hustle or not? Use the coupon code GETSOCIAL15 at Erin Condren to receive 15% off your order! Stay tuned for an Erin Condren giveaway coming to Instagram on Monday! Follow me here!

Are you balancing your side hustle with a full time job? Do you have any tips that work for you? Leave me a comment below.