Six Ways Decluttering Will Help You Find Time for Your Side Hustle
Life is busy. You’re probably juggling multiple roles, employee, mother, wife, stay at home mum, dog mum, daughter, housekeeper. And perhaps your dreams of having a successful side hustle are slipping away. With everything you have on your plate finding the time and mental space to work on your side hustle can seem impossible.
But there's one simple yet powerful way to make life a little easier and that’s decluttering. Decluttering isn’t only about tidying up your space, it’s about creating an environment that works for you and your family’s lifestyle. When you live in a clutter-free home you have more time and energy to work on your side hustle. If you don’t believe me, let’s look at six reasons why this is the case.
Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Clutter can increase feeling of stress and anxiety. When you spend your days in cluttered spaces you can feel overwhelmed and out of control. In contrast, a decluttered space helps you to feel calm and less anxious. When you’re calm you can give more focus and mental space to your side hustle instead of feeling anxious, rushed and chaotic.
Saves Time
How much time do you spend looking for lost items each day? Whether it’s your keys, umbrella or a pen, searching for items is a waste of your precious time. When your home is uncluttered and organised you’ll be able to find things quickly and easily when you need them. No more time wasted rushing around frantically trying to find your car keys for the school run. The time you save can then be used to work on your side hustle.
Creates More Physical Space
Clutter takes up space, particularly if you have a lot of clutter. When you get rid of stuff you no longer want, potentially you can free up physical space that can be used instead for working on your side hustle. Once you’ve decluttered you might have room for a dedicated side hustle area in a corner of your lounge, a space you can create items for your side hustle if you make stuff or a home for your laptop ready for when you have time to work on those blog posts. Having a dedicated space makes it easier to find time for your side hustle as you’re not having to clear an area to work and set everything up each time.
Saves Money
Clutter was once money in your pocket, money that you chose to spend on an item that you no longer value. And by decluttering you can turn that item back into money, albeit not nearly as much. You can sell stuff on sites such as Facebook Marketplace or Vinted and the cash you get can be invested in your side hustle. What also helps is that when you declutter your home it makes you reflect on what you’ve spent your money on in the past. It can help you understand your past spending habits and encourage more mindful purchasing decisions in the future i.e. it can stop you wasting money on rubbish you really don’t need and use it for personal development and building your side hustle.
Fosters Mindful Living
As I’ve just said, going through the process of decluttering makes you evaluate what you truly need (and perhaps want, because some wants are okay too) and what is merely taking up space in your home. This mindfulness practice can extend into other areas of your life, including how you manage your time. When you are more intentional about how you spend your days, you will find it easier to make time for your side hustle, because you’ll be able to stop wasting time on things you now realise really aren’t important.
Reduces Procrastination
A cluttered space can increase the likelihood that you’ll procrastinate. You’ll be tempted to tidy your space, sort through the piles of papers on your desk or clear out the rubbish rather than focusing on the task in hand. If it’s really bad, you might just pick up your phone and start scrolling as you can’t face trying to work in such a cluttered and messy space. If your work area is already tidy when you sit down to work you’ll have no excuse not to jump right in and get the job done.
Conclusion
Decluttering is more than just another task to add to your long to do list, it is a powerful time management tool that can help you find time in your schedule and create the mental and physical space needed to launch and grow your successful side hustle. It will help you to reduce distractions, save time and foster a more mindful, productive lifestyle.
Don’t know where to start? For loads of great ideas on how to declutter take a look at one of my favourite YouTube channels, The Minimal Mom. She has great tips for tackling each area of your home without feeling overwhelmed and without thinking you have to do it all in one go. For more tips about how to make time for your side hustle grab my free guide ‘Easy Ways to Make Time for a Side Hustle’