The world has evolved. We’ve gone from just sticking to one job, business and career path. Nigeria is not left out in this trend, as even the successful ones are running side projects alongside their careers. Now, you want to join in the trend, you’ve decided to run a personal project while maintaining your full-time job, with the hopes of creating something big out of it.
If you have a busy schedule, all your hopes and dreams to successfully run a side-project might come crashing if there are no plans on how to make out time to maintain your job while your project thrives.
Here are tips on how to make time for a side project:
Be an early bird
One sure way of creating time for whatever side project you have is using the early hours of the day to do some work before stepping out. Having uninterrupted time alone to work on whatever you want is rare. So, get up earlier. No one else will be around to distract you. Even when you’re not a morning person, going to bed a little earlier will help a lot. It can transform unproductive evening time into productive morning time.
Create a schedule
Create a schedule of when you’ll be paying attention to your side project. How many hours in the morning would be dedicated to your side project? Create a time frame that would be dedicated for resting on weekends, and a time frame that’ll be set aside for your side project. Also ensure you create a regular schedule, as this would help you get used to doing the same things at that particular period. In creating a schedule, include specific goals above the calendar that you need to hit on specific days of the week or month.
Take advantage of your commute period
If you board public buses to work, then this would work. Technology has grown so much that we can do so many of our tasks from our mobile phones. So, rather than staring at the arguing passengers or cursing conductor while you’re on your way to work, likely in traffic, you can work on a few tasks that can be done on your mobile phone.
Learn to say NO
One price you have to pay to make your side project thrive is letting go of some activities you once enjoyed. To meet your goal, you’ll have to pass up on some other opportunities. Learn to say no to things that will not help your progress. Attending that event, making that business trip, or reading that book might sound like a great idea. But, would it get you closer to where you need to be?
Eliminate distractions
If you’re craving for free time, you can make it yours by simply not opening social media or distracting websites that you usually check in your free time, or simply turn off your phone and/or internet. You may feel bored when you go offline, but that’s a good thing. You might also find a ‘cave’ helpful. For example, authors often retreat to their writing cave which is purely for work. Is there a place where you can go that can be dedicated to project work only? Then you should go there.
