Why you must prioritise your full-time job over a side hustle

Uwizeyimana has been doing three jobs for the past two years. Besides his corporate job, he works as a DJ and part-time model. He says he has been able to do side jobs and his official job satisfactorily because he plans in advance. Uwizeyimana says though it is hard at times to juggle the three jobs, he ensures he sticks to his schedules religiously. Like Uwizeyimana, there are many other people doing more than one job. However, many of them find it hard to balance their official jobs and the side hustles. Some even get warning letters from their employers in the long-run. But doing two or even three jobs should not be much of a headache, according to experts. They say it is essential to divide your time according to those jobs, and special emphasis given to the main job or source of income. How to balance a side hustle and your steady job Given the challenges that abound in such a situation, how can one manage and grow a side job without compromising performance at their main job. Before you think of making that move of becoming an entrepreneur, you should weigh first what is required and what’s not, according to Lambert Ngabo, an entrepreneur and a business advisor, says. Ngabo says one has got to work out a plan that would ensure all roles are done satisfactorily. “You should know what motivates you and understand why you are putting in more hours to do another job. These will help guide and insulate you against risks as you go about your different jobs,” he adds. He notes that many Rwandans currently are forced to do more than one job to make ends meet. “In fact, more and more people are getting secondary sources of income, and have gone on to grow those income-generating activities and become independent entrepreneurs thanks to side hustles,” he explains. Ngabo advises workers with side jobs to always develop personal plans to guide them along the way and minimise chances of, say, giving more attention to a side job and ignore your main source of income. The expert insists that a work schedule is a ‘must have’ for anyone doing multiple jobs, adding that it is always important to remember that the main job is key. Therefore, it should be prioritised by allocating more time as well as taking it more seriously, he says. “Some people never plan for their side hustles, which often leads to stress as they try to balance their time in between the multiple jobs. So, failure to plan will undo all your dreams and goals for which you started doing many jobs in the first place,” he points out. Fidel Mupayana, a financial specialist in Kigali, says one needs to be disciplined by ensuring that they are able to work on the required hours of their full-time jobs and putting in the needed time at their side job. Mupayana says one should not take on side jobs if they cannot create enough time for their main job.

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Why you must prioritise your full-time job over a side hustle