For those ambitious entrepreneurs running multiple side hustles, what’s one key tip you have for staying organized and on top of everything? How will this help them succeed?
These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs. Learn more at yec.co.
1. Think About When You Work Best
Set a schedule that works for who you are. If you do your best work between the hours of noon and 8 p.m., then run with that. Many people deliberately structure their days so that they have at least some time to work after hours. Even if it’s just one hour per day, you’d be amazed how the mind filters data so much better when you aren’t being pinged mercilessly by email, Slack and more.
2. Set Boundaries
Don’t let projects or clients get mixed up in any way. This applies to your finances, your filing system, the time you block off on your calendar to work on different side hustle projects, your email and more. Boundaries are essential to ensure each project gets enough of your time and adequate focus. Prioritize and schedule your time, and stick to the schedule. No distractions.
– Jonathan Prichard, MattressInsider.com
3. Focus on the Big Picture
To-do lists are great for keeping track of ideas and staying organized, but maintaining a bigger-picture mentality that not everything has to be done is key. Sometimes the art of doing nothing is harder than doing too much. Ask yourself what will really move the needle forward, reap meaningful results and create the most profit margin. Oftentimes, the small stuff can be tabled for the bigger stuff.
– Givelle Lamano, Lamano Law Office
4. Utilize a Project Organizer
Maintaining a project organizer can be a great help. It doesn’t matter whether you prefer a digital solution for it or stick to the old-school methods. A project organizer helps you maintain multiple to-do lists and gauge deliverables for different projects with ease. It helps you minimize the clutter and track your goals for multiple side hustles without being overwhelmed by the entire process.
5. Maintain a Strict Schedule
You must maintain a strict schedule of all business activities and make sure that each venture gets the attention it needs daily. Look for scheduling or productivity software that will help you track deadlines and monitor everything you need to do for every side hustle. When you create your task list and set deadlines, prioritize the most important ones and do your best to optimize your processes.
– Bryce Welker, Crush The GRE Test
6. Conduct Weekly Reviews
One key tip for staying organized and on top of everything is to have scheduled reviews. This means setting aside time each week or month to review your progress, goals and tasks. This will help you stay focused and on track, and will also allow you to identify any areas where you need to improve. Having regular reviews will help ensure your success in running multiple side hustles.
7. Build Out Automated Processes
Leverage your time by spending one hour a week building and improving automated processes. Focus first on the automations that can be duplicated or slightly changed to be used in multiple side hustles. At first, it won’t seem like much is happening; however, in a couple of months, you’ll have built a stack of processes that work consistently on your side hustles for you.
8. Hire a Virtual Assistant
My best advice is to hire a virtual assistant or to use online gig platforms to help manage your multiple businesses. Having a dedicated assistant or team to handle the day-to-day tasks will allow you to focus on growing your businesses and achieving your goals. Plus, this approach can save you a lot of time and hassle, ultimately helping you succeed in the long run.
9. Leverage Timeboxing
Timeboxing can help you stay organized and manage multiple side hustles. Create a schedule with different time slots that you allot to your projects per their scope and importance. This enables you to channel your efforts in the right direction and manage your time optimally. Timeboxing also helps you attain a work-life balance as you manage multiple projects simultaneously.
– Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
10. Assign Side Hustles to Different Days
One key tip for staying organized and on top of everything when running multiple side hustles is to assign different days and times for each side hustle. This will help you to focus on each side hustle separately and give it the attention it deserves. It also helps to keep your side hustles from encroaching on each other and taking up too much of your time.
– Abhijeet Kaldate, Astra WordPress Theme
11. Prioritize ROI
Whatever makes you the most money for the time and effort spent should be your primary focus. Then, divvy up additional time toward developing projects and hustles. Create repeating daily calendar items with multiple reminders to keep you on track and on task if need be.