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Are you too busy to make money?

Too busy to make money? This post will show you that you need to stop adding more unpaid work to your schedule and look for paid freelance positions.

Morning! Today Alexandra talks about side hustles and time management. Let me know if you would like to guest post on MMYW.

Alexandra is the owner of Real Simple Finances, where she writes easy finance tips for real people. She’s a recovering volunteeraholic, who has learned to say “no” to extra activities, thereby maximizing her income potential and still having time to spend with her husband and two dogs. You can follow Alexandra on Twitter: @RSFAlexandra.

The common belief of business seems to be, “If you’re busy, you’re productive. If you’re productive, you’re making money.” Why aren’t you making any money, then?

 

It is possible to be too busy to make money! As much as this goes against typical “common sense,” consider these scenarios:

 

  • You’re taking on a lot of unpaid “experience only” work. After all, you can’t make money if you don’t have a good resume, right?

 

  • A friend needs help creating her resume. Of course you couldn’t charge her for the resume. What kind of friend would you be?

 

  • Your day job is asking for volunteers for a weekend charity event. You intended to get some writing done, but your boss really cares about this charity. You spend your Saturday cleaning up a beach or feeding the homeless, and then have to spend all day Sunday catching up on things you didn’t do Saturday. Before you know it, it’s Monday, and you didn’t get any writing done.

 

  • You love animals, and realized that fostering dogs is absolutely your calling. You dive head-first into the process, taking on two puppies who aren’t at all housebroken. Cue large expenses and no chance to relax.

 

Do any of these situations sound like your life? If so, you could really be hurting your income potential.

 

I have struggled with this problem myself; all too frequently I found myself saying, “When life calms down a little, then I’ll be able to get my freelance business going!” I realized life isn’t going to slow down until I stop making commitments! Essentially, I was making myself too busy to pursue my side business ventures.

 

I knew I had to slow down. If you feel that you need to slow down as well, try asking yourself some questions to decide which activities to cut:

 

  1. Is this bringing me joy?

If you aren’t happy doing something, stop doing it. Of course, this works much better when you’re eliminating non-paying jobs. Be careful if you’re trying to get rid of a job you hate; you need to be strategic to make sure you don’t fall on your face!

 

  1. Is this taking away from valuable time with my family/myself/my dogs/my side business?

If you feel as though you’re compromising your values for the sake of a job or volunteer project, you’re going to be miserable. Take some time to evaluate what’s important to you, and decide if this project is worth the time you’re investing. When I’m unable to enjoy a dinner with my husband because I have too many articles due, I know I have taken on too much.

 

  1. If you’re considering taking on another unpaid position, ask yourself: “Do I have enough free work going on already?”

It’s hard to pass up good experience, but the key to building a good business is learning when to say no. I have reached the point where I no longer will volunteer free writing, and am asking for compensation for all jobs I apply to. It might feel harsh to say no, but you have to do what’s right for you and your family. Saying “no” is a good thing!

 

So be brave and eliminate some of the free work you’re doing, or stop taking on new work all together!

 

I am not suggesting that money should be your only motivator, of course. I have a few unpaid positions myself that currently I don’t intend to get rid of; they are flexible, meaning I can put money-making activities first; they are fun; and they helped me get my start, so I feel a bit sentimental toward them. As long as I stop adding more unpaid work to my schedule, I will be able to fit in paid freelance positions.

 

Are you guilty of making yourself too busy? How have you opened up your schedule for more productivity?

 

This post was featured on the Real Simple Finances, Yazekie Carnival, Personal Finance Carnival, thank you!

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Lovely comments

  1. DC @ Young Adult Money says

    This is a great reminder that time is precious. If you are only doing free work or all your time is being taken up by things you don’t REALLY want to do, how are you ever going to create side income or launch that small biz you have been planning for years? I personally have made it a #1 priority to prioritize my time and constantly evaluate how I’m spending it.
    DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted…When Did Your Parents Cut You Off?My Profile

  3. Mr. Utopia @ Personal Finance Utopia says

    I don’t volunteer for extra work that would take away my time to get other stuff done. The reason why I’m always out of time is that my regular job essentially forces the extra projects on me. In other words, it’s assigned to me and I’ve got to get it done by the due date no matter how. Thus, a good majority of the time it’s out of my control and that makes prioritizing other stuff (side business, family, etc.) tough.
    Mr. Utopia @ Personal Finance Utopia recently posted…Getting an MBA is a Waste Unless You Do ThisMy Profile

  4. Matt Becker says

    I can definitely have a tendency to say yes to too many things. I think you’re spot on that learning how to say no is an invaluable tool. The reality is that we have a finite amount of time and energy and it really isn’t possible to do everything. Focus on the things you enjoy or that deliver the most bang for the time put in.
    Matt Becker recently posted…Taking the Scenic RouteMy Profile

    • Financial Independence says

      This is definately true – too many times I spend a full day working and don’t get much done. I find it really helps to focus on your goals for the day and set checkpoints to reach every few hours. This stops me getting distracted and spending all afternoon browsing the web.
      Financial Independence recently posted…Motif Investing ReviewMy Profile

  6. Kayla says

    Great post — being too busy can hinder creativity and a job well done for the work you are doing as well. I’ve noticed that when I’m doing too much on the side in terms of freelance work, I’m only hurting myself because I’m not retaining clients, or doing a good enough job where I would be able to get higher paying gigs or expand upon their current project.

    “If you need something done, ask a busy man” I still think holds true in a lot of scenarios — but not if the work you’re doing is busy-work, instead of real work!
    Kayla recently posted…Hustling in the Freelance IncomeMy Profile

  8. Laura says

    I have a really hard time charging friends and family, but they are usually not abusive, they just ask for advice once in a while. Still, sometimes it takes a lot of time, a friend asked me to translate some work for her, it took me hours and in the end she didn’t use it so I felt frustrated.

  9. Thomas | Your Daily Finance says

    I think personally a lot of people find other things to do the they dont consider work. I mean even though its work they would rather volunteer than have to go to a part time job. Plus I find a lot of people especially the wifey will say yes to things because she doesn’t want to feel like she let people down.
    Thomas | Your Daily Finance recently posted…Are You Trapped in the Credit ConundrumMy Profile

  11. Adam @ Money Bulldog says

    I know it’s slightly different to what this post is saying but if you don’t value yourself highly enough you can even be too busy to make any real money when you run your own business. A friend once told me that It’s all well and good being the cheapest around and you’ll probably be really busy, but you’ll be a busy fool because you’ll never make any money. (This is specific to the service industry I should add where time literally means money) I think you’re better off providing a great service and charging adequately for that service.
    Adam @ Money Bulldog recently posted…Getting the Best Deal on a New TVMy Profile

  12. Canadian Budget Binder says

    Yes I make myself very busy with little to no pay on my hobby blog here at CBB. I think we do things not only to make money but to release the stresses of the day and simply to engage with a community> Sure, I’d like to make money, but I never expect it since it wasn’t my goal from the beginning. I know one lady who runs a business out of her home, she is dead cheap for her services and has tonnes of clients but she’s falling apart. She is in physio now for wrist problems. We can’t have it all.. or can we?
    Canadian Budget Binder recently posted…How to lose a guy in one dateMy Profile

  15. Lyle @ The Joy of Simple says

    Nice post Alexandra 🙂

    I used to take any and all jobs that were asked of me until I one day wondered what would happen if I said “NO!” So I did and you know what? Nothing! They said, “ok. thanks anyway” and went on to ask someone else! From that day on, I have balanced my freelance gigs and have been happy doing so.

    I realize that at the beginning one might want to do as much as possible, but as you get good at what you do, and as you get more offers of work, you can be wonderfully selective in what you choose to do. At least that’s the way it works for me!

    Thanks again for the guest post and take care. All the best.

    Lyle
    Lyle @ The Joy of Simple recently posted…Looking For The Silver Lining: An Optimist’s Quest!My Profile

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