Is Your Side Hustle Hustling You?

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

1826

Abstract

cost approximately $9. eBay fees will be around$ 7. The item itself cost me $25. Walking back and forth to the post office will eat up about half an hour.Is all this really worth my time or effort? (Obviously, YMMV. If I had lots of storage space and lived down the block from the post office, selling online would be much more rewarding.)Turns out, the freedom I sought by doing multiple side hustles is actually just more work than sitting in a cushy office job where I can just bring in far larger and more predictable amounts of money without much effort.Which leads me to wonder\dotsare our side hustles hustling us?I’m wondering how much money I am leaving on the table due to my preference for a dopamine rush that yields far fewer practical rewards than a day job would.The thrill of the random sends me soaring in a way that a stable job with steady income can never do. Guess I’m just like any other human —<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2012/03/25/want-to-hook-your-users-drive-them-crazy/"> addicted to intermittent variable rewards</a>.But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.Is your side hustle worth your time? If you see you are putting in more hours and your job is creating more stress than it’s worth, it doesn’t mean you have to quit. It means you have to make some decisions (and yes, one of those decisions may involve quitting, but it may also mean just defining parameters and setting boundaries.)For example, since listing, shipping, dealing with fees and taxes is such a giant pain in the !, I’ve decided to only list items that I can profit (after fees and shipping)$ 30 or more from per piece. If I calculate that I won’t be able to profit tha

Options

t much, the item goes into the donation bin or given away on Freecycle. If something I’ve listed for sale doesn’t sell within a month, I donate it in order to create more space in my apartment. Phew, done!Other side hustles can be so much easier and run in the background while you are focusing on your other work. Caring for other people’s pets, for example. Childcare for kids who go to bed early, so you have some blessed hours to work for yourself. I’m sure there are several other examples — and if you know of any, feel free to comment with ideas!I’m not against side hustles, per se. I’m just very pro taking stock of how much your side hustle is actually bringing to the table, and determining if your time can be better allocated elsewhere.In the end, it’s up to you to calculate how much time, effort, and enjoyment you are making from your side hustle and if your attention and effort are better directed elsewhere. You may not have to ditch it entirely (or maybe you should) — but at least take a frank look at what your results are getting and how you want to choose to allocate your time.As of now, a steady job back in finance is looking more attractive, as I work on the side to grow businesses I actually want to make progress in and focus on. It’s not as shiny and exciting, but at some point, one gets tired of running in too many different directions. In the meantime, I will continue side hustles that I find enjoyable, learn from, and that are more profitable than the clothes-selling side hustle has been.What has your experience been like, what changes do you want to make, if any, with your side hustle? What is it bringing to the table, and what is it costing you in terms of time and attention?</article></body>

Your side hustle may be diluting your focus and adding stress to your life.

The email notification letting me know that I had made another random eBay sale of old clothing I no longer wear, I’m guessing, led to another dopamine surge. Making any sale out of the blue feels like winning the lottery.

I had sold an item for $40. Hey, forty dollars made seemingly instantly sounds great! But then I paused and did the math — calculating expenses in both money, time and focus.

Listing it — including taking measurements, getting the lighting right for the photos, calculating weight — had taken time and effort that could have been diverted elsewhere. There is an opportunity cost — the time I spent listing this could have been spent working on a business I actually care about. There were also plenty of other listings I had spent time and effort on that hadn’t even sold.

Storing the item (and other items listed on eBay) took up space in my smallish NYC apartment, creating more clutter in a space that can't comfortably accommodate it. Visual clutter leads to confusion.

USPS raised their rates, so shipping will cost approximately $9. eBay fees will be around $7. The item itself cost me $25. Walking back and forth to the post office will eat up about half an hour.

Is all this really worth my time or effort? (Obviously, YMMV. If I had lots of storage space and lived down the block from the post office, selling online would be much more rewarding.)

Turns out, the freedom I sought by doing multiple side hustles is actually just more work than sitting in a cushy office job where I can just bring in far larger and more predictable amounts of money without much effort.

Which leads me to wonder…are our side hustles hustling us?

I’m wondering how much money I am leaving on the table due to my preference for a dopamine rush that yields far fewer practical rewards than a day job would.

The thrill of the random sends me soaring in a way that a stable job with steady income can never do. Guess I’m just like any other human — addicted to intermittent variable rewards.

But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Is your side hustle worth your time? If you see you are putting in more hours and your job is creating more stress than it’s worth, it doesn’t mean you have to quit. It means you have to make some decisions (and yes, one of those decisions may involve quitting, but it may also mean just defining parameters and setting boundaries.)

For example, since listing, shipping, dealing with fees and taxes is such a giant pain in the !, I’ve decided to only list items that I can profit (after fees and shipping) $30 or more from per piece. If I calculate that I won’t be able to profit that much, the item goes into the donation bin or given away on Freecycle. If something I’ve listed for sale doesn’t sell within a month, I donate it in order to create more space in my apartment. Phew, done!

Other side hustles can be so much easier and run in the background while you are focusing on your other work. Caring for other people’s pets, for example. Childcare for kids who go to bed early, so you have some blessed hours to work for yourself. I’m sure there are several other examples — and if you know of any, feel free to comment with ideas!

I’m not against side hustles, per se. I’m just very pro taking stock of how much your side hustle is actually bringing to the table, and determining if your time can be better allocated elsewhere.

In the end, it’s up to you to calculate how much time, effort, and enjoyment you are making from your side hustle and if your attention and effort are better directed elsewhere. You may not have to ditch it entirely (or maybe you should) — but at least take a frank look at what your results are getting and how you want to choose to allocate your time.

As of now, a steady job back in finance is looking more attractive, as I work on the side to grow businesses I actually want to make progress in and focus on. It’s not as shiny and exciting, but at some point, one gets tired of running in too many different directions. In the meantime, I will continue side hustles that I find enjoyable, learn from, and that are more profitable than the clothes-selling side hustle has been.

What has your experience been like, what changes do you want to make, if any, with your side hustle? What is it bringing to the table, and what is it costing you in terms of time and attention?