Most of us know the basic tenets of personal finance. We cut expenses that we hate, like car insurance, cable bills, cell phone bills, and the like. And then we earn more money on the side so that we can spend money without regrets on the things that bring us the most joy. You can only save so much money, but your income potential is unlimited. The problem, however, is that often we try to earn money on the side, and we end up burning out. We lose steam trying to do too much, and we end up being unproductive.
Here are my five tips on how to make sure that you don’t burn out while working your side hustle.
Know Your Limits
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but too many people suffer from pushing their limits. They simply don’t know how to say “no.”
Here’s how to test your limits to make sure that you’re not taking on too much work. First, you will have a good idea of how much work you can do. You know roughly how long each project takes, and roughly how many hours you need to dedicate. So when you’re getting started, take on enough to fill up all the time that you want to work. It will likely be too much. Your second step is the harder one. Second, drop some of your clients. Your business is not going to suffer if you tell a client you can no longer handle their work. Now here’s the catch: they may love your work so much that they’ll be willing to pay more. In this case, keep them, and drop a different client.
Take Time Off
They say that if you have the right job, it feels as though you are never working. Unfortunately, I have found that any time you are doing something that is preventing you from your hobbies, it can feel like work. That means you sometimes actually have to schedule time off.
If you work too long, you actually start to lose cognitive abilities. Studies have shown that we literally become stupider the longer we work. So make sure you schedule time off, such as take Sundays off, and no working past 9:00pm.
Work a Power Hour
In order to get everything done that you need to get done, I am a big fan of the power hour. I wrote about this in the past. You close down all the distractions, and you just work straight for one hour. I find it is easiest to make a list of a few things that I know will take me longer than 1 hour. I then power through as many of them as possible. As soon as my hour is up, I get to take a break.
Eliminate, Delegate, Simplify
When I talked about the power hour, I also talked about Eliminate, Delegate, Simplify. It’s a little saying that my former boss would tell me every time I told him I had too much on my plate. He said for every project, just ask if you can eliminate, delegate, or simplify it. Look back to the “know your limits” section. Eliminating tasks does wonders to reduce stress. Delegation may cost a little bit of money, but if it costs you $50 and saves you 5 hours, isn’t that worthwhile? Simplifying can be as easy as simplifying the household chores, simplifying 2 meals out of the week, or simplifying your vacation plans.
Outsource
Delegation can also be called outsourcing. Big companies have taken advantage of this for years. With incredibly cheap virtual assistants, there is no reason that you shouldn’t be able to outsource some of your administrative duties. Even outsourcing your main work could be an option; you charge $100 for a project, and you outsource it to someone else paying them $70. You make $30 for basically putting person A in touch with person B.
Wrapping it Up
Starting a side hustle is a great way to make sure your financial life is completely intact. But it’s not worthwhile if you burn out shortly after starting it. You may need to cut back on the number of hours you are putting into your side hustle in order to maintain your sanity.
How do you manage your time and prevent burnout?
