This is the fifth post in the How to Start a Nonprofit Side Hustle series.
If you’re a full-time nonprofit worker looking for a way to make some extra cash, it can be hard to see how you’d ever have the time or the energy after a long day doing good. Well, I’m here to remind you that everyone has the same number of hours in a day. It’s what we do (or don’t do) with them that makes the difference. I share with you here a few tricks I used to get my consulting business up and running while I still had a full-time nonprofit job.
Leave work on time
You know why you’re too tired to do anything after work? Because you stay there all night! Set boundaries on how late you stay after work. If you come in at 9:00am, plan your day so that you can end at 5ish and head home to work on your consulting business. If you have a big project to complete at your nonprofit, make a project management schedule so you can work on it in chunks, rather than cramming it all in during a week that you may also have work due for a client.
Use your vacation days
At my previous job, we had pretty good benefits. I had four weeks of vacation (five after three years) and I made sure to use all them babies up. I used one full week for an actual vacation to the tropical paradise of my choice, then the rest of the time I used for consultiang and traveling around the country for speaking gigs. When a potential client contacted me, I got out my work calendar and scheduled any projects around holidays and weeks that I knew were clear for me to be out of the office. By doing it this way, I was able to put my full-time nonprofit job first and not piss off my boss for missing any important deadlines or events for the organization.
Maximize your lunch hour
If you must eat lunch at your desk, do double time while you’re sitting there! Instead of surfing the web with one hand and a pickle in the other, use your break time to send emails to prospective clients, make phone calls to schedule meetings, or jot down ideas in a “side hustle” journal. I keep a small notebook in my purse at all times, just in case I come up with a hot idea for generating more income. It really comes in handy when you only have a few snippets of free time during the day.
What other methods have you used to find more free time during your day to work on your nonprofit side hustle?
P.S. If you’ve already got some extra time, I’m hiring a part-time virtual assistant!
