Three Time Management Strategies for Side Hustle Social Workers

I lay in bed Saturday morning contemplating the meaning of life. No, that is not true. I had just turned over and settled into a comfortable fold in my covers when the puppy barked. I looked at the clock and 5:15, boldly red, glared back at me. I raised myself up on one elbow hoping my husband would stir, but he did not move. He had taken her out at 3 am, so I had no reason to be angry or frustrated with him. My head hit the pillow as I hoped the barking would stop. It did not. You would think that a 12-pound puppy would not sound like an adult Rottweiler, but then again, a mosquito sounds like a freight train that early in the morning as well.

So, what does this have to do with time management? I’m glad you asked. When I got up to attend to the puppy, I gave myself the gift of two hours of uninterrupted time to plan and work on a video presentation. The puppy ate her breakfast, relieved herself outside and played while I began planning, jotting notes, and making slides.

Social workers who have sustainable, successful and satisfying side hustles act like opportunists when it comes to using and managing time. An opportunist is a person who takes advantage of openings or circumstances when they occur. They seize the moment with little regard to consequences and focus on the gains they derive from manipulating the situation for their own benefit. Understandably, opportunism carries a negative connotation. In regard to time management, however, side hustle social workers profit when they utilize every spare moment.

Social workers with 2nd jobs, part-time gigs or side hustles need time management strategies for optimizing and utilizing available time. This includes recognizing time usage habits and assessing the time of day you have unproductive blocks of time. Side hustle social workers who gain an understanding of their relationship with time can utilize the information to use and manage time for profit.

Here are three strategies that work:

Get up Early

The early bird does get the worm, as the old saying goes. Rising early provides a quiet, distraction free space to think on, reflect upon or contemplate daily activities related to your side hustle. Create a space in which you feel fully comfortable and relaxed. Some side hustle social workers begin the day with prayer or meditation setting the tone for how they will approach business interactions, transactions and relationship building.

Make Action Lists

Make a to-do list to gain clarity regarding the actions you need to complete. Some of us avoid making lists because we lose them or only add items and rarely cross anything off. We encounter problems because we lump everything in one list. I use a process in which I categorize the things I need to do into distinct categories. I have listed and described three such categories below.

• Knockout list – this is a list of activities that can be done in a few minutes. Generally, these items can be completed in less than one hour.
• Deadline list – items on this list have clearly defined deadlines. All actions must be completed before the designated time expires.
• Start-Continue-Finish list – This list contains projects I want to start, projects I need to continue, and projects I need to finish.
• Create or update your lists daily. This will keep your actions focused and targeted towards your goals. It will also allow you to use your time wisely.

Prep for the Week

This is one of my all-time favorite time management methods. Our family began weekly prep when our daughters were in elementary school. They are now college students. Here are a few of the actions we took to prepare for the coming week.

• Clothes – Every Sunday each member of our family chose and prepared outfits for the entire week. Our daughters chose their clothes and lay them on the bed in the guest bedroom. This included socks, undergarments, accessories and shoes. If any item needed ironing, I would iron it when I pressed my husband’s shirts or my clothes. My husband and I continue to choose our clothes for the week. Sometimes I prepare extra sets for myself in the event I change my mind about wearing something.
• Food – Planning meals and batch cooking saves time. I cooked several meats and refrigerated them for meals the following week. Ground turkey or ground beef can be used in a meat sauce for spaghetti or lasagna. I also used the extra or leftover meat sauce to make tacos on a different day. Chicken breast cooks and freezes well. We have eaten chicken breast with vegetables as a meal. We have also transformed chicken breast into chicken salad or chopped it and added it to mixed salad. Frozen microwavable vegetables and packaged salad mix became staples in our household.
• Schedules – review and coordinate schedules. Our family would have a family meeting every Sunday in the afternoon.
  We would review planned activities for the week and prepared to accommodate everyone’s needs. It only took a few minutes and saved time, effort and anguish. Occasionally we experienced a few surprises and unplanned events during the week. We were better prepared to manage our time due to the weekly preparations.

Marcyline Bailey, ACSW, LCSW is the author of Five Smart Questions Social Workers Should Ask if They Want to Boost Their Social Work Income e-book Starter Guide and Planner. These free downloads contain five strategic questions to consider before taking on a side hustle. You may also want to view Side Hustle Success as a Full Time Social Worker one of the webinars in the Side Hustle Social Worker Webinar Series.

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