‘Time-chunking’ and great design … side hustle experts give their tips for success | Stand Out By Design

The side hustle has become central to modern life. almost 50% of Britons have a side job, with nine out of 10 “side hustlers” who are under 34 planning to turn that job into a full-time business. But balancing your side hustle with your day job can be difficult for even the most skilled multitasker. So, here are some tips for managing multiple gigs without annoying your boss or co-workers

Divide during cross-fertilization
Try to look at your day job as a source of inspiration and insight, not as an obstacle to your side job. Your life will seem more consistent and less exhausting.

And perhaps counterintuitively, the cross-enrichment of inspiration can help you focus better on each gig.

Award-winning chef Reshmi Bennett from Surrey works Anges de Sucres Bakery alongside her side job – publishing children’s prescriptions to inspire them to be creative in the kitchen. After starting her bakery in 2011, she has been juggling both since the pandemic. “I started writing stories during the lockdowns thanks to the free time and started selling them on Amazon.

“Between the two can be challenging, so I compartmentalize and plan as much as possible. When I’m at my “day job” I’m completely focused on fulfilling the bakery’s orders and the needs of the customers. I also try to take everything I learn in the bakery — things like recipe testing, for example — and apply it to my side job, which helps keep both going at a pace I can realistically manage.”

Work smarter
Emma Thomson, from Romford, Essex, worked as a medical secretary for the NHS while she was getting fit jewelry business in his lunch breaks – juggling the two for six years before eventually going solo full-time. “I started the business really by accident,” she says. “I started making jewelry as a way to deal with anxiety and depression, and slowly people started asking where they could buy it.”

Her best advice? “Reduce your hours [in your main job] where possible. Instead of the standard eight-hour day, I worked 10 hours three days in a row in my NHS job. Although they were long days, it meant I had four full days to focus on my own business and could take a day off if needed. This reduces tiredness, stress and fatigue immeasurably. Scheduling and automating social media content also helped a lot as I didn’t have to physically be ‘on’ social media at all.”

Strengthen your visual identity
Cultivate a strong visual identity for your work and your side hustle. Whether it’s an internal presentation to your team or a social media post to promote your side hustle, applying strong design skills will strengthen your personal brand. Improved design skills will benefit your job and your side job – the skills you develop for one up your game for the other. This is where apps like Adobe Express come in, making it intuitive and easier to create great content.

Export where possible
Running a family bus company alongside a women’s herbal tea business could hardly require more diverse skills. That’s where good organization comes in, says Candace Mason, of Tring, Hertfordshire, whose side hustle is Mother Cup. “Because the two businesses are poles apart and operate in such different ways, I practically lead my life on Trello, an online project board. Having things like a simple calendar and booking system is a game changer. It’s the same with outsourcing – bookkeeping, for example, is one task that’s best left to someone else, giving me time to focus on what’s important to driving the business forward. I think the best thing is to quickly accept that you can’t do everything.”

Stick to the schedule
Leanne Alston, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, runs her own private company psychotherapeutic practice while working full-time for the NHS as a manager in a mental health team. The schedule is her savior in all aspects of life. “I make a schedule for each week and I always stick to the plan, not the mood – you won’t always feel like working, exercising or even washing, but you’ll always feel better when you’ve done it.

“I write a weekly schedule where I note my nine-to-five role and sleep patterns. After that, I play with the time that remains to make room for private client meetings, sort out social media, exercise, see friends, and catch up on personal work. Some days I have to be quite specific and others are more fluid because I’m less busy. I appreciate visually seeing my weekly plan written down because it removes the clutter from my mind. My other recommendation is to make sure that wellness is a priority. Neither the nine-to-five nor the side project will work successfully if well-being is not number one.”

Stay the same person
We’ve all been told to use our “authentic selves” at work. Whether this is wise is debatable – it probably depends on whether the person you have at home is the right person for work. But one thing seems clear: having a third person for your side hustle is going to make your life a lot more complicated. So trying to adopt the same persona for both your day job and side job can help simplify this situation – you’ll spend less energy switching codes and be more open to cross-enrichment opportunities .

Try “time out”
Engineer Charlotte Walsh from North Yorkshire started The silicone straw company after struggling to find high-quality reusable straws for her children. “I started the company in 2019. and now I work on it full-time, doing everything from sending orders to complying with the requirements of market traders. Days can be incredibly busy, so breaking down each day’s tasks into chunks (“time splitting”) helps me focus on the most urgent tasks and make significant progress each day, rather than being distracted by incoming emails or more recent requests.”

Be precise
Finally, don’t be the last to enter. Be punctual at work, even if you’re burning the midnight oil. Because if your professionalism slips, you’ll likely waste more time trying to regain trust.

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