Working on your side hustle alongside your full time job? It can be difficult to balance both—which is why you’re here. You’re looking for ways to stay organized and on top of your creative work, without letting your full time responsibilities fall to the wayside.
In this guide, we’ve got useful tips and tricks for staying organized as a part time creator so that you don’t neglect your side business or your full time gig.
Let’s get started.
1. Use a planner
Use available tools to your advantage—like a planner or a digital planning tool. This will enable you to properly split up your tasks, create lists, and keep your day-to-day work roles organized.
You can consider the use of a paper planner for organizing your day, like how we see the Day Designer use.
However, there are also a number of online planning tools that can help. Some of these include:
Actively keeping a planner can help you keep up with your side hustle and full time job tasks.
2. Create and stick to a to-do list
Now, use your planner each day to create a to-do list that entails all of the tasks you need to do—both for your side business and for your full time job.
You can either end each day by creating your task list for the next day or do so at the very beginning of your day. Make sure you’re creating a realistic task list for your day so that you’re able to stick with it and not keep pushing things off.
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3. Set specific time blocks for working on your side hustle
Time blocking is a great productivity strategy, but it can also help you find the time each day—or at least a few times a week—to dedicate solely to your side business.
You might choose to get up early on certain days, work on your lunch break, or set aside some evenings purely for your side hustle. Maybe you choose to work on the side business every Saturday after working your full time gig all week.
4. Give yourself extra time to complete projects
There’s always a chance that things will come up that throw your blocks of time off. If you’re completing work for clients/customers, always give yourself just a bit of extra time in order to account for potential delays.
This way, you won’t be missing deadlines or sending products out later than you initially promised. It’s important to stay timely for your customers, so building extra time into your schedule can help—especially as a part time creator.
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5. Create spreadsheets and workflows
Spreadsheets can be a huge organizational tool for any business, especially a side hustle that needs to keep things in order. Anything you need to be able to find at a glance should exist in a spreadsheet.
Luckily, if you’re not well versed in tools like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, there are a number of templates available online for nearly any type of spreadsheet you might be looking for. Conduct a quick Google search to find a starting point.
You can also use a tool like Notion that allows you to create custom dashboards that can help you run your side business.
Many online software can also help you to create workflows and automate minor tasks that need to be completed for your side hustle, further helping you save time and stay organized.
6. Prioritize your tasks based on impact
With limited time on your hands, not every task carries the same weight. A key to staying organized as a part-time creator is learning to prioritize based on impact rather than urgency.
Start by asking yourself: What tasks will move the needle most for my side hustle?
Whether it's creating revenue-generating content, reaching out to clients, or refining a key project, focus on the activities that will have the biggest impact on your growth. By narrowing your attention to the most meaningful tasks, you'll maximize your efficiency without stretching yourself too thin.
7. Create an idea bank
One of the worst things that can happen when you have limited time to work on your business is a creative block. It can make you feel stuck and like you’re wasting those precious time blocks you’ve set aside.
In an effort to combat this, consider creating an idea bank. This will look different based on what your side hustle is, but it could include things like:
- Product ideas
- Video topics
- Social media content ideas
- Article ideas
- Ideas for expanding your business
- New sections for your online course
- Digital download ideas
The list can go on and on depending on what you do and how you market your side hustle. But having a list of pre-written ideas to pull from when you’re struggling to come up with something can be a huge help to keep up the momentum.
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8. Develop templates
Creating templates or starting points can also be a great way to streamline your side business.
For example, if you’re a photographer, creating a template or preset you can use for photo editing can help streamline the process and ensure you have a signature look and feel for all of your photos.
Or, if you create and sell digital downloads, having a set starting point (or at the very least documentation with the fonts, colors, and other design details you use) can be a great way to make the product creation process go faster.
Another way to do this is by creating templates for your blog posts, YouTube videos, or social media posts. By having a set starting point, you can more easily create your content.
Consider some of the processes that you have to repeat over and over again—whether they’re related to admin, marketing, or actively working in your business—and see if you can create templates or starting points that can help make the entire process go much more smoothly.
9. Consider outsourcing
If you’re only a part time creator, you’re likely not making enough to turn your side business into a full time business. So hiring an employee certainly wouldn’t be in the cards.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t set aside some of your income to outsource certain tasks. For example, you may consider working with a virtual assistant to help with some of your admin tasks or communication.
Or, you might enlist the help of a part time video editor, especially if you’re working on increasing the cadence of your marketing videos and you need help to do so.
Outsourcing can be a great way to keep up with the core pieces of your business while also enlisting some professional help with other aspects. Just make sure you’re still bringing in more than enough to cover their expenses.
Stay organized with these tips
Working as a part time creator and balancing everything you need to do for your side business alongside a full-time job can be overwhelming. But these nine tips should help you stay organized and keep up with everything you have going on.
Teachable also has a number of support services and resources to help our creators stay afloat and grow their businesses as best they can.
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