Balancing a Full-Time Job with School or a Side Hustle

Getting a degree or starting a small business, especially while you’re working full-time, poses unique challenges. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Here’s how to manage your time while protecting your physical and mental well-being.

• Accept the challenge. Whether you’re putting more time into your side hustle or working on a degree, it’s going to be a difficult to manage your time while also working a nine-to-five job. That’s the reality, and you’ll go further if you accept it, rather than beating yourself up.
• Sharply define your work time. Clarify the measures of success in your day job and emphasize the tasks that contribute to those things. Minimize as many volunteer commitments, special projects, or extra meetings as you can.
• Establish personal touch points. What commitments are most important to you and your loved ones? Once you determine what’s most important to you, put it in your calendar as a recurring event and try to stick with it.
• Dedicate time to your side hustle or grad school. This will vary depending on your schedule, but times that often work well are morning before beginning your day job, evenings or nap times (if you have children), and lunch hours for easy tasks. Put these times in your calendar as meetings with yourself. If you can decide specifically when you’re working on your side projects instead of feeling like you’re too tired or too busy, you’ll be less likely to put them off.