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14 Comments

How much time should I spend on my side hustle every day?

I work as a Lead developer in an IT company. My job is difficult, it requires me to put a lot of time on managing my team. After finishing everyday tasks and meetings, I'm left exhausted and tired.
I hardly get time to work on the side project.

Now, I'm trying to streamline everything manage my time, so how much time should I spend on my side project considering I'm a solo founder and just started off?

on February 5, 2021
  1. 2

    I used to have same problem, demanding day job I kinda sorted it by:

    • be an early riser. I wake up every day at 5am and get lots done. Also, I sleep at 10pm every day to make sure I get enough rest

    • change your day job if possible with something less demanding. Being a lead generally speaking means a lot of responsibility. I switched to be a programmer and that meant way less responsibility. Surprisingly I get paid way more as well so it is not necessarily downgrading :)

    Hope this helps

  2. 2

    I'd suggest starting with just an hour in the early AM (prior to your full-time) makes it 1) more productive because of your high energy and 2) more consistent

    1. 1

      Thanks @EimanAbdel, I would definitely try it.

  3. 2

    As much as you can afford to. Some days I put in 0. Some days I put in 15 mins, to each their own. You have to do what works for you. I wish I can put in 20hrs a day.

    1. 1

      Thanks @segmond

  4. 1

    I dedicated my last year journal's to the same problem. It was hard for me to change as a person like suddenly start become a early rise of things of that sort. So I have put together my insight here https://medium.com/@piyush.neo/year-journal-an-introvert-engineers-view-of-2020-7d4e3be8ec30

    1. 1

      Thanks @terminal_tty, great post.

  5. 1

    You should spend as much time as you can afford to spend on it without negatively impacting your day-to-day life.

    Try to cut out things like Youtube, TV and other similar things. Invest that time into your side project.

    1. 1

      You are right, TV and youtube is my biggest distraction, I need to fix it.
      Thanks.

  6. 1

    Also, in terms of how much time, start with something meaningful in terms of delivery. If you can’t get anything done with 1hr a day don’t go with that. You want to see progress, meaningful process in a daily basis to be motivated and look forward to tomorrow and the day after tomorrow so make sure to deliver something in a daily basis. I think that is what you need to focus on

    1. 1

      Thanks @mattvalleycodes, that's a great advice.
      I would start with walking up early and finishing a task everyday. That would give me a sense of accomplishment everyday and would motivate me.

  7. 1

    I’ve been in the same situation. What I did to make progress:

    • make list of tiny tasks
    • spend 30 minutes each day for steady progress finishing the tasks
    • work 36 instead of 40 hours at my day job so I could take off the Wednesday every two weeks
    1. 1

      Thanks @rikschennink, great advice.

  8. 1

    This comment was deleted 5 years ago

    1. 1

      Thanks @timosarkka, going part time is really good advice. I would think about it.