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I know what it's like, it can be really challenging to find any time in your week to fit in transforming your passion into your dream career or business.
You probably don't have enough time in your day as it is with meetings, projects, emails, client calls, admin and commuting, not to mention household chores, spending time with your partner and children if you have them, catching up with friends all while trying to manage to have some downtime. You just feel busy all the time and exhausted, so being asked to find more time, even if it’s to do something you love, is a big ask.
There are some great time-saving techniques out there, but it's not always easy to implement them when you're already feeling overwhelmed and busy. Also, we are all different, what works for one person who loves lists, charts and the smallest detail, will not be great for someone who has more of a big picture mindset.
But I’m telling you that the one thing you 100% need to make working with your passion a reality is being organised! You need to manage your diary with precision, have boundaries and be strict with yourself but also look after yourself physically and mentally.
That's why I wanted to share with you my ultimate tips that I used to find more time to work on my new career, while still working full time in a corporate role.
1. First up is to audit your life in regards to time. You need to be able to see where your time is actually going, and what you could realistically change in order to make time for working towards making your passion your career.
So take a look at a typical working week, including the weekend. Write down everything you have to do in the week, no matter how small. Sometimes a lot of small tasks can take more time than bigger ones.
Then look at each task in turn and decide if it needs to be there and if it does how can you make it easier to get done. Remember, you don't have to do everything yourself!
Your keywords here are: Automate, delegate, outsource and eradicate
2. The next tip is to set morning and evening routines. By ‘book-ending’ your day with the same routines and habits, you will be able to structure your day better and keep the most important things you need to get done in front of your mind. I share all about creating a morning routine in episode 16 4 Power Habits Habits To Give You More Energy, Time, Confidence & Focus, so go and have a listen if you want to know more detail on what to include. Basically, the morning routine gets you set for the day, mentally and physically and your evening routine allows you to wind down, remind yourself of what is coming up the next day and helps you get into the right state to have a restful and restorative sleep, which you will need to keep your energy up! They don’t have to be convoluted routines, whatever works for you, but consistently doing the same things, and creating positive habits, gives you a sense of control and will be the foundation for your other time-saving strategies.
3. Next up is to start saying no! If you find yourself constantly saying yes to things, start saying no. This will free up some time for you to focus on the things that are important to you. This is in your personal as well as your professional life. Let's face it, if you are looking to move your career or work then working 150% in the day job is not really needed. I'm not saying totally slack off, you should always perform your job well, but hold back on taking on projects or tasks that you don't need to, that are not part of your core role. Just focus on your job and doing it well, but not more than is absolutely necessary.
At home, start being selective with social events, outings with friends, Netflix, whatever it is that takes up your time that isn't related to working on your passion. You can still have a life, but you need to cut back on the non-essential things so you can focus on what's important. I know this seems harsh, but at this moment your career change has to be number one for you. If you try to fit it into the edges of your life, I'm sorry to tell you it will never happen. Your friends and family will understand if you explain it to them and that is absolutely temporary until you've made your move. They probably will be impressed with your determination and discipline to make your dream a reality.
4. Set boundaries and deadlines and stick to them. Work out the times you want to work on your new career and carve them out. This could be first thing in the morning or just before you go to bed, on your commute, or even at lunchtime in the office or home office. Instead of browsing social media or chatting with colleagues, use your lunch break to catch up on industry news, or work on your business plan, research potential courses or network on LinkedIn with people already in the career you want to be in! If you can't find any time on weekdays, then think about weekends. It does not need to be your whole weekend but carve out an hour or two on a Saturday or Sunday.
Whatever times you choose to work on your passion, they are sacred. Stick to them and don't let yourself or others make them slip out of your calendar. If you even let it slip once because something else has come up that you need to do, then you find it happens again and again and you and it loses its importance to you or others. Your passion project has to take priority over everything, except of course real emergencies.
It’s also essential to set deadlines and keep to them, even if no one will know if you miss them or not. Parkinson's law states that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". We often think we need more time than we actually do to complete a task, project or goal. If you have 2 hours, you will find a way to fill those 2 hours with work. But if you have 2 days, you will find a way to fill those 2 days with the same work. So try focusing your attention by setting short deadlines for tasks related to your career change.
5. Finally, Invest time in your health. This may seem strange as a time saver as it’s actually using time up rather than saving it! But if you invest some of your time in health-boosting activities, you will gain a bountiful return on your investment. I’m sure I’m not going to say anything you haven’t heard before but so many of us ignore the advice and what we know is right because we are too busy. Too busy or too find time for enough sleep, too busy to prepare healthy meals, too busy to go for a run or go to the gym or busy to find time for meditation or reflection to boost your mental health.
But if you can invest some time for each of those healthy habits, you will actually gain time back as you will be more awake and alert and full of energy and so will be able to do tasks more quickly and efficiently which not only mean they are done well but you gain back time for other things.
You can’t change your life on a low fuel tank, you need to fill up your energy levels to give yourself what you need to power your passion into your new career and life
The Bottom line is…
It is definitely possible to balance a full-time job with working on your new career dream, but it does take some effort, systems, structure and organisation. And a major part of that organisation is finding the time in your already busy schedule to work on your passion project. Try to move away from the idea that time is not in your control, it is, you just have to organise it to work in the best way for you.
When you have control of your time, you will find a lot of options open up for you. You realise that you don't need as much time as you think to make significant progress towards your new career dreams. Regular, small amounts of progress will get you to your destination far quicker than sporadic but unorganised bursts of productivity.
Make your passion project part of your daily life and you will find yourself working with it full time and able to have the life you have always wanted, sooner than you may think.
