Working a 9-5 While Working on My Dream? What I Had to Do to Make it Work!
Well to begin, can working a 9-5 while pursuing your dream be done? Yes, it can! Is it hard? Yes, there are times when it can be hard, but if you love what you do, you can do it too. I don’t get frustrated writing or studying the market after 5pm. For some people, it may be difficult to do more work after work. It wasn’t always this smooth of a process for me. The months leading up to my blog launch I had to understand a few things to help me balance both a 9-5 and my dream. Here are a few things I had to learn and understand during my first couple of weeks.
I had to ignore what other people say about being an entrepreneur:
When I first began my journey, I shared with a few people that I would be pursuing my dream. I was asked “When will you be leaving your 9-5?” My response was “why do I have to leave right now? I didn’t think that was smart. I had to be careful not to make choices that weren’t smart for me. I made sure I did my research and I wasn’t going to let anyone persuade me to leave my 9-5 right away. I even heard that if I still worked a 9-5, I wouldn’t be considered an entrepreneur. The truth is you can be a part-time entrepreneur until you feel comfortable leaving your 9-5 to go full time.
I understood that making money was not an overnight process
Starting a blog, I knew that I wouldn’t see an influx of income right away. I understood that it would take time and I am ready for that journey. Some people start up a business and they are focused on the wrong things. My focus for my blog was longevity and I just needed to make sure that I had the energy to put into the level of work that needed to be done.
Review “The Time Pie”!!!!
This may sound corny, but this was something that I did which helped me so much. I created a “time pie” and organized my time. I knew that 8 hours out of 24 would be dedicated to my 9-5. I only needed about 4-5 hours of sleep to function well. 4-5 hours of my day were for miscellaneous activities, and the last 6 I would spend on my blogs and writing. If I needed more time, I would use time that was dedicated to miscellaneous activities. On the weekends I have A LOT more flexibility and I could get a lot more done. I haven’t been going out or traveling because 1) Covid and 2) I have work to do and I take my blog very seriously. That’s just the mindset I have. Work hard now, play freely later.
Get better at Organizing
When I was able to find the time to work on my blog, I had to make sure I was organized. One of the best investments that helped me tremendously was a planner. I’ve seen people use it, especially my wife (she has like 10 planners), but I never thought that I would ever need to use it. I use it now and it helped me to stay organized and keep track of my day. Most importantly, it helped me keep track of the blogs I was writing and kept me on schedule. Also, for the first time in my life I actually have to get used to using the QuickBooks app.
Still find time for “me”
While doing what I love, there are times when I submerge myself in my work and not take a day to regroup and recharge. I do spend time with my wife… lol. Currently, (at the time this post was written) we are both working from home and have been staying away from large crowds to stay safe during the pandemic. But I believe it is important to take a break from your work every now and then, even if it’s for a small amount of time.
So again, can it be done?
Yes, it can be done. If you start working on yourself and you’re interested in starting a business, make sure you do it the right way and not treat it like a side project. As someone told me “If you treat entrepreneurship like a part-time job, it will pay you like one.” I spend about 5-6 hours a day in the week on my blog and 8-10 hours a day on the weekend. So, I am working close to 80 hours a week, separate from my regular 9-5 job. I enjoy every minute of it because I love what I am doing. Is it easy? No, It’s not. There are times when I want to take time off, but time is something that I can’t get back and once it’s gone…it’s gone forever. So, I will not waste it. There were some things that I needed to sacrifice, like spending time going out with friends and binge-watching shows. But they were necessary sacrifices in order to achieve my dream.
Thanks for reading my blog post “Working a 9-5 While Working on My Dream? What I Had to Do to Make it Work”. I hope that this post and my journey will show you that if you create the time needed to work on your dream, you will be able to accomplish your goals. There are some things that we can do to help our own journeys. For example, staying organized, logging receipts, and understanding that your dream may take time to accomplish and reap the reward for your work. One thing I will tell you is that the journey IS worth it. Are any of you working a 9-5 and working on your dreams at the same time? What are some of the challenges you faced? Make sure to share and comment below! Please subscribe and feel free to follow me on social media!