We Reject the Side Fuss
Read enough about career and money, and you’ll start to see the same tips repeated over and over. Most of them are intelligent and harmless. Some of them are downright bad.
Most of all, however, I am tired of hearing admonitions to “always have side business,” or, more simply, compulsively combining an extra part-time job with a full-time job you already have. In honor of Waiver Week , I’m giving up the “side hustle” – or “second job” if you take your post-crisis rebranding deadline.
During the first few years of my career, I regularly worked on the side of my full-time job, either to keep a steady stream of music videos while I did something else to pay the bills, or to pay the bills while I was working in a steady but poorly paid editorial. work. Basically, I don’t regret it – it got me where I needed to be financially as well as my career. Extra work was a necessary evil.
The problem was that for a long time after I could afford not to, I continued to work constantly freelancing, getting up early before a full day to better rake in the money that was useful to have, and allowed me to quickly accumulate extremely the necessary savings in case of emergencies – but I could easily do without it. I told myself that it was not a lot of extra effort, I was just “a good crowd,” and that I was clever to strengthen ourselves with additional options in such an unstable profession and industry.
This may have been true, but it is also true that quiet work outside of work has become a serious depletion of my energy level, negatively affecting my mental, emotional and even physical health. I also started spending money more foolishly (some might say obsessively) in response to growing stress, which backfired, making me feel like I needed this extra cash flow even more. Instead of acting like a financial security blanket, my outside income became a ghost that I kept in my life mostly out of fear. When I finally bit the bullet and focused on just one job at a time, it’s no surprise that all that extra stress and anxiety disappeared almost immediately. I slept more, rode less overpriced taxis, and did my real day job better.
As Nick wrote earlier, turning your favorite hobby into the hustle and bustle of making money can end up ruining your relationship with what you once loved. Likewise, continuing your side hustle and bustle beyond the point of financial necessity can quickly become something closer to a “psychological trap” than a “financial trick that will push you into early retirement.” When you’re not on a watch, devote that time to exercise, sleep, meeting friends, working on a side project that is not profitable – literally anything other than using your precious non-work hours for extra work just because a blogger told you a little money.