Tips and Ideas for a Better Work-Life Balance - Side Hustles and Self Care

Here is a step-by-step guide with tips and ideas to help you achieve a work-life balance to avoid burnout. Learn to balance self-care with your side hustle to ensure good health as well as productivity. Learn about time management, stress management, and how to balance hustling with wellness.

Though the concept of a "hustle" might suggest less sleep and less balance in exchange for more money, that doesn't have to be the case. Plenty of professionals manage to balance their full-time gigs, personal lives, and side hustles without sacrificing their sanity or health. Follow this roadmap from Logue Online to start mastering your side hustle-meets self-care routine today.

Schedule Your Side Hustle In

According to data from Self, about 32 percent of people spend 5-10 hours a week on their side hustle; 27.7 percent spend 11-20 hours per week. Considering that's on top of a full-time job, not to mention personal business, it's clear that scheduling plays a part in side hustle success.

While you can't schedule everything down to the minute, blocking out your time helps the essentials fit. If you have a full-time job, start by putting those non-negotiable hours on your calendar. Then, consider what time of the day you're most alert or inspired, and plan your side hustle for those peak times.

Consider starting your day with building blocks like a set morning routine to keep you on track toward hitting goals. Getting up at a regular time, with some space to breathe before diving into work, can help set the tone for each day

Develop an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Though inspiration might have sparked your side hustle, the truth is that hustling is a lot of work. It's tough to rely on pure motivation to get things done, so developing the right mindset is a crucial first step.

Especially if your gig is something you're passionate about or a job that started as a hobby, you might ride the passion wave for a while. But rather than waiting for motivation to urge you forward, create a productive environment to make the magic happen. Designate a set workspace, lay out your goals with due dates, and be consistent.

It might sound uninspired to restrict your creativity to set hours of the day, but knowing that you have the time and space blocked off may serve as a different — yet more effective — form of inspiration.

Get Creative in Pursuing Work-Life Balance

There are only so many hours in a day, which is why work-life balance is challenging. As unglamorous as scheduling sounds, routines and deadlines will play a part in keeping work separate from your personal life. On the business side, there are also ways to streamline your workflow and use your time more effectively.

For example, Asana confirms that batching similar tasks enhances focus since your brain isn't fighting to multitask (something experts say is, in fact, a myth). Time blocking can work in conjunction with task batching, where you knock out related tasks in a set period.

Digital tools are another solution to streamline repetitive tasks and processes. For example, using an online invoice generator skips manual data entry while allowing you to customize client invoices. Then, you can download the format you need for each client.

Another helpful technological hack is letting clients self-schedule — according to the parameters you set. Appointment scheduling software avoids the back-and-forth of confirming availability and checking calendars, and it's just one more way to create balance without adding more tasks to your plate.

Integrate Wellness into Your Lifestyle

Once you do your homework on fitting your side hustle into your schedule, without it encroaching on your personal time, you might feel inspired to set individual goals, too. But remember that big changes are hard to implement and maintain; slow and steady is the winning formula.

Start with realistic, consistent goals for the best odds of cementing your healthy mindset into actionable habits. You might have heard of SMART goals for work, but those can translate to fitness, too. 

Sweat recommends setting exercise goals that fit into your entrepreneurial mindset; they should be realistic, manageable, and measurable. Consistency is another key factor for turning those goals into healthy habits. 

Don't Discount the Importance of Good Sleep

Many go-getters pride themselves on how little sleep they get, but resting less doesn't make you a successful professional. 

Despite the accolades that many night owls seem to receive, CNBC confirms that many high-profile people swear by sleeping seven or more hours per night. Sleep quality matters just as much as quantity, though; the Sleep Foundation recommends multiple steps to improve sleep hygiene. 

Creating an environment conducive to sleep is the first step, and developing a bedtime ritual will complement your morning routine. But you can also prepare for better sleep throughout the day by staying active, cutting back on caffeine, and stopping late-night snacking.

Do Self-Care That Works for You

With all the discussion on how to make time for business and life-sustaining basics like sleeping and exercising, it's important to remember that self-care is a separate entity. Good sleep and other wellness elements are basic building blocks; true self-care goes farther.

As Psychology Today elaborates, self-care extends to doing things that you enjoy and setting boundaries, both with your time and your feelings. Saying no to things that don't serve you, making time for hobbies that aren't related to work or household responsibilities, and indulging in "bad" treats once in a while all count as self-care. 

Carving out time for this type of self-care should be just as important as making time for your work and side hustle. It may feel like a move in the opposite direction, but taking time away helps you return to your work refreshed. 

In fact, Brain Facts confirms that "brain breaks" allow your brain to process information and approach concepts from new angles. Every creative person can benefit from that perk!

Ultimately, there's no magic formula to add more hours to the day or more energy to your brain (though coffee might argue differently). But with a solid game plan like the one outlined here, you can begin to compartmentalize your responsibilities and free up space for personal enjoyment. After all, a lucrative side hustle isn't worth much if it takes away from your ability to enjoy life and a bit of free time.