Mastering The Job Juggle

So, you’ve been cheating on your job-job with your sneaky side hustle. You sly fox, you!

And if you’re not, well you’re here, so we’ll bet our bottom dollar that you’re entertaining it. Or just really love reading insignificant articles on the internet. Weird flex, but okay.

There’s a whole bunch of reasons you might want to two-time your nine-to-five:

• You want or need to earn more money. Duh. 
• You want to transition to freelance (psssst - here’s how)
• You’re a badass who just wants to make more bank and save faster 
• You’re trying to further develop your skills, either within a completely different industry, or because your job is opportunistically limiting

Whatever your reasons are, you’re going to want to get there with your sanity, health, and current job intact. Here’s how. 

FOUR TIPS TO SURVIVING MOONLIGHTING 

1. Check your current job policy

Some employees are anti-moonlighting because it poses the risk of you slacking at your actual job - and some are chilled, as long as you don’t. Some jobs also don’t want you working with direct competitors or nicking customers during or after your employment. 

Before you hit the ground running at job #2, sneak a peek at your contract so that you know whether or not a second job is a no-no. If it is, have a frank chat with your employer about what the deal is and reassure them that your freelance work wouldn’t impact your current job. 

We like to think most bosses are cool, down-to-earth peeps who would respect your transparency and be able to reason with you on a human-to-human level. 

And if they don’t? Swap their office mayo with yogurt. #SorryNotSorry

Find the right jobs

In this case, size really does matter. There’s only so much you can take on, and if you don’t have clients lined up already, you’ll need to find ones that have the right size jobs with the intensity level and flexibility you need. That’s where we come in. Chat to us about the amount of capacity you have and what you can realistically take on, and we’ll keep an eye out for those gigs specifically. Not much point taking on additional work if you can’t deliver. 

2. Beat the burnout

You’re doing two jobs at once - two! That’s pretty wild - and you need to look after yourself properly now, more than ever. Especially if you don’t want to get to the point where you gooi your laptop into the ocean or decide to cut yourself a fringe after too much wine. Yikes.

Here’s how. 

• Look after your body 

You’ll be getting less sleep, though your body actually needs more. You’ll probably be eating worse (especially if it’s more convenient), when you need more nutrition. You’ll probably be drinking more coffee to get through more work, which might impact your sleep or quality of sleep (depending on when you drink it). 

Annoying self-care admin really goes a long way in terms of making sure you can focus, be productive, and not spend three hours on something that normally takes one hour. In summary, the best way to beat potato brain and cranky vibes is just good, wholesome food, exercise, and eight hours of zzzzzz. Go on. Make mom proud. 

• Manage your stress

One job is hard enough to navigate - so adding another to the mix is stressful as heck. Find an effective way to give stress the ol’ middle finger: whether that’s by taking up yoga, meditation, or lots of hot baths while listening to Marvin Gaye. You can’t work effectively if you’re a bundle of nerves. Plus you’re doing that weird twitchy thing with your eye again. Stop. It’s freaking us out. 

• Have some fun

Formally block out time for yourself for cool stuff, like hanging out with your friends, or eating out, or going to the movies. If you don’t make time for fun, you’ll become a miserable grumpy work machine that sucks to be around. Byyyyye. 

3. Look after your relationships

You know that friend who always falls off the map when they enter a new relationship? Yeah, don’t be that guy when you start freelancing. You don’t want to be popping up on your friend circle’s WhatsApp group after you’ve been AWOL for 3-5 business months, just to find out they’ve all become scientologists and Karen just got engaged. 

Long story short, if you spend all your time on your work and none on your peeps, eventually they’ll stop inviting you to stuff because they’ll just assume you’re busy anyway. Know where that lands you? (Hopefully) rich, depressed and ALONE. *Sniffles*

Oh, and don’t forget your boo thang. Chat to them about taking a second job, and warn them that you’ll be preoccupied. Make time for date nights and give them mad snugs to make up for it. 

In conclusion: it’s easier to find other ways to make extra money than it is to find new friends or a new relationship.

Aaaand that’s about it!

Taking on additional work is an awesome way to make extra cash dollar or transition into freelance (if that’s what you’re after), but at the end of the day, your wellbeing is what’s most important. Unless you have to work two jobs just to meet the bare necessities (thanks capitalism), putting your health first should always be a priority, even if that means taking on smaller jobs and less work. 

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We’re here to help you get the right jobs for your capacity and goals, so hit us up for a chat whenever.