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Side Hustle Schedule: A Week In A Busy Life
I’m SO excited to show what my life is like right now. Like my August 2018 Income Report is the benchmark to compare future income reports, this Week In The Life project will be the starting point I take as I strive to live a freer life through passive income.
Now, as I do still have my 9-5 job, this is going to be a little repetitive, but I’ve got a busy weekend coming up, which is why I chose this week to cover. You’ll get to see how I take what little spare time I have to dedicate to this business, and how you can carve out an hour or two each day to make progress toward your dreams. Really, no matter how busy you are.
Remember what I said in 8 Keys To A Successful Side Hustle. Find time to dedicate to your side hustle and schedule it. Take it seriously. Treat this like your business. That’s the path to success.
And on that note, here is what a week in the life of a busy side hustler looks like.
Side Hustle Schedule: Sunday
8:30 a.m. – Woke up much later than I do during the week, but I was up until almost midnight last night watching ASU football’s 16-13 upset of No. 15 Michigan State, so it’s okay. Spend the next hour lazing around in bed because I’m go-go-go during the week and it’s not like I have anywhere to be today. Also, there’s a cat sitting on my back.
9:40 a.m. – Finally roll out of bed and throw a yogurt bowl together. I usually make it the night before, but that’s doesn’t always happen on the weekends. Stash it in the fridge while I hydrate (one cup of warm lemon water, two cups of fiber water). Hydrating is one of my morning must-dos. Leave a comment at the end of the post and tell me about your morning routine.
10:05 a.m. – Yogurt bowl time!
11:30 – Taking some lazy me-time since it’s Sunday. Like I said, I’m constantly moving and working and hustling every other day of the week. Sunday is for taking it really easy. I get some reading done, nap for 45 minutes. Not the most productive, but I need the recharge.
1:37 p.m. – Lunch time.
2:08 p.m. – Time to open up my Scrivener file that I keep for my QuestFor47.com posts, to work on a post about…why I love using Scrivener. Scrivener-ception anyone?
2:30 p.m. – Get a little stalled on the Scrivener blog post. Going to table it for later and dive into the first few modules of Rachel Ngom’s Impact Blogging Academy. (P.S. One of the assignments is to write out in detail your ideal day. As I go through this post and see what my days are like now, I’m really excited to put together my ideal day, so that way I can have a concrete goal to reach the kind of day I want to have. One day, it’ll be awesome to look back at this and see how far I’ve come.)
5 p.m. – Take a break from doing the IBA assignments to make dinner. X-Men: Days of Future Past is on. Definitely one of the better X-Men movies (Do.Not.Ask me about X-Men: The Last Stand.)
6:30 p.m. – Worked on another IBA assignment during the commercials. It’s very important to me that I take this course carefully and slowly, one module at a time. It’s going to take time and a ton of work, but I know it’s going to be worth it in the end.
7:15 p.m. – Since I joined the IBA, I decided to scale back a little bit on the work that I’m doing on TheFakeRedhead.com. That said, it doesn’t take very long to prep the prompt posts that go up every day, so I’m going to do that while I watch the last 45 minutes of X-Men: Days of Future Past. And this way, I’m not scrambling to do it every night before or even in the mornings between waking up and 6 a.m., when I like to have the post go live.
9 p.m. – Make breakfast for tomorrow and part of my lunch for tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Side Hustle Schedule: Monday
5 a.m. – Alarm goes off. I wake up and go through the emails that came in overnight (99% of them are emails from online retailers, so into the trash they go.
5:05 a.m. (Ish) – Roll out of bed, stumble into the bathroom and put my contacts in. The right one was inside out, so I had to take it out and do try it again #StruggleBus
5:09 a.m. – Time to hydrate and then eat my yogurt bowl! This is when I tend to do some early morning maintenance for TheFakeRedhead.com.
5:40 a.m. – I have a little more than an hour before I have to start getting ready for my day job, so I take this time to get some work done for the website. Every day is something different. Today, I did a little work for a blogging challenge I’m a part of, expanded on a couple of the blog posts I’m working on, and tweaked my home page.
6 a.m. – Bishop has decided it is time for me to play fetch with her. Today’s ball of choice is a fluffy stuffed toy I picked up a few weeks ago. It’s twice the side of her head and she keeps tripping over it when she runs. It’s adorable.
6:45 a.m. – Time to get ready for work. I’ve been getting into listening to podcasts while I get ready. This morning it was the She’s Making An Impact Podcast by Rachel Ngom, Episode 12: How to Create Passive Profits by Using Pinterest Strategically for Your Business with Christina Jandali.
7:15 a.m. – I’m dressed, lunch is packed and it’s time to go to work.
8 a.m. – Clock in for the day.
12 p.m. – Clock out for lunch and to get some website work done. Tried to get some social posts to Pinterest for TheFakeRedhead.com, but Pinterest was glitching, so I’ll leave that for when I get home tonight. Spending the last half hour focused on upcoming posts for Questfor47.com.
1 p.m. – Back on the clock!
5 p.m. – The day is done. Quick run to the market because my refrigerator is basically empty and that’s a problem.
6 p.m. – Finally home. Time for dinner!
7-10 p.m. – Not feeling to hot after work, I take it easy and spend the evening reading for fun. Back at it tomorrow!
Side Hustle Schedule: Tuesday
5 a.m. – Alarm goes off again. Same as yesterday, I delete a bunch of emails, skim a blog post from a fashion blogger I’ve followed for…gosh six or seven years? Then I put my contacts in.
5:15 a.m. – Hydrating and breakfast.
5:40 a.m. – Time for another round of fetch with Bishop while I get some work done.
6:45 a.m. – Getting ready for work to the tune of another one of Rachel Ngom’s podcast episodes.
7:15 a.m. – Time to go to work!
8 a.m. – Clock in for the day.
12 p.m. – Clock out for lunch. Get social posts up for TheFakeRedhead.com while I eat, post to my IBA classmates about the Pinterest breakthrough I had for my Quest for $47 social posts. Then, I start working on the design for those social posts. Keep it simple, y’all!
1 p.m. – Back to the day job.
4:45 p.m. – Clocked out a little earlier than usual so I can make it all the way across town for physical therapy. I may be 28, but I’m still old and broken. Take care of your bodies, we only get one!
5:45 p.m. – Done getting beat up on, feeling much better. And much hungrier. Dinner time!
6:15 p.m. – A few more social posts for TheFakeRedhead.com. Tonight’s project for Quest For $47 is get this week’s post ready to go live tomorrow (which means a little more editing and tweaking with the help of YOAST), and then more IBA homework!
8:45 p.m. – SO much great content and work to come on the website. My mind is buzzing, but I do need to take a little bit of a break, so I’m going to watch Safiya Nygaard’s newest haul video about Amazon return boxes. Her videos are a lot of fun, and a great way to fall down the YouTube rabbit hole, if you have time for that. (I really don’t, but sometimes I try to sneak in one or two).
9:05 p.m. – Time to make lunch and get ready for bed (aka lie down and get some reading done. Took a night off from The Science of Getting Rich, so I need to get back to it with Chapter 12.
Side Hustle Schedule: Wednesday
5 a.m. – Alarm goes off. Getting to the time of year where it’s still pitch dark out when I wake up. 5 a.m. is certainly a lot easier to stomach in the summers!
5:15 a.m. – Hydrating and breakfast, like usual. Routines are important.
5:50 a.m. – Dashed off a quick email to a new colleague from the sports side of my life. College sports is the smallest of small worlds, and even though I’m not in it full-time anymore, it’s important to me to keep those connections. Now to work on some new social posts for the QuestFor47.com Pinterest account.
6:45 a.m. – Getting ready for work to the tune of two of Rachel Ngom’s podcast. I finished off her interview with Chrstina Jandali about growing profits with Facebook groups, and then I started in on the recordings of when she went live in her Pin to Profit challenge from April 2018.
7:15 a.m. – Time to go to work!
8 a.m. – Clock in for the day.
12:40 p.m. – Clock out for lunch. My break was eaten into a little bit because of a noon meeting and an office visit from the Hot Fedex Guy, so I’m shoveling food in my face and getting as much done as I can in the next 20 minutes or so before I have to hop back on.
1:10 p.m. – Back to the day job.
5:30 p.m. – Had to stay late to help my boss get set up for a late meeting. Off the clock and on the way home!
6 p.m. – Dinner and TheFakeRedhead.com social posts, also getting back to work on the new QuestFor47.com Pinterest pins. Thinking about a new opt-in too, which will be soon to come on the blog. (P.S. Getting work done is difficult when your cat is loudly demanding that you play with her.)
9 p.m. – After a productive few hours (and maybe a little bit of it spent chasing Bishop around the dining room table), including a bunch of new Pinterest pins prepped, it’s time to get ready for bed. Read up to chapter 15 in The Science of Getting Rich. I’ll probably finish it tomorrow night.
Side Hustle Schedule: Thursday
5 a.m. – Alarm goes off, like it does every day! As soon as I roll over, Bishop promptly plops down on my lower back. I check and make sure the email that went out to my list went out like it should. Up next, the daily adventure of putting my contacts in.
5:15 a.m. – Hydrating and breakfast.
5:40 a.m. – Time to get to work, before I have to get ready for…work. So much work. (Can you see why I’m usually completely sacked out once I get to Sunday?)
6:45 a.m. – Had a pretty productive hour working on a whole host of things for the website. It was good, but I also know that I need to be better at working on one project at a time.
7:15 a.m. – Time to make that commute across town.
8 a.m. – Busy day ahead.
12 p.m. – Morning flew by. Time to…keep working on other things. I’ve got my social posts up for both websites, and added another section to the blog post I’m going to put up next week (or last week, for those of you reading this now – check it out here. It’s about what college volleyball has taught me about blogging).
1 p.m. – Back to it. That spreadsheet’s not going to fill itself out.
4:45 p.m. – Ducking out for another PT appointment. Cruising down the freeway to the tune of Cher’s cover of Abba’s GImmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!
5:15 p.m. – I spend the next forty minutes getting beat up on. My lower back is killing me, but in a good way.
6 p.m. – Dinner. I was very, very hungry after PT, so it was really me just shoveling food in my face. Very classy.
7 p.m. – Time to watch the replay of a workshop I missed out on being live on because I was on the clock.
8:10 p.m. – Finished the workshop. It was short, sweet, and SO informative. My brain is buzzing with ideas. I have a new project a-brewing! Off to shower to noodle on it. (P.S. I come up with some of my best blogging inspiration while I’m showering. Novel inspiration too. There’s actually a post on TheFakeRedhead.com, called 4 Unique Ways To Get Inspired To Write, that expands on it.
8:45 p.m. – You guys, I am so inspired. You have no idea. But you will soon!
9 p.m. – Still super inspired, and also still need to finish The Science of Getting Rich. Even better, the things I read in the last couple chapters are really going to help with that project I’m working on from the workshop.
Side Hustle Schedule: Friday
5 a.m. – Alarm goes off. Somehow, it’s a little more difficult to muster the motivation to get up and out of bed. I take a few more extra minutes than I usually do, but I don’t have to leave until closer to 9, so it’s okay.
5:30 a.m. – Hydrating and breakfast. Watched a short video about confidence that was posted in my IBA community. My mind is abuzz with ideas, I almost don’t know where to start. (Spoiler alert: you just have to start. Pick one aspect of your project and go).
8:50 a.m. – Had a productive morning, back to PT for another appointment. After that? My day is a GO.
9 a.m. – Time to get everything in my back unraveled. Did you know I carry ALL of my tension in my shoulders? Because I sure do!
10:15 a.m. – Roll up to Arizona State’s campus for the first of six volleyball matches for Arizona State’s Sparky Classic (I’m their statistical. Ever wonder how stat sheets are made? Yeah, that’s me). Time to put my face on and get ready to have lots of numbers yelled at me from all sides.
11 a.m. – Match 1/6: Northern Arizona vs. Arizona State.
1:04 p.m. – Arizona State 3, Northern Arizona 1. No time to work on other things between matches, so I get the next match prepped in the scoring computer (Gonzaga vs. Texas State) and catch up with one of my former colleagues.
2 p.m. – Match 2/6: Gonzaga vs. Texas State
3:30 p.m. Texas State 3, Gonzaga 0. Have some time to kill until the last match of the day, so I hunker down in a quiet corner to get some work done. And also eat my lunch, which I forgot to do between the ASU and Gonzaga matches. That’s been known to happen.
7 p.m. – Match 3/6: Gonzaga vs. Arizona State
9:05 p.m. – Arizona State 3, Gonzaga 1. It was a win.
9:45 p.m. – Time to go home, so I can get back up and do it all again tomorrow.
Side Hustle Schedule: Saturday
5 a.m. – Waking up at 5 a.m. on a Saturday? Waking up at 5 a.m. on a Saturday.
5:30 a.m. – Roll out of bed to fight to get my contacts in my eyes. One of these days, mark my words, I’m getting Lasik. Hydrating, breakfast, and early morning social posts.
7:15 a.m. – Settle in to read more of Rich 20Something. I really like it so far because of how realistic it is. A lot of what he writes about, especially his life a few years ago, really resonates with what I’m going through right now.
7:56 a.m. – Realize that I, as usual, have no concept about how time works, and I was supposed to leave to get back to ASU at 8 and not 8:30. Time to scramble to get dressed. I can’t find any shirts that I want to wear, so this is great.
8:41 a.m. – Make it to ASU, only 11 minutes after I originally planned to be here. Not like the match doesn’t start until 9:30 or that I haven’t been doing this since freaking 2013 and don’t need more than 20 minutes to get prepped and ready to go.
9:30 a.m. – Match 4/6: Texas State vs. Northern Arizona.
11:14 a.m. – Texas State 3, Northern Arizona 1. Have some time to kill, so it’s off to the media room to get some stuff done until the next match.
12:35 p.m. – After eating lunch and after definitely NOT witnessing two of ASU’s coaches stealing sodas from the media room fridge, it’s back to Rich 20Something. I am powering through it so quick that either September or October is going to end up with two Required Reading posts.
1:55 p.m. – As much as I want to get through the last 20 or so pages of Rich 20Something, I need to get back out on the court for match 5.
2:45 p.m. – Match 5/6: Northern Arizona vs. Gonzaga.
4:15 p.m. Northern Arizona 3, Gonzaga 0. I now have just under three hours before the last match of the tournament starts. I devour those last 20 pages of Rich 20Something. Can I mention that I have not read an entire book, cover to cover, that quickly in…years? I used to be a voracious reader, but then, you know, life happened. Getting more reading into my life, both mindset development and fiction, is very important to me, even as I work on these side hustles. Want to see an extensive look at my favorite novels? Check it out on TheFakeRedhead.com.
7 p.m. – Match 6/6: Texas State vs. Arizona State. Winner wins the Sparky Classic.
8:30 p.m. – Texas State 3, Arizona State 0. Not the result we wanted, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
9:45 p.m. – Finally home. It’s been a long weekend and a long week. Going to get a good night’s sleep and then tomorrow I’ll spend the day planning out my vision for the new project from the workshop I watched on Thursday. I’m so excited, it’s going to be awesome.
Be A Side Hustler Like Me
And that’s a week in the life of a busy side hustler. I’m not going to say it’s easy, juggling the things that I do, but I love it and wouldn’t trade it. Everything I’m working toward with QuestFor47.com is going to give me a whole lot of freedom to do what I want, when I want to, and I’m so excited to see what that kind of life brings me.
Are you ready to become a side hustler like me? Download the FREE Blog Startup Checklist, which features the 5 things you need to do before you launch your blog. Not only that, but it comes with 50 ideas to inspire your way to your first batch of blog posts. The rule of thumb is to have between 15-20 pieces of content up before you launch, so get writing!
Don’t forget to get hosting (plus a free domain) for as little as $3.95/month through Siteground. You can read why I choose Siteground to host my websites in my post, 6 Reasons I Host My Side Hustle On Siteground (And You Should Too).
Ready to write an awesome blog post that your audience will devour?
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wow you have a jam-packed schedule!Hard work & dedication is where it’s at 🙂
It’s definitely a wild life, but I love it! (And I got SO much more done that week than I thought! It’s really interesting to see what you do when you’ve written it all down.)
This life is insane! It’s like working two full time jobs! It takes great work ethic to accomplish so much. Kudos to you for keeping some balance in your time for work and fun!
That’s definitely what it feels like! I’m so excited for a time where I’ll be able to look back and really take in how much my life has changed. I know what my ideal day is, and I can’t way to live it…but until then, this works too!
I love the idea of tracking how your day goes. It’s so hard to get sidetracked when you are supposed to be working.
For sure! It’s definitely something I struggle with too. Doing projects like this post really help me to maximize what time I have to work on my side hustle and really get down to business!
Tracking like this is a great idea! It must help keep you accountable (to yourself). 🙂
Exactly! It’s not the easiest process but it’s so important!
Wow! There’s a lot going on! Saturday’s are my one day that I don’t do anything other than travel. I’m often inspired to write on Sundays.
I love using my Sunday’s to relax! I do get some writing done too, but it’s my best reset day! You always have to have one!
Talk about accountability. Way to keep the details and find out how you are keeping track of your time.
Thanks! It was a lot of fun to see how things went that week!
Living the same schedule. Teaching full time and blogging on the side. One day, I hope it will be flip flopped!!
Right? That’s totally the goal! I’m so excited to look back on this and see how much progress I’m going to make!
Whoa! Were you surprised at how many hours you put in once you wrote it all out? You have a jam-packed day!
Yes and no! I know I’m always working on SOMETHING, especially right now and trying to give everything I can to my side hustle while also working a full-time job. I only have so many productive hours in my day, but one day I know I’ll be able to scale back all my “working” time so that I’m only focusing on what really matters! This is step one of an awesome process!
It’s definitely a full schedule, looks like my previous job. Thank you for sharing the other side of “side hustle” and showing that there is more to it than just sitting and waiting for things to happen, we have to make them happen to reap the rewards.
Exactly! It’s about imagining the life I want to live and making it happen. It’s a lot of work now, but I can’t wait to reap the rewards
Most do not understand that it CAN BE DONE! Great job!
Exactly! The only thing stopping you is YOU!
I’m glad I’m not the only one with a crazy schedule! It really is all about squeezing out whatever moments you can.
Exactly! It’s a TON of super hard work now, but I’m going to reap the benefits later!
I love these type of posts – so interesting. Pretty amazing how much you get done on your side hustles in those little pockets of time.
I do what I can! It’s not easy but it’s important to me so I’m making it happen!
Great post!! Like how you tracked your whole day!
Great post Thank you for sharing your day!
You work for my Alma Mater – Go Sun Devils! Yes working full time with a side hustle is not for the faint of heart. Can’t wait to see the next projects you are working on!
It’s really not, but it’s going to open so many more doors for me than I have access to right now and I’m so excited to see where it takes me! Go Devils!
Wow you live a jam packed life but I’m sure you wouldn’t have it any other way. Love how you have a schedule for each day!
My schedule is so important! Keeps me organized, but I know I can take it a step forward!
You have a busy schedule and still manage to work and do what you love. Props to you!
It’s a challenge, but that’s what I have to do right now to live the life I want!
Love your discipline and dedication! You inspire me to forge on. Love it!
Keep at it! You can do it!
You are incredible! Love the dedication, keep it up!!
Thank you so much! I’m not about to stop now!
Intense schedule for sure, but seems like you got it down. I love podcasts to get the day going as well.
Podcasts are so great! I’ve been mainlining through Kathrin Zenkina’s Manifestation Babe podcast the last week or so. She’s amazing!
That’s a busy schedule! I’m impressed by your dedication to time accountability.
Thanks! It’s not easy but I love it and I know it’ll pay me so many dividends down the line!
For some reason, it’s always so interesting to me to read about other peoples’ lives! Loved reading this post!
Glad you enjoyed it! It was so much fun to write and really see for myself all the things I balance!
Wow, that is a busy week. Keep your head up and aim for the goal. That is what I tell myself. Doesn’t always work. lol. Thanks for sharing.
Same here! Just have to keep working at it! This was a ton of fun to write
It definitely takes commitment to be successful in a side hustle! Good luck as you CRUSH it!
Thank you! It’s going to be a ton of fun and I can’t wait to see where this takes me!