How To Effectively Navigate Your Side Hustles

With the world of work being ever-changing, it’s not unseemly to see more and more people delving into more than one job. From working a full-time job with a part-time job on the side to freelancing and setting up businesses, side hustles are becoming the perfect way for people to dabble in basically whatever they want and earn some extra money along the way!

A side hustle, technically speaking, is a type of employment that you take alongside a full-time job. It can come in the form of freelance work, an extra part-time job, working online or working on your own business and passions. With a side hustle, you normally have the freedom to dictate to a certain degree how much time you want to put into it and how you want to navigate it around your full-time job. With working styles and expectations becoming more flexible as more people are working from home, the opportunities to have a side hustle and create another source of income for yourself is most definitely an option. 

Passive and active income

Side hustles can provide a great way for you to explore a particular career avenue or interest without quitting your primary job completely. Being an entrepreneur is not a way of working that everyone prefers. Some people enjoy the dabble and flexible nature of having a side hustle and still being able to rely on the stability of a full-time position. On the flip side of the coin, some may turn their side hustle into their full-time job.

(Image: Statista)

Statistics show that there are more than 7.5 million workers in the US who hold multiple jobs and in the instance of this statistic it is regarding active income. Active income is when your income is received for performing a service. Think about it as actively working, you get paid for the time worked. Passive income on the other hand is a form of income where it’s not derived from you actively. This could come in the form of investing or rental from a property.

Both of these types of income could technically constitute a side hustle, but generally, we refer to an active income when speaking about them.

Your goals, what is important to you?

You may or may not have a side hustle already, but if you’re thinking of starting one or have started one, it’s always good to regroup and think about what your goals are. The temptation can often be to take on too many things and then not actually reaping the benefit of what you’re doing. So by setting goals and finding out the reason why you want to do a certain side hustle can help give you some perspective on your career. 

A great way to try and make sure you’re navigating your side hustles in alignment with your goals is to establish what you want out of them. Is it experience, is it extra money or is it the opportunity to launch your own business, this is a good place to start when getting your side hustles or potential side hustles in order.

Plan ahead and navigate your side hustles

The organisation is key when it comes to side hustles,  ensure that you’re timetabling yourself well and make sure your primary income isn’t compromised when navigating a side hustle. It’s great to grind and use your working from home opportunities to accommodate for extra jobs, but you don’t want it to take away from your performance at your full-time job. It’s vital that you are meeting your company’s standard before you even consider taking on an extra side hustle. 

There can be costs when it comes to establishing side hustles for yourself, whether you are starting a side eCommerce hustle or simply investing in educating yourself about something, you want to rationalise your spending. Are you buying the equipment for something that realistically you’re going to give up after a month? Don’t get yourself into a financial tizzy for the sake of a side hustle that you’re not that passionate about.

Make sure that you’re taking care of yourself, make sure you’re getting enough sleep and factoring in time to have a social life. It can get addictive when you are navigating multiple side hustles, but remember to enjoy life too!

Think about how you’re using your income from your side hustles. You might be in the infancy of starting a new business outside of your full-time job, but is it really a necessity to have the latest desk chairs and swanky computers at the beginning. A mistake that is often made is spending too much too soon. Work within your means at the start and your work will speak for itself, you could repurpose that cash in something that your customers or client will benefit from instead.

Time Management is king when it comes to side hustling. Remember you’re navigating your full-time job, so you need to make sure you’re setting aside time to do what you need to do as well as time for yourself. Try techniques like the Pomodoro technique to maximise your time. 

Revisit your goals and focus regularly. This will keep you on the right track and make sure that your actions are direct and in alignment with what you set out to do. If you wanted to take on side hustles as a way to make more income but actually you’re losing it, it might be time to rethink that certain side hustle, if you wanted to refine a skill but actually can’t find the time to do it at the current moment, plan for a time when you can.

Final and arguably the most important, when choosing a side hustle make sure it’s something that is worth it! Is it helping you in the long run with things you want to achieve? Is it something you enjoy? Consider your side hustle as the time you are investing in yourself so think clearly and wisely when you do so, there’s nothing worse than giving your precious time for something that might not be worth it to you.