If you are reading this, you will likely have a full-time job and a side hustle.
Hey there! Looks like you’ve got your hands full with a day job and something extra on the side. Welcome to the club — I don’t think I’ve seen you at the unofficial meetings yet.
Lots of people are juggling a regular job and other stuff — whether it’s a business on the side, family, kids, or another gig. Trying to find time for it all isn’t new, and people are always talking about how to manage it.
Still, that doesn’t make it any easier. Balancing a full-time job with anything else is tough. Add pressure, urgency, or just plain stress, and it gets even harder. Keeping a side hustle going while working full-time isn’t for the faint of heart.
I’ve been doing both for over five years. Maybe I’ve just got the “can’t sit still” bug, but doing just one thing never felt right for me. I’ve learned a lot (sometimes the hard way), and if you’re trying to juggle it all too, keep reading — we’re going to talk about how to keep things steady.
Why balance matters
Finding some sort of balance keeps you sane. Without it, life feels like a mess.
Most people don’t do well when things are all over the place.
Balance doesn’t mean everything is split evenly — it just means you’ve got time for what needs to get done and still have a little room for things you want to do.
Without that, burnout creeps in fast. And burnout? It slows everything down — your job, your side hustle, your health, all of it.
Having a bit of balance helps you take care of the stuff that matters outside of work, like your well-being, your people, or just grabbing a proper meal once in a while. Think of yourself like a Sim — if any one bar gets too low, things go sideways.
When you’re able to keep things somewhat steady, there’s still space for a night out, a quiet bath, or even a weekend away.
Balance doesn’t look the same for everyone, so it’s important to ask yourself:
- What matters most to me?
- What do I like doing outside of work?
- Who’s got my back?
- What am I not willing to skip?
Is balance even possible with a full-time job and a side hustle?
“Balance is not something you seek, it’s something you create.” – Jana Kingsford.
There’s a lot of back and forth out there about whether balance is even real.
Some people say it’s totally doable. Others say something always takes more energy.
Me? I think it’s a bit of both.
You can make more space for balance by planning for it, like booking regular hangouts, taking yourself to brunch, or cooking a solid breakfast each day.
But life happens. Some stuff will pull harder than others. You can’t always control it.
If your kids get sick, your attention shifts. If you’re launching something new, that will take more of your focus. That doesn’t mean you’re off track — it just means you’re human.
For me, balance means it works out most of the time, like 80%. You’ll get pulled in one direction now and then. That’s normal.
But if you can do something differently, that’s where choice comes in. You can choose to make things feel a bit more steady. Balance doesn’t just show up — it takes effort and a bit of planning; you can start with our Ultimate Guide to Financial Planning for Beginners..
Tips for making time for your side hustle while working full time
Now that we’ve talked about balance, here’s how you can actually make more time for your side hustle.
A lot of people don’t really have a time problem — they just haven’t sorted out what matters most or how to use their time better. This doesn’t apply to everyone, but it’s true for a lot of folks.
Here are some tips:
- Schedule time and days
You might not have time every single day after work to work on your side hustle, but that’s okay!
Schedule 2 or 3 days per week and set times like 5 pm- 8 pm, and work!
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing (read my post on all or nothing mindset for help with that).
- Habit track
I sometimes think I am doing particular things more than I really am.
Habit tracking is a good way to track your progress, especially when you’re crunched for time.
You could track:
- Days a week you work on your side hustle
- Days you’ve responded to emails
- Days you’ve done certain tasks (like research, writing, creating, etc)
Don’t forget to track things that don’t work or side hustles to make sure you are still getting some balance! Track your regular workouts, healthy meals, and so on!
- Wake up earlier
This is so obvious! If you don’t have a lot of time to work on your side hustle job outside of your full-time job, wake up earlier!
Even 30 minutes can be very beneficial. That’s 30 minutes you didn’t have before.
- Work in small sprints
After work (or before work), you may not have much energy left in your body.
Set a timer for a short period of time and just burn the candle! Pick one task and just get it done.
When the “sprint” is over, you can decide if you want to keep going or if that’s all you have today.
Even if that’s all you can do, you at least did more than you would have if you waited to do it when you had more energy!
- Outsource
While you can practice good time management methods and try to make more time to manage your side hustle, sometimes there are only a few hours in the day.
Outsourcing some work to someone skilled is also okay!
That may look like hiring a social media person, a creative writer, or collaborating with a website designer instead of doing it all by yourself.
It makes no difference whether you work with a personal trainer versus making your own workout regimen.
- Focus on the needle movers.
Always make sure that you spend time on the tasks that actually make a difference.
People have said 80 percent of your success comes from 20 percent of your actions. It’s called the Pareto principle.
For example, I noticed that focusing on Pinterest was more helpful to my blog than Instagram—particularly when it comes to making money blogging. Conversely, I don’t worry about posting on social media platforms as much as I do getting new pins up!
- Say no
Remember how I mentioned earlier that balance comes in waves? Sometimes you need to refuse a few things to make time for other important things.
You don’t need to go out for dinner with your friends 4 times a week. You can say no to a couple of those. It’s okay not to attend every event or party. Saying no to one menial thing means you are saying yes to another!
Mindset shifts that make life balance easier
How you think about all of this matters just as much as what you do.
Drop the all-or-nothing mindset.
Thinking you need to do something perfectly or not at all? That’ll stop you before you even start.
I used to do this with workouts. If I couldn’t go every day, I thought, “What’s the point?” And then I’d just quit for weeks.
It’s okay to miss days. It’s okay to mess up. What’s not okay is giving up before you give it a real shot.
Be more flexible
A lot of us are stuck on things going exactly as planned. But when they don’t, we freeze up.
Being open to adjusting your plan makes things so much smoother. A missed deadline or a shuffled to-do list won’t stress you out as much if you know how to roll with it.
Redefine what being productive means.
Being busy doesn’t always mean you’re getting stuff done.
If you finish the most important tasks in an hour, you don’t need to keep working just to feel like you “should.”
You already did the thing — that’s enough!
Your side hustle and full-time job are already keeping you moving. Don’t pile more on just to feel like you’re being productive.
In conclusion
Balance isn’t always easy, but it’s something you can work toward.
Ask yourself: How badly do you want to make time for your side hustle? Are you willing to skip things that don’t matter as much? Can you wake up a bit earlier or hand off work when needed?
Juggling both a full-time job and a side hustle is hard. Anyone who tells you it’s easy is lying.
But if others can do it, so can you. Not every day will be perfect, and that’s okay. Keep showing up and adjusting your mindset as you go.
If you’re doing both right now — I’m right there with you. I believe you can do it!
So tell me… what’s your side hustle? Or what do you wish it was?
Michael Adams is a professional finance writer with a focus on tax education, budgeting, and personal finance. His goal is to make income tax topics clear and practical for individuals and entrepreneurs.