Time is a very important resource but which becomes scarce when you have more tasks to do. For side hustlers, time can become even more scarce as you work to earn extra income or grow a side business while holding on to the stability of your full-time job.
Focused side hustlers will find that their extra work takes up a majority of their free time and family time. So how can you become more efficient while still making progress and bringing in extra cash?
With proper time management hacks, you can make building your side business more sustainable long-term. Here are 5 time-management tips and strategies to get started with.
The Eisenhower Matrix
Ever feel like you’re bombarded by a ton of tasks and have no idea where to start? The Eisenhower Matrix helps you prioritize your tasks according to urgency and importance. Once that is done, you can start by completing the most urgent and important task. If there are a few items that are important and yet not urgent, you can do them later.
Urgent and unimportant items can be delegated. Anything that is neither urgent nor important should simply be deleted from your to-do list.
Being Productive On the Commute
If you’re constantly moving, think about what you can do on the go. Can you tap into Wi-Fi on a train or airplane ride? Can you listen to podcasts while you’re at the gym or driving to pick up your kids from school? Maybe you can check social media and send a few short emails while you’re in a waiting room at the doctor’s office.
Having downtime is great, but if you’re overwhelmed and have a tight schedule, it may make sense to optimize this time to get more done.
Chunk your Time With Block Scheduling
If you can divide your time into distinctive chunks, you will be able to finish similar tasks at the same time. That can help you get better and quicker results. If you haven’t tried block scheduling yet, you might want to consider it. Instead of working off a to-do list, you’ll focus on using different time blocks throughout the day to work on what you can.
You can set aside a specific day to respond to all your emails and a different one to create posts for your social media pages. With one group of tasks at a time, you will be more efficient and productive, all at the same time.
Get Exercise While on a Day out With the Kids
Most busy adults say they can’t exercise because they don’t have the time. As a serial side hustler, I completely understand that working out can seem almost like giving up revenue and productive time that could be spent working. However, exercise is important. It can help refuel your energy, improve your mood, and maintain your health
If you’re a parent with kids in activities consider becoming more productive during those short hours. As you help your kids practice their favorite game, why don’t you also exercise? It could be as simple as walking around the field during baseball practice.
Wake Up Early
Regular readers of the Calendar blog know all too well about our love for being an early riser. Morning people get more done on average so if you side hustle, you want to start becoming an early riser.
Start going to bed earlier by implementing a nightly routine, then motivate and train yourself to slowly start getting up earlier. If you wake up before everyone in the house, you’ll find that there are fewer distractions and you can knock a few tasks out before even heading to work.
Ready to supercharge your side hustle AND free up precious time? Let us know what you do to manage your time better.
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