Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is based on a listener question about how
Speaker 1: to figure out if her schedule can accommodate a second job.
Speaker 1: The listener writes that she listens to Before Breakfast almost
Speaker 1: every morning since I listened to your podcast, she says,
Speaker 1: I have realized how much time I have on my
Speaker 1: hands compared to other people my age. I'm thirty seven,
Speaker 1: single and without the responsibility of a child. She says,
Speaker 1: I work a lot, and I love my full time job.
Speaker 1: Sometimes I think if I had those responsibilities, I would
Speaker 1: have come home earlier than eight pm. I work that
Speaker 1: late now because I want to advance my projects as
Speaker 1: much as I can. It helps me to advance in
Speaker 1: my career as well. I have my eyes on a
Speaker 1: step higher on my company's ladder. I try not to
Speaker 1: overdo it, but I live alone and my family lives
Speaker 1: in a different tree. In my free time, I go
Speaker 1: to the gym and meet up with friends. But still,
Speaker 1: our listener felt like she had a fair amount of
Speaker 1: open space. Furthermore, I feel when I have a lot
Speaker 1: to do, I am more productive as well. She writes,
Speaker 1: I plan better because I know that time is limited. Moreover,
Speaker 1: I need constant mental challenges or I get bored with
Speaker 1: my life quickly. So she'd been considering filling this time
Speaker 1: with a second job. She felt there would be financial upsides.
Speaker 1: I have been in school for a long time and
Speaker 1: I have almost no savings, she wrote, I have just
Speaker 1: finished paying my student debt. If I want to work
Speaker 1: more in order to save and invest, this is the
Speaker 1: right period of my life. She thought this was especially
Speaker 1: true if she did wind up having a family in
Speaker 1: the next ten years, which she thought would change the
Speaker 1: time equation a lot. However, when this listener shared the
Speaker 1: idea of a second job with her friends, they thought
Speaker 1: this was a bad idea. They refer to how much
Speaker 1: I work at my full time job and how much
Speaker 1: I need the weekend and nights after work to rest
Speaker 1: and focus on my well being. I agree, of course,
Speaker 1: with the necessity of creating a work life balance, but
Speaker 1: I think there must be a way to create it,
Speaker 1: she said, even with the second job. So what did
Speaker 1: I think? I think this is a great question. Her
Speaker 1: friends aren't wrong that our listener was already working hard,
Speaker 1: and adding something else wasn't going to be easy. But
Speaker 1: on the other hand, earning more money is a great
Speaker 1: way to boost savings fast. Sometimes it feels more doable
Speaker 1: than cutting expenses dramatically, which tends to be no fun.
Speaker 1: I suggested our listener try tracking her time to see
Speaker 1: just how many hours she was putting in at her
Speaker 1: full time job. No doubt the number was high, but
Speaker 1: even if it was, I doubted it hits seventy with
Speaker 1: any regularity. Most likely she was probably working fifty five
Speaker 1: to sixty hours a week. This leaves between fifty two
Speaker 1: and fifty seven waking non working hours each week for
Speaker 1: other things. She could probably work five to ten in
Speaker 1: there while still getting to the gym. While relaxation is great,
Speaker 1: I also think that we be energized by doing things
Speaker 1: we enjoy. If our listener chose her second job right,
Speaker 1: it could definitely be something energizing and enjoyable. That said,
Speaker 1: there are a few caveats with such a big first job.
Speaker 1: Her second job would need to be flexible. She mentioned
Speaker 1: doing some consulting on the side, and indeed she already
Speaker 1: had some offers there, so that was probably the way
Speaker 1: to go. If there weren't specific prohibitions against this. With
Speaker 1: her first job, anything that would require her to always
Speaker 1: be some specific place at a specific time would be
Speaker 1: a problem. She would need to negotiate all consulting projects
Speaker 1: such that she would dictate her hours, and she should
Speaker 1: also set her rates high enough that she would be
Speaker 1: excited about putting in the extra work. Of course, she
Speaker 1: wouldn't have to go this route. If she wanted to
Speaker 1: boost savings. She might also figure out how soon she
Speaker 1: was due for a raise in a promotion and really
Speaker 1: apply herself toward that goal. The financial outcome might be
Speaker 1: the same. She might also consider other life oles. She
Speaker 1: had mentioned wanting to meet someone and potentially have a
Speaker 1: family in the near future, and part of meeting someone
Speaker 1: is putting time and effort into this project. While there
Speaker 1: certainly is enough time in fifty two to fifty seven
Speaker 1: hours per week to consult for five to ten hours
Speaker 1: and go on a first date or two, she'd probably
Speaker 1: want to plan her time carefully to make sure that
Speaker 1: both were options. But as long as she was thinking
Speaker 1: about all her life goals, I thought there was really
Speaker 1: no harm in trying, especially since she already had some
Speaker 1: interest for her consulting services. When we truly want to
Speaker 1: do something. We often find we have more time in
Speaker 1: the hundred sixty eight hours we all have each week
Speaker 1: than we think. Have you made space for a second
Speaker 1: job or a side hustle? How did you set your schedule?
Speaker 1: You can let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at
Speaker 1: iHeart Media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four, then
Speaker 1: Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
Speaker 1: more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.