So, you started a side hustle! Congratulations! Welcome to the chaos and the feelings of overwhelm and disorganization. Chances are, you feel a bit out of your league, or – at the very least – a bit caught up in the hurricane of balancing home life, possibly another job, and all of the other expectations pulling on you from every direction. That’s a lot of pressure. 

In the beginning, a side hustle may feel more like a burden than an outlet. Don’t worry, things will get better. The sooner you find ways to organize your life, the easier the side hustle – and other aspects of your life – will feel. Taking on something new highlights the areas where we may have gotten lazy or avoided paying attention to important elements of life.

I’ve got two pro-tips for you to use to get your life organized and better accommodate your side hustle. Check these out:

Pro-Tip #1 Outsource and Automate:

Examine your on and off-duty life. What tasks are required to meet the needs of your family and customers? Of these needs, what can be outsourced or automated and free up your time? 

Some common domestic tasks to outsource and automate are:

• Lawn Maintenance
• Housekeeping
• Washing and maintaining vehicles  
• In-home organization 
• Auto bill paying
• Auto purchase and delivery of home goods (think Amazon Pantry services) 
• Auto delivery of medication and pet medications

Some common work-related tasks to outsource and automate are:

• Packaging and mailing products
• Copywriting
• Customer service 
• Bookkeeping
• Website management 
• Auto renewal of memberships 
• Automated invoice management

The key to making decisions about what to delegate and automate lies in determining how much doing an action costs you when you could be doing a money-making activity. If you can pay someone $20.00 to mow your lawn for an hour of time and you can use that time to generate much more income, then outsourcing is the answer. 

Pro-Tip #2 Delegate:

Some things you may not want to outsource. Perhaps having someone outside of your home do your laundry is a no go. Consider delegating tasks. Depending on the ages of your kids, you may have a labor force at hand. Having your family pitch in and participate in domestic work isn’t a bad thing. Sharing responsibilities builds important character traits in children. 

Consider giving chores a price value and allowing your family to “bid” for the job. Layout your expectations and “hire” them to do the work. Teach fundamental skills by critiquing their work and requiring them to put a portion of their earnings into saving to teach tax principles. Delegating can be a wonderful opportunity to free up time for your side hustle and teach important life skills. 

Common domestic tasks to delegate are:

• Meal prep
• Household chores – large and small.
• Lawn maintenance
• Errands 
• Car washing and maintenance
• Pet management

Your side hustle is going to demand attention and if your goal is to take things to a higher level, organization is key. These two pro-tips may seem obvious, but you might be surprised at how much you haven’t been willing to let go of. Take a look at the areas of your life where you can outsource, automate, and delegate and you will begin to feel the pressure lift and the enthusiasm you have for your side hustle increase. 

I’ve created a community with you in mind The Busy 9 to 5ers Hive where employees prepare their escape route starting with my DIY Weekend Planner and Starter Kit. The details are inside.