Five Productive Weekend Hacks Aimed at Employees with Side Hustles

Spending small pockets of time dedicated to achieving your dream over the weekend does not feel like work.

Like most people, I am keen and eager to get my side hustles off the ground and work for me.

It’s not the easiest thing to do — primarily when you work full time and have a family.

Many people have the luxury of quitting their full-time gig because of a supporting partner, or maybe they already spent enough time grinding it out to compensate for the loss.

For me, I like my job and can see vast opportunities in the future — that’s why I like to keep one foot in and out the door.

You never know where those opportunities may lead and how they can expand your career.

I would LOVE to have more freedom to enjoy life and become more present for my teenager.

The weekends are not a time for me to relax.

It’s time to get cracking on my goals!

Sure, I do spend time having a break — but as much as I value that time, shopping for a couple of hours without needing anything isn’t the best way to spend the weekend.

Instead, I’d much rather go out for a nice dinner with my family.

Here I want to share the super productive hacks that have helped me develop the discipline to use my time most effectively and attain a healthy and usually balanced life.

I admit it isn’t perfect, but all things need refining once in a while.

One: Exercise, rest and proper nutrition is a top priority

I tend to go to the gym a bit later, take a few walks during the day and get sunshine.

It can’t be all work and no play — you will burn out.

There is no better way than to spend time exercising to alleviate stress and increase your energy levels.

Laying on the couch is not going to do that for you.

I cannot stress to you enough just how important your nutrition is.

It’s essential to eat the right foods and exercise. This will give you the energy and drive to keep going and, most importantly, to think clearly and accurately.

Your activity levels can and always should include something low impact and vigorous activity in the mix; that can be weights or higher intensity.

It can be tempting to skip exercise and healthy eating on the weekend, but it will just send you into a spiral of yawning and taking lots of naps.

This will disrupt your overall sleep and brain activity.

Rest when you need to, but eat nutritious foods and exercise.

Finding the right balance takes some time, but when you work it out, your results will be extraordinary, and so will your energy levels.

Two: work on your side hustle for 1–2 hours, then have a break for housework

I can’t focus for more than a couple of hours.

It can get a bit frustrating because the concentration needed at any one given time starts to decline, and then I can’t seem to write down the correct sentence’s or even structure a paragraph correctly.

That’s when I know my brain is exhausted and needs to chill.

So, I use my break times for housework.

A creative break needs something entirely mindless to break up the monotony of a particular task.

Staring at another screen is not the right way about it.

Your brain sometimes needs to get away from screens.

It’s essential to have regular breaks, even making tea or getting a coffee.

Getaway for a couple of minutes helps regroup and begin to focus again.

Three: Work from home as much as you can

Due to the pandemic, most companies find it more than acceptable to have employees working from home.

Hybrid workplaces are the norm right now, and our is no exception.

It was a criterion of mine when I got my current job.

I wanted to work from home three or more times a week, yet have the flexibility to come in when I wanted.

Make an effort any way you can to somehow squeeze in working from home as frequently as you can.

But, again, this won’t be a complex negotiation depending on your industry.

Without the flexibility to work from home, I would not write the amount I want, create products and function at a higher level.

You can fill in those gaps required to commute by working on your side hustle.

When you have a family, it also allows you the time to take kids to school, pick them up and run various errands that the confined spaces of an office won’t allow.

If your workplace doesn’t currently allow you to work from home, think of creative ways you can test it out on your boss.

Back in the day, most bosses were scared you wouldn’t do any work. Now, times have changed, and employees get the upper hand.

Working from home during covid lockdowns should prove that you can do more at home.

Bite the bullet and ask. You have nothing to lose.

Four: Prepare all of your food, and invest in time shaving appliances

I don’t have time to do a lot of food prep during the week.

If I can sacrifice that wasted time for sleep or being productive, I most certainly will.

Preparing as many family meals as possible includes kids school lunches too.

I hate nothing more than rushing about like a mad person in the morning.

It doesn’t set you or your child up for a calm and productive day.

Start the morning off in peace knowing you have everything prepared and ready to go.

Chop your salad and veggies over the weekend.

They should last you until about mid-week. After that, you might have to spend an evening or morning mid-week doing it all again.

Buy all your protein on the weekend and have it laid out in trays, marinated and ready to place in the oven or a pressure cooker.

I refuse to fry anything on the stove.

It goes in the oven, pressure cooker or air fryer only.

I‘d rather use wasted cooking hours doing something productive rather than hovering over the stove, I most certainly will!

The convenience of pressure cookers or air fryers is underrated.

They will save you so much time cooking and cleaning. It will also allow you to do something else while those appliances do their magic.

Invest if they are appliances you can use to save time and money.

Air frying is also better for you than deep-frying in toxic vegetable oils.

I love my pressure cooker. I don’t use it a lot in summer, but in winter, out it comes saving me time and a crapload of washing up!

Five: Spend time on your people-watching

People watching is so fascinating.

Anyone that works full time is amongst people, usually in an office and inundated with stress and requests from all kinds of people.

We all get caught up in our own story, which leaves us closed up i recognising that other people around us have problems, dreams, and wishes.

Every weekend, I sit with my coffee and watch people. It lasts for 30 minutes.

It’s a WONDERFUL way to unwind.

I sit there and let my imagination wander off for a bit. It’s extremely therapeutic.

I don’t think we allow ourselves the time and space to stare and let our minds relax and unwind and become ready and open for new ideas and creative concepts.

Our brains are constantly going a million miles an hour.

That brings on a lot of mental exhaustion that creates overwhelm.

Spend some time, even 30 minutes, just looking, staring and possibly thinking about nothing in particular.

I am just in the moment.

Takeaways

Slowly, over the years, I’ve been trying out new ways to boost my capacity for creativity, as well as allowing relaxation and time to unwind.

Sometimes it can become entirely off balance — especially when I have to take the time to do my job over the weekend.

There is no perfect solution for balancing everything you want to do without going mad.

It’s a matter of being super aware of how your actions affect your family, as well as your health. Those are your top priority.

Ask a friend or someone that cares about you what their opinion is.

Not everyone wants to be a self-employed entrepreneur, but it’s still good to get someone else’s perspective.

We get so caught up in our little world everyone else becomes insignificant.

Make the time for a good laugh with people who don’t share your work values — but support you no matter what.

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