Running a business takes time, effort, and planning. Running a business when you have another job takes all of that plus amazing time management and extra planning! While I am teaching while running Farmstead Annalise, my time management had to be impeccable.
Personally I found when I worked around a block schedule, it helped me stay on top of tasks that I had to do for both jobs. Having a to-do list alone didn’t help me get things accomplished. With a block schedule, you block off certain times of the day for specific tasks. You might work like this unintentionally, but when you lay it out on paper or on your phone to keep you accountable, you can get much more accomplished.
I used my mornings to write down all my daily tasks and interact on social media for the business. Then I would pack up and go to school where I had classroom time. It was important that I only focused on school while at school. After school is the time I used to really hit it hard working on the business- making calls, planning, and doing anything else that needed to be accomplished during business hours.
When you have another job on top of running your own business, weekends aren’t for relaxing. I used my weekends to stay on top of business tasks that were more intensive like planning social media content, photography, branding, and more.
It’s always a work-in-progress trying to maintain energy and steam when you’re running a business while also having another job. Aside from my schedule, here are some other things I learned along the way that I hope will be helpful to someone else in the same situation!
Set Deadlines
If you don’t give yourself a specific timeline to do tasks, you’re never going to get anything done. Setting firm deadlines forces you to make time to work on your business. That might mean you need to wake up an hour earlier to finish planning social media posts or answering emails. Running a business takes dedication and if you want to crush your goals, deadlines are an important part of that.
Cut Out Distractions
This is somewhat obvious, but things like browsing on social media and watching TV shows will truly tank your productivity. You have to take every opportunity you can to work on your business as your normal “nine to five” time is taken away. When other people are unwinding, you have to turn it on and continue to work. You might unfortunately have to miss brunches or other social gatherings, but in the end, you’re setting yourself up for a life of success.
Have A Partner
When you have a partner, it forces you to be accountable and also gives you someone to split tasks with. Thankfully for me, I have my mom! It’s such a blessing that we’re in this together so we can keep each other on task and motivated.
Schedule Your Day
I know that I touched on this earlier, but it’s so important it needs to be mentioned again! Find a schedule that will work for you. Whether that be a block schedule, or another system like the Pomodoro Technique or 80/20 Rule. Organizing your day will help you be productive and get important tasks accomplished.
It’s also important to note that you should never do work for your own business when you’re on the clock for another job. Doing this could risk losing the trust of your employer, or more drastically, losing your job.
Following these simple tips will help you organize your schedule and accomplish important tasks. In the end, don’t lose sight of your goals and keep pushing to achieve the success your business deserves!
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