Productivity Hacks for Solopreneurs still Working 9-5 jobs

Hey everyone. My name is Tony. As someone who’s juggled the demands of a 9-5 job while working on side projects (with 3 kids), it’s always been a tough task to find the time to do everything that’s needed as a solopreneur. At the end of the day we have to do it ALL, whether that be building or marketing so I just want to share some insights and strategies that I use to allow myself to reach the goals I set out and to reduce any stress that comes along with juggling it all.

What Is Your Goal?

Firstly, always ask yourself this question. What is your goal? This could be a goal for the day or a goal for 3 months time. Let’s take the example of your goal being building your startup and hitting the $1K MRR mark within 3 months. This is a great goal to have but there’s so much that needs to be done in order to get there. Having a goal like this can put a lot of doubt and uncertainty in your head if things aren’t going the way you want them throughout the 3 months.

So how can we solve this?

Set NICE Goals

What are NICE goals:

• Near term: Focus on the immediate steps you need to take instead of on the end goal. What can you do daily or weekly to inch closer to it?
• Input based: Concentrate on actions you can do right now, not what can we do later.
• Controllable: Set a genuinely controllable goal. 20 mins to do a bit of a job rather than trying to finish it there and then
• Energizing: Select tasks that invigorate and energize you. Turning the process into something enjoyable rather than a chore really helps.

Your Goal Vs Nice Goal

If your goal is to start making $1K MRR after 3 months, then you might just plug away at that bit by bit whenever you can. Maybe work until midnight after your 9-5 job or work weekends to try do as much as possible. However, a NICE goal would be to dedicate an hour each day to building and marketing your product, enjoying the process over these 3 months. This shift in perspective focuses on the journey and that makes reaching your goal more realistic without burning out and giving up.

This is what I have done for my product StarterSyrup. Each day over the past 3 months I have taken an hour or so to work on building the product and/or marketing. I started this project in January and built it over 1-2 months using the NICE goal strategy. This also worked for my Free Micro Saas Ideas Generator.

How do you keep momentum?

Keeping momentum as a solopreneur, especially when balancing it with a 9-5 job, is a hard thing to do. Some days your too busy in your day job to do anything at all for your own project. Some days your family life might take up your time. Some days you might doubt whether your startup idea is any good. Identifying the top three reasons for not starting can unveil hidden barriers, be it lack of time, fear of failure, or simply not knowing where to begin.

To maintain momentum, ask yourself the following questions:

• What would my project look like in a week if I didn't start working on it today? If you don’t like the answer then identify the top three reasons for not starting. Writing these down can help give you perspective.
• How can I mitigate the risk of these reasons derailing me?
• What action can I take right now to increase the odds of following through?

Keeping momentum is a hard thing to do but not letting a few days without working on your project derail the whole thing entirely is essential.

Don’t let fear or doubt stop you

A bit of a P.S. but it needs to be said. A common trap for many solopreneurs is the belief that everyone is watching and judging their every move. You release a product or feature and for some reason you think everyone in the world thinks it’s stupid. Maybe that’s because it’s not being used or because not as many people saw it after the initial release. Don’t let things like this stop you. In reality, people are more concerned with their own lives. Understanding that nobody cares if you launch a product and it fails can be very freeing and most of the time a “failed product” is due to a lack of marketing anyways. Don't forget there’s always time to market your product after it’s launch too!

Conclusion

• Balancing a 9-5 job with building side projects is a hard thing to do as a solopreneur but there are ways that can help.
• Don’t get overwhelmed by your big goals
• Set NICE goals to allow you to achieve your big goals
• Remove yourself from the fear of judgment