How to Master the Balancing Act Finding Time for Launching a Business and Your Job

Launching a new business while maintaining a 9 to 5 job is a commendable but challenging endeavor. While yes, there have been plenty of people who have managed this balancing act (even when it comes to side hustles, too), that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of praise. Seriously, trying to manage both at the same time is really hard. 

In a way, it almost feels impossible! Striking the right balance between your full-time job and entrepreneurial aspirations requires careful planning and efficient time management. Really, the balancing art truly is an art because it’s seriosuly that hard to do! 

But sometimes, when you want both, and you need both, time management is going to have to be your friend, maybe even your best friend. So, with that said, here are some practical strategies to help you navigate the complexities of juggling both worlds and ensure that your business dreams can take flight without compromising your current professional commitments.

You Have to Start By Creating a Realistic Schedule

In order to make sure that all of this is effective, it’s all going to begin with scheduling. So, be sure to start by crafting a realistic and achievable schedule that accommodates both your job and business responsibilities. Honestly, it might feel really challenging at first because you have to pick what you can do when, and you’re basically telling yourself that you might have to sacrifice something too (like breaks). 

So, in general, just be sure to clearly define your working hours, allocating specific time blocks for your 9 to 5 job and dedicated periods for your entrepreneurial pursuits. For the average person they are only working and focusing on their 9 to 5 job during those hours, and outside of that, they are focusing on their other business.  

For example, they wake up at 7 am every morning by 8 am, they’re doing their commute (like public transport), and during this time, they study for their business like learning terminology from BuildOps Glossary or something that’s simplistic, work for eight hours, study or work on their other business during the commute, eat dinner, then work on their business again, until bedtime. 

Needless to say, it’s one busy schedule, right? But again, be realistic and just try to be mindful of your energy levels throughout the day and assign tasks accordingly.

What Goals Are You Wanting to Prioritize?

Something else you’re going to have to do is to just go ahead and identify the most critical tasks for both your job and business. It’s going to be best to just prioritize your activities based on urgency and importance. Not really by what’s easy and what’s not, so just make sure to set clear, achievable goals for your business, breaking them down into smaller, manageable steps. This approach helps prevent overwhelm and ensures steady progress.

Utilize Your Downtime

During your job, you have the commute (if you’re not driving), you have your lunch breaks, and those fifteen-minute breaks, too. While these might not be a lot of time, they just might be enough time to make some positive changes for your dream business. So, just try to maximize your time by utilizing breaks and downtime during your regular job hours. 

Whether it's responding to emails, making phone calls, or conducting research, small but consistent efforts during these periods can contribute significantly to the development of your new business. Just try to cram in what you can, honestly. 

Use Your Weekends

While yes, weekends are not meant for work, the whole goal is to eventually jump ship and focus more on your business. With that said, the days off you have from work, your weekends, are going to be the main time when you can actually work on it and then do it. In general, weekends become your entrepreneurial playground (if you allow for it). 

It’s usually better to just designate specific blocks of time on weekends to focus exclusively on your business. So no, don’t force this to be eight hours or more. However, this dedicated time allows for more in-depth tasks, strategic planning, and creative endeavors that may be challenging to tackle during the workweek.

Give Yourself the Chance to Delegate

If you have the money, you should really try to just outsource where you can; it’s highly recommended. Plus, you need to also recognize that you can't do everything on your own. So get the mindset out of your head that you even can. So, instead, just try to identify tasks that can be outsourced or delegated, both in your full-time job and your business. Honestly, your best bet is to just utilize freelancers', virtual assistants, or seek help from family and friends to lighten your workload and increase overall efficiency.

You Need Strong Boundaries

If you haven’t done this yet, then you really need to. It’s going to be vital for your mental health to just go ahead and establish clear boundaries with your colleagues at your 9 to 5 job. Sadly, nowadays, with easy connectivity with phones, there’s this idea that anyone is reachable at any time. So, you can’t allow for this. 

You’ll need to just communicate openly about your entrepreneurial pursuits and ensure that your business activities do not interfere with your job responsibilities. Transparency fosters understanding and helps maintain a positive working relationship.

Embrace Automation

Something else you need to think about would be to just leverage technology and automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks. Whether it's scheduling social media posts, automating email responses, or utilizing project management apps, technology can help you optimize your time and increase overall productivity.

Utilize Early Mornings Before Work

This might not entirely be ideal, but it technically can work if you’re able to get yourself out of bed early enough. In general, early mornings often offer a quiet and focused environment. Consider waking up an hour earlier than usual to dedicate uninterrupted time to your business. Whether it's strategic planning, responding to emails, or working on creative tasks, the early morning hours can become your secret weapon for productivity.

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