Almost everyone wants to find ways to make more money. It’s only natural, as making more money may allow you to:
- Pay off debt
- Travel more
- Retire early
- Stop living paycheck to paycheck
- Afford the things you want in life
- And more!
One of the things that usually stops people from making more money is a lack of time. However, making more money and managing side hustles all depends on how badly you want it.
Some people may not want it as badly, and that’s fine. However, excuses won’t help you, so if you really want to make more money, then you will have to find more time in your day.
Just think about it: What do you think you could do with an extra 5-10 hours, or even more, each week?
Whether you want to transform your side hustle into your full-time career, want to make more money to tackle a financial goal, or something else, finding ways to make more money can completely change your life.
While I don’t side hustle any more, I am always looking for ways to increase my income. Before, I used to side hustle, work a full-time job, attend college, volunteer, and more. Now I mainly just focus on my business and managing a comfortable work-life balance.
Related:
- 75+ Ways To Make Extra Money
- 10 Ways To Make Money Online From The Comfort of Your Home
- How I Earned Over $300,000 Blogging in 2015
- 11 Ways You’re Wasting Time And How To Change
Whatever it is that you are trying to balance, below are my tips for finding time to make more money.
Be realistic about how much time you have
Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, but others may be more limited than others. I understand that different situations can make a person quite busy. In the end you always need to be honest with yourself about how much available time you have to make more money.
You don’t want to run yourself ragged, forget about the things that truly matter in life, hurt your work performance, and more.
However, many people do have extra time in their days but just don’t realize it. For one week, I recommend keeping track of the time you spend on various tasks and see how much time you waste.
You’ll most likely be very surprised and learn how to find extra time to make money.
Wake up earlier
When I had my day job, I would usually wake up around one to two hours before I had to start getting ready for work. I would use this time to work on my side hustles, which included replying to emails, brainstorming ideas, managing my blog, finding mystery shops, and more.
Sometimes, waking up early was rough, but it was nice to get everything done before I went to work.
If you’re not a morning person, you can always try to fit in time before you go to bed. Often I would even work on my side hustles for a few hours before I went to bed.
If you spent two hours every day before you went to work, you could put 10 hours each week towards your side hustle ideas.
Related: 9 Tips To Wake Up Early & Why It Feels So Good
Get rid of time wasters
I want you to do something right now. Yes, right at this moment!
Take a moment and really think about how much time you waste watching TV and browsing social media.
According to Neilsen statistics, the average person in the U.S. spends 40 hours each week watching TV and movies. Plus, according to AdWeek, adults spend nearly two hours every day on social media. For teenagers the amount of time increases dramatically, to nearly 9 hours a day!
That is an enormous amount of time being wasted.
Use short gaps in your day wisely
Everyone has gaps in their day. This could be a gap before you have a meeting, a gap between your day job and night classes, a gap before you have to pick up the kids from school, or something else.
Maybe you have 30 minutes or an hour. Most people will just plunk down on the couch and watch TV or browse Facebook. However, you should find ways to wisely use these gaps in your.
Multitask correctly, if you can
You may want to try to multitask, as long as it does not decrease the quality of your work or cause you to waste more time.
Some examples of easy and productive multitasking include:
- While I am cooking a meal I work at the same time. Instead of just standing and making a meal, I use the little breaks I have to work. Or, I may even use that time to do short exercises, such as lunges, sit ups, squats, and more.
- If you are on the phone and on hold, you could do something while you are waiting, such as creating your grocery list, short workouts, finishing up an email, and more.
- Do all of your errands in one trip instead of spreading it over a longer period.
You do want to keep in mind that some people are good at multitasking, whereas some are not. There is proof that multitasking can actually result in you wasting time, because it can take time to get yourself ready every time you stop and start a task.
I recently read something that said whenever you start and stop a task you waste at least 25 minutes. That adds up over time!
Due to this, you will want to be smart when it comes to multitasking, and see what is and isn’t helping you.
Rethink your commute
This one may not be for everyone, as many people do need to drive to work. However, if you commute to work using something like a bus or train, then you might want to efficiently use this time by working on your side hustle jobs.
If your side hustle is something that you can do from your phone, laptop, or just with a piece of paper, then this can be a great time to brainstorm ideas and work on your side hustle.
Stay organized
Being organized can help you save time and make more money.
Here are some surprising statistics about being unorganized that I found from Simply Orderly:
- The average person spends 12 days per year looking for things they can’t find.
- Every day the average office worker spends 1.5 hours looking for things.
- In a recent survey, 55% of consumers stated they would save anywhere from 16 to 60 minutes a day if they were organized.
Strategically use your lunch time
When I had my day job, my lunch time was almost always used for my side hustles. I would often bring my lunch to work, which allowed me to save money on food and to use that whole hour for my side hustle ideas.
Right there, that’s five hours every week for side hustles, just by using your lunch hour.
What do you do to save time, so that you can make more money? What time management tips do you have to share?
Francesca - From Pennies to Pounds says
I have been debating whether to get up early or not in order to accomplish everything. The only thing that’s holding me back is that I need my sleep! I have my 4 year old at home so I need sleep in order to remain patient, lol. And I stay up late (midnight usually) working, which is later than I would like to already.
Definitely agree that being organised is so important!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Haha, I don’t know how people with children do it all. You guys are champs!
Lloyd says
Power naps and coffee! 🙂
Francesca - From Pennies to Pounds says
P.s I do squats when brushing my teeth, haha! Multi-tasking queens!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Haha I’ve done squats while curling my hair. It’s only ended badly one or two times…. haha!
Lloyd says
Hahaha, you girls don’t wanna know what I do whilst brushing my teeth. Needless to say I’ve got multi-tasking down.
Eric Bowlin says
One counter-intuitive idea is related to #1 waking up early. If you wake up early an EXERCISE, you’ll find that you have more energy all day and can be far more productive.
Sure, the first couple weeks will be a disaster for anyone who never exercises, but once your body is used to it, it will generate energy instead of draining you.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, definitely!
giulia says
Agee if you know the exact amount of hours you can focus on side hustle is good, I tend to keep my week end free(except from september till june for work in the cafe) working on writing job during lunch or before bed:P
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Awesome!
Holly@ClubThrifty says
When we blogged on the side but still had full-time jobs, we would get up at 5:00 a.m. to write and stay up late. We also worked weekends! If you want to make it happen, you have to find the time somewhere. It was really hard for us because we still had small kids, but we made it work somehow.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Great job 🙂
DNN says
Blogging is good money if you stick to it and at least write 1k words or better per blog post. Very little do most people know blogging can potentially make you a millionaire if you stick to an action plan for long term blogging success. You can certainly make more money than your day job and it’s also a great way of setting yourself up for future healthy retirement because you won’t have to worry about solely living on your pension check and social security alone.
Natalie @ Financegirl says
Staying organized is SO important to finding time to make more money. You have to plan ahead and make time. There’s no other way!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, definitely!
Kate @ Cashville Skyline says
Great tips, Michelle! Working from home most days has been a massive time saver for me. Even though my commute is only 15-20 minutes each way, that time really adds up! Also, I spend a lot of time working on side hustles before work. I think the key is figuring out when you have the most extra energy for it. Evenings during the week don’t work as well for me!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, that is very important. Working when you just don’t feel like it usually means that you won’t get anything done.
Penny @ She Picks Up Pennies says
Finding ways to monetize what you like to do is important. For a lot of people, they seem to think hobbies and work have to be distinctly separate entities. Finding the overlap is a huge time saver and way more motivating, I think.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, I agree!
Stefan @ The Millennial Budget says
Having the need to want it is key! I live with 3 other roommates and all of their free time goes into sleeping, eating, and watching TV. They do not see the need for additional money yet all three have student loans that they can be making payments to with extra side hustle money.
I like to do my work before I sleep as I am not a morning person and find myself more focused in the night.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, I agree. If you want it badly enough, you’ll most likely be able to find the time 🙂
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
What’s your goal with side hustling? If you don’t mind sharing 🙂
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
What’s matched betting? I’ve seen a ton of UK bloggers talking about this now!
Lloyd says
Wow! That’s insane.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Great idea!
The Green Swan says
You are full of good ideas! Keep ’em coming. Good list as some items are easy to change (wake up early!) and some are harder or take more commitment (cutting out the commute).
The Green Swan
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Thanks!
Kristina - Cents + Order says
Great list, Michelle! I’ve never been a morning person, so I love that you offered other ideas for us night owls! As a single mom with 3 kids, a full time job, and a side hustle, I have to make the most of every free minute. Those lunch hours add up!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, lunch hours definitely add up!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Yes, I agree! For me, I do best thinking of ideas for my blog when I’m out for a hike or walking my dog. Whenever I feel like I can’t get work done, that’s what I like to do because of that 🙂
Lindsey says
Whenever I have downtime, or sometimes even during my lunch hour, I will work on my blog. I wake up early before work and spend time planning my social media and work on posts and email while I’m at work in my free time.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Great use of time!
Vicki@Make Smarter Decisions says
We have turned off the TV most nights and we go for a walk or get some things done in the house. It’s amazing how much time just sitting in front of a TV can waste when you actually keep track. It’s also a bonus to get up and have a picked up house with things ready for the next day!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Great job!
Michelle says
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who makes the most of my morning hours. I found that by the time I’ve put in a full day at work (often 10 hours or more), come home, cooked dinner, tidied up and done other chores, I have no motivation or passion left for my blog. So instead of flopping down in front of Netflix, I have been going to bed at 8pm and getting up at 4am to spend two hours writing, before getting ready for work.
At that time I’m enthusiastic, awake (cos I’ve just had 8 hrs sleep) and I get SOOO much done! It’s working perfectly for me.
We don’t have any kids, so I don’t know how all of you guys with families fit it in!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Great idea about going to bed early and waking up early 🙂
DNN says
If you make a habit of writing a post before going to work and post once a day for 6 months, you’re virtually guaranteed to see a positive bump in traffic and revenue. Try it and see how it works for you. 🙂
Apathy Ends says
i thought I was busy before the blog started, now i wonder what I was doing before (more than likely it was not important)
I started using checklists to plan my weeks and make sure I was being efficient with my time
Frugal Turtle says
I like that idea of check lists. My boyfriend has been making them for his days off recently, and he doesn’t relax until he gets everything done on the list, or at least all that he is able to do at that time. I think it’s something I need to start also!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Haha, I know what you mean!
DNN says
The side hustles such as blogging and consistent content marketing are good for maintaining long term online marketing objectives and increasing affiliate commission potential.
Kim says
I’m new to blogging, and am trying to squeeze in as much time as I can to make it successful and ditch the day job, I’m learning as well as blogging, working, exercising and doing the normal house and child commitments – I love reading about extra ways to find time!
I find time when I’m driving to work or out walking my dog I’m listening to audio books, when I’m in the kitchen I’ve got my laptop playing tutorials and videos on blogging so I can learn and make meals at the same time. If I’m not working the early shifts I’m up 2 hours early to write, I cant seem to be as motivated after a long day at work so I’m still working on that! On days off I’m working on my blog.
Its a challenge to do it all but whats the alternative? We have to work hard if we want to better our futures.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
“Its a challenge to do it all but whats the alternative? We have to work hard if we want to better our futures.”
Yes, for sure!
Lloyd says
I tend to try to maximise my time to the fullest. I’ll batch up any calls I have to make and do them in transit using my hands-free in the car. I do the same with meetings at work if I can arrange to dial in I’ll have meetings during my commute – sometimes travelling in late to avoid being stuck in traffic for an hour.
I also tend to listen to podcasts or audiobooks in the car to use that as “learning time” rather than listening to music.
As for having kids (per some of the comments) I tend to involve my son in cooking dinner. Aside from feeling a little like it’s multi-tasking (entertaining him whilst getting something essential done) it’s also a really great experience and teaching him lots of things at the same time.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
Great idea to include your kid while cooking 🙂
Sarah says
These are so some good tips. You’re right that everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. Cutting out the TV has saved me a bunch of time. I keep convincing myself that I could “do this” while listening to the TV and the next thing you know, I was passed out on the couch asleep. My biggest problem is trying to get things done with a four year old and two year old underfoot. We don’t have (and won’t use) childcare, so that’s a choice that I have to work with/around.
Amanda-LivingFullyandFree says
Great post Michelle! I am always evaluating my time and my schedule to make sure I am being as productive as possible. I especially love your point about using your lunch break to side hustle! I wrote a post about how to use your lunch break effectively that really ties well into this! (Great minds think alike!)
Since I started side hustling, I wake up early before work, spend time during my lunch break, and side hustle after work as well. I do keep the tv on during this time though, because I like background noise. So if someone really doesn’t want to cut the tv out just be side hustling while you watch your show.
You are very right though! It’s all about how badly you want it! Let me tell you I want it badly and I am going to succeed at this! 🙂
Thanks for the motivation Michelle!
Amanda
Jason says
I do a lot during my lunch breaks and downtime at work. I’m also thinking about getting up earlier a few times each week. It may be tough, but it’s something that I know I need to do.
Tiffany Griffin says
Great tips Michelle. I’d like to think that i’m pretty good at managing my time, but I know I could improve in some areas. For example, I know I spend way too much time trying to make things “perfect” when there’s no such thing.
I know that it’s often suggested that you wake up earlier if you want to get more things done. I’ve come to realize that I’m more of a night owl, and work better in the evening. I know this isn’t healthy, so I do force myself to work “normal” work hours. I wonder what it is that makes some of us work best in the morning, and some in the evening?
Amber Masters says
This is a brilliant list! I’ve found that waking up earlier is one of the best ways to buy more time– even though it can be painful.
I appreciate all of your qualifiers regarding your suggestion to multi task– definitely have to be careful that you are still doing things right 🙂
Now that you don’t have to side hustle as much- do you find that you are still looking for ways to find time?
DNN says
I’m a firm believer if someone really wants to make money online full time and succeed in this line of work, they’ll make time. It’s like a guy who really wants a woman for his wife. He’s going to accept rejection at first and seek creative ways to keep pursuing her until she opens her mind and heart to him and he positively impacts her life. Since he really wants her, he will make time to think of creative strategies to win her over.
z says
Since my day job is easy and boring and requires no interaction with others, I use my time to listen to podcasts to hear the news, learn a language, and learn more about FIRE. 40 hours of being paid to learn. It’s really helpful.
Latoya @ Life and a Budget says
Having a system in place to organize thoughts and projects is becoming more essential as I pick up more work on the side. I also utilize my son’s naptime and stay up late to get the job done. This often means catching up on my favorite shows after everyone else has watched them, but hey that alone will keep me off social media to avoid spoilers. That creates even more time. You’re right, if you really want to get it done, you’ll find a way. People often have more excuses than they do motivation to get something done.
Nayeli @ Serenaome.com says
Thank you for sharing such useful tips. For me waking up earlier is the hardest thing to do (I enjoy my sleep way too much lol). I really liked your last tip about using our lunch time wisely, that is one that I apply consistently, since I’m at my most productive while at work.
Again thank you for your great content!
Andrew Rombach says
Side hustles are very important, and they can make a huge difference down the road. On that note, scholarships can be seen as a side hustle gain for anyone looking to finance their education. Start applying!
Ashleigh | Smart Cents Mom says
I have just committed to getting up earlier this month! I’m now waking up at 4am to get in 3 hours of work before my kids get up.
The first week has been great and so much more productive for me. And I’ve been able to be more present with my kids during the day!
DNN says
if a person really wants to achieve “side hustle millionaire” status by using the Internet to work from home in their spare time and work slowly but surely toward getting off of the day job employment scene, I believe in my heart go surely find the time to make that money online working from their apartment or house on that side hustle.