Why I Plan To Keep My 9–5 As Long As Possible

Even if I go viral, I won’t be putting in my two weeks’ notice

Are you hustling to quit your boring ol’ 9–5?

Maybe you shouldn’t be.

I started my side hustle/make money online journey in August of last year. Almost immediately, I noticed that all the advertisements for courses made claims about how you too could quit your job and live life on vacation.

But is that what you even want?

Maybe your job sucks and you want out. That’s fair. I’ve had jobs that I desperately wanted out of before.

But not now. I really, really, really like my job.

I like what I do. I like the company I work for. I like my boss. I like my co-workers.

So why am I side hustling?

Because as much as I like my job, they aren’t paying me enough to support the life I want and there is pretty limited room for advancement.

More importantly, I am one of the few remote workers and I’m terrified that eventually they are going to crack down on bringing everyone into the office.

After so many years of remote work, I just don’t think I can work 8–5/5 days a week in an office. Plus I would have to move and I just don’t think that’s an option.

I need a safety net. I need more than one income stream.

So why not plan to quit my 9–5?

There are a few reasons. Sure, I like my job, but it’s a job. It isn’t something I’m passionate about.

So why am I not planning to quit when my side hustle money grows larger than my salary?

It’s a stable paycheck.

Right now, while having a 9–5 means limited time for working on my side hustles, it also means I’m not worried about the bills getting paid or keeping groceries in the fridge. It limits my time but keeps me from feeling (too much) stress about money.

Stress is a creativity killer, and desperate people do stupid things. A stable paycheck keeps my stress level low and my decisions measured.

Having a salary is a form of diversification.

If one of my reasons for starting a side hustle is because I’m afraid something will happen to my job, the flip side of that is I would be equally, if not more, worried if I was depending on what income came in from writing (and other projects).

Right now, I’m averaging just a few dollars a day. Because I have an income source, I’m okay with slow growth. I’m not in a hurry.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, right? Does that saying apply here? I think it does.

And when I am making good money online? Then I can stress even less, because I can live off of one income and use the other for bigger goals.

It gives me something to write about.

I think I’ve been missing an opportunity the past few months — having a regular job gives me stuff to write about.

I was working on a big project recently, and it was frustrating because someone gave me information really, really late in the process. I bet most of us have been there, that’s a topic.

I got a surprise presentation announced to me last minute. I’m not the first or last person who has had to come up with and give a presentation with just two days notice. That’s a topic.

Really the more I think about it, the more I think the possible topics are probably endless. If I am struggling to come up with what to write about, maybe I should just think about the last thing that happened at work and write about that.

My 9–5 comes with benefits

My job comes with retirement matching, paid vacation time, insurance, and other benefits that a side hustle or my own business won’t come with.

I would love to eventually be making so much money that those things don’t matter, but I think that will be a long way off, if it ever comes.

So there you have it, I’m keeping my 9–5 for as long as they will keep me.

What about you? Is your goal to quit your 9–5, or to develop a second income source?

Whatever your goal, I wish you all success as you pursue it.

Keep up the good work and thanks for reading!