Juggling a Side Gig While Maintaining a Full-Time Job

Juggling a Side Gig While Maintaining a Full-Time Job via Pexels.com 1. Set limits for yourself. Chances are, youre probably working about 40 hours per week at your full-time job (maybe more). So when you talk yourself into getting a side gig, youre asking yourself to come up with another 20+ hours in your week. That means another four to five hours per day during the week, unless youre going to give up your weekends. I know people who have decided taking a day off is for the birds, and theyre simply going to work seven days a week. But I honestly dont know how those people make it. If youre going to pick up a side gig and try to hold down your full-time job, you have to set your own limits for yourself. Only YOU know what you can handle. So before you commit to anything, make sure you know just how hard you can push yourself. 2. Schedule, schedule, schedule. Before you sign on the dotted line of your new part-time job, think about WHEN, exactly, youre going to work this extra gig. Its in your best interest to develop a weekly schedule of when youll get all your hours in. Maybe youre picking up a job that only requires you to work a few hours on the weekends or at night during the week. You  must  schedule when those hours are going to be. Go ahead and get into your head that youll never have another free Sunday night. Go ahead and tell yourself that Wednesday evenings are for your side gig. Get it on a calendar and post it somewhere you can see it regularly. This is the only way youll be able to hold down a full-time job and a side gig. 3. Have a support system. Your coworkers (at both of your jobs) might end up being the people who help you through the stressful weeks. More than anyone else, they know how hard it is to make ends meet with the job youre working (hello, education!). So theyll be the ones who will truly stand by your side on your bad days, make you an extra cup of coffee when youre dragging, and pulling you together right before your big company meetings. Make sure you have friends and family who will stand behind your hard-working self. When you need some support, youll need people who will be there for you. via Pexels.com 4. Keep things in perspective. Surely youre not working a full-time job thats going  nowhere.  Surely theres a way to move up the ladder. So it wont be like this forever. You wont always have to work a second job. Its temporary. Soon enough youll be making more money than you know what to do with. Dont get too caught up in making sure you bring home loads of money. Simply live within your means and make the best of the situation that youre currently in. 5. Live within your means. If you havent checked yourself, then you might not be living within your means. Why are you having to get another job? Is it your credit card bills or having enough to buy your groceries? Hopefully, you havent found yourself drowning under a huge pile of debt. If thats the case, its unlikely that a part-time gig is going to solve your issues. At this point, maybe its time to move back in with your folks and work your booty off for the next few years. Working a full-time job and trying to hold down a side gig  isnt  easy. Dont let anyone tell you that it is. If youve decided to make this move in your life, make sure you know how youre going to keep yourself going. Create a schedule for yourself, know your limits, keep yourself in perspective, and make sure you have a support system to keep you going on the days you simply dont want to go anymore.