Is Alcohol Killing Your Side Hustle?
Have you ever thought that alcohol, a regular part of everyday life, might be sabotaging your side hustle dreams? Maybe you use it as a way to unwind after a long day or just have a few down the pub every Friday night with friends. It’s might be something that you have never really thought about much, as alcohol is normalised in our culture. But what you might be overlooking is how much alcohol is draining not only your energy, but also your time—valuable time that could be spent building your side hustle.
While alcohol is viewed by most people as harmless in moderation, it’s important to remember that it’s still a drug. It alters the way your body and your mind function, sometimes in ways that you don’t fully realise. If you’re still struggling to find time for your side hustle and alcohol is a regular part of your week, cutting down your consumption could be one of the most effective strategies you haven't yet thought of.
Drinking Alcohol is ‘Normal’
At the end of a long day at work having a glass of wine can be a way to relax. You tell yourself your deserve it after a stressful day at the office. Most social events, even just weekday dinner with your partner, may involve drinking alcohol. Opting out is hard, particularly in social situations where you would usually have a drink. There’ll be questions about why you aren’t drinking. I get this all the time when I meet new people over dinner and say that I don’t eat meat. Everyone wants to know my reasons. Is it a health decision or an ethical choice?
For all of these reasons, and because drinking alcohol is so deeply ingrained in our culture, it can be difficult to accept that it might be having a negative impact on your life, and specifically on the time you have to build your side hustle. But while a glass of wine or a beer might help you relax temporarily, it often leads to a wasted evening, a poor night’s sleep and a general sense of lethargy the next day. If you’re trying to find time for your side hustle in a busy life none of this is going to help you.
How Alcohol Steals Your Time
Alcohol can quietly steal time from you in more ways than you might realise. Let’s look at three:
(i) Lost Evening Productivity: After having a drink or two in the evening you’ll probably find that your motivation to do anything productive—whether it’s working on your side hustle, planning for the next day, or even finishing a small task—disappears. What might have been a productive evening working on your side hustle turns into mindless TV watching or an early bedtime due to the drowsiness alcohol induces. This is okay if it’s an occasional thing or if you’re taking a night off from your side hustle, but when it becomes a regular event your dream project is going to suffer.
(ii) Impaired Morning Routine: Drinking in the evening can also negatively affect your morning routine. Alcohol disrupts your sleep and instead of waking up refreshed and ready to tackle your day (and possibly side hustle work before your full-time job), you wake up groggy, fatigued, and less motivated. Over the long term this will stop you using your mornings productively.
(iii) A Struggle to Focus: One of the biggest challenges when it comes to building your side hustle is to do focused work. Consuming content is fine, for a bit, but whatever sort of side hustle you’re building, it’s going to involve creating. Whether that’s making jewellery, writing ebooks or filming YouTube videos. And when you’re creating you need to focus. Unfortunately alcohol can impair your cognitive function, affecting your ability to think clearly, focus and be creative. If you’ve ever tried to write, brainstorm, or problem-solve after a drink, you know how alcohol slows down your thinking process.
Reclaiming Your Time and Energy
If you’re serious about building a side hustle, then you already know that finding the time and also the energy is crucial. When you make the difficult choice to cut down on alcohol, you’re essentially increasing your chances of finding the time and the energy, to build a successful business. Imagine what you could do with more productive evenings and mornings where you jump out of bed feeling refreshed. Those small windows of time that you previously spent drinking, recovering, or being unmotivated could be transformed into productive hours for your side hustle.
Reducing alcohol doesn’t mean giving it up completely, unless that’s your choice. But even a moderate reduction can lead to significant benefits. Try limiting alcohol to weekends or special occasions, and see the difference it makes in your energy, mood, and productivity. You might be surprised at how much more time you have to dedicate to your side hustle when your focus and motivation aren’t clouded by alcohol.
So, the next time you’re tempted to unwind with a drink, ask yourself: What could I achieve with this extra time and energy? The answer just might be the breakthrough you need to move your side hustle forward.
Where Next?
If after reading this you’re convinced that you need to make some changes to how much alcohol you drink take a look at Anthea Jayne’s website or follow her over on Instagram. She has loads of great advice about reducing alcohol use, a journey that she herself has been on.
If you want to find more time for your side hustle all you need to do is to follow the five simple steps in my free guide. You can get your copy here.