🤸 Making side hustles work for you

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🌟 Meaning amid the mundane

If you dread the monotony of your nine-to-five job, having a side hustle can bring more meaning and fulfilment into your life. This is what Clara Nah, 25, believes. She shares with Thrive how her side hustle as a freelance coach helped her grow as a person.

Nah says that when it comes to your side hustle, you’re no longer just an employee. “I had to adopt a ‘CEO mindset’ – to be creative, think critically, make decisions and take responsibility for them.” 

All these skills and mindset shifts helped Nah do better at both her previous job as a trainee lawyer, and in her current role as a full-time wellness associate at a non-governmental organisation. “I believe I was able to articulate my thoughts confidently and be a more critical thinker, because of the growth I experienced as a side hustler,” she adds. 

Speaking coach Rae Fung, 26, says that working on her three side hustles back when she was in university allowed her to possess a more well-rounded view on what matters in life. 

“It gives you perspective on what lies beyond school (or your full-time job). Previously, I always determined my self-worth and success based on my grades in school. I was so focused on (school) at one point that I felt that it was my whole world,” she says. 

“Working on my side hustles showed me more of the fullness of life and the joy of connection.”

😩 Beware of burnout

As if one job isn’t demanding enough, one more responsibility – even borne out of fun or passion – can be burdensome if not managed well. Fung can attest to burnout as a potential downside, though it is not impossible to overcome.

“Burnout can be very real while pursuing side hustles. I did tend to neglect my physical health and fitness at some points, and some of my friends ‘broke up’ with me when my side hustle took up extra time, when I was unable to spend as much time with them as a result,” she shares. 

However, due to the sheer energy and passion she derived from her side hustles, Fung felt that she was more fulfilled than drained overall. “I was happy to do something I loved outside of school, so much so that I’d do whatever it took for me to do it – even if it meant working harder to finish my homework late at night, for example.”

Some tips that might be helpful to curb instances of burnout on your side hustle journey include:   

• Understanding your “why”. When you constantly reconnect to your “why” and what you enjoy about your side hustle, it will feel less like a chore or burden. Rather, you’ll be reminded that it’s something you want to do. (Journaling your thoughts regularly to reconnect with your vision of how you want your life to look and feel can be helpful.) 
• Building self-awareness of what routines work best for you. Take note of what drains and energises you, and set up your routine to lean towards more of what energises you. Be realistic about how much you can manage at any given time. 
• Reducing the number of extra things occupying your time to make space to work on your side hustle. To handle everything, realistically, you might have to cut back on some other hobbies or projects. 
• Remembering to take breaks to rest and recharge. Do take care of your body – it’s the vehicle to help you reach your goals. Pacing yourself will help you achieve long-term success.

🏌️ Will you turn pro?

For those who have been investing much time and effort into a side hustle for a while, and have witnessed the fruits of your labour, you might wonder at some point – should I turn this into a full-time job?

For Fung, she took practical measures such as sending out market research surveys, polling her audience on Instagram and conducting free workshops to test the demand in the market. 

“However, I never truly knew (my side hustle could be taken full-time) until I took the first step,” she says. Taking that leap could be the hardest decision, but also an important test for you and your side hustle! 

Here are some questions for you to consider before setting out to turn your side gig into a full-time pursuit:

• Do you have a clear idea of who you want to serve, the pain points you can solve, and how you can help them solve it? 
• Do you feel passionate and self-motivated about this side-hustle? Do you have a strong enough reason to pursue it full-time? 
• What needs to happen for you to feel “ready” to make it a full-time thing? It is important to define this tangibly, so you know what “ready” looks like. 
• Do you even want your side hustle to be a full-time thing?

While it is possible to make a career out of a side hustle, there should be no pressure to turn something enjoyed on the side into a full-time venture. Sometimes, as Nah shares, doing multiple things can make one’s life more interesting.

“Personally, I realised that I derive more joy and fulfilment from coaching as a side hustle than as a full-time job,” she says. “Things are generally more fun when there’s no pressure to have them pay the bills.”

TL;DR

• Having a side hustle can offer variety and greater meaning to your life beyond studies or full-time work 
• Understand why you are pursuing your side hustle in order to avoid burnout and to keep you going during trying times 
• Be realistic about how much you can handle while juggling your side hustle
• Evaluate your situation carefully before leaping to make your side hustle a full-time job (but don’t be scared to go for it if it feels right!) 
• Don’t feel pressured to make your side hustle full-time if it’s not for you!