Why You Should Plan Time to Plan Your Side Hustle Work
Planning time to plan is a great way to increase your productivity, reduce stress and ensure that your side hustle goals are met. When you don't plan you drift aimlessly and proscrastinate on what needs doing.
Setting aside time in your week to plan what you're going to work on in your side hustle allows you to make good decisions about what you're going to work on. In the moment you'll always choose to do what's easiest, but ahead of time you'll decide to work on what's important.
If you sit down to work on your side hustle and you don't have a plan then you'll probably do the easiest task that comes to mind. If you need to do some networking maybe you'll decide to just scroll Instagram and like and comment on some posts. Whilst that may be one strategy there are other more difficult ones such as pitching for guest blog posts or asking to appear on a podcast.
Spending time to plan upfront can lead to greater efficiency in the long run. When you plan your tasks and projects thoroughly, you can identify potential difficulties, such as you want to post on Instagram every day and yet you've got a busy week at work next week and won't have time to do it manually. When you're planning what to work on you can schedule in time to autopost to Instagram and it will magically happen whilst you're at your 9-5.
Without proper planning, you might end up feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks you've got to do. When you feel like that, it's easier sometimes to just throw in the towel and not do anything. Planning time to plan gives you an opportunity to break down complex projects into smaller, manageable steps, reducing the feeling of being swamped. You can spread the small steps over several days or weeks so that the entire task then feels more manageable.
By planning your time, you can determine the importance and urgency of tasks. This prevents you from spending excessive time on less critical activities, what I would call passive action e.g. watching videos on YouTube which you call 'research' while neglecting more significant ones, such as creating your own content for others to consume.
Planning time to plan doesn't mean you have to rigidly stick to the schedule you've created. If something unexpected crops up then you can adapt your schedule accordingly. I would though encourage caution here and say that this shouldn't be a regular event. Nine times out of ten you should be following your schedule. It really should just be for the unexpected that it changes.
A good plan reduces stress because you're not constantly scrambling to figure out what needs to be done or trying to get a task finished at the last minute. Instead, you have a roadmap to follow, which can provide a sense of control and peace of mind. You have the opportunity to look ahead and see what's coming up. Want to join in the madness of Black Friday? Then you will need to start promoting your offer ahead of time. It's no good doing it just the day before and hoping people will see it.
Planning allows you to make better decisions based on your priorities and goals. You're less likely to make hasty, in the moment, decisions that could lead to poor outcomes such as rashly spending money on courses that seem exciting in the moment, but don't help you to move towards your goals and may end up being a waste of money.
In summary, planning time to plan helps you to be more efficient and make progress more quickly. Taking time out to plan will actually save you time as you'll work on those important tasks rather than waste time because you lack focus.
And if you want some more tips on finding time for your side hustle grab my free guide ‘Easy Ways to Find Time for a Side Hustle’, a cheat sheet of 30 quick ideas to start finding time for your dream today.