Could You Be a Seasonal Side Hustler?
I am writing this in May and the weather has been warm and sunny now for a few weeks, which makes me want to be outside instead of sitting in front of my laptop writing. When the sun is shining through the window I want to be able to spend time in the garden or go hiking and not fill my day with blog post writing or creating my digital course.
I have also been reading a book by Suzy Reading called ‘Self-Care for Winter’ - not really the right time of year to be consuming this, but I came across a summary in a magazine recently and it piqued my interest. Fortunately our local library had a copy so I thought I’d take a look and get some ideas for how to survive the cold, dark months of winter in the UK. It’s all about changing your life to reflect the seasons.
All of this has got me wondering whether I could make my side hustle seasonal. Suzy Reading talks about being inside more during the colder months and for me that’s the ideal time to be writing. A long dark and wet evening when there isn’t much on the TV. A great time for content creation.
The other thing about winter which means that I’ve got more time is that I take fewer holidays. In fact, I don’t take any between the beginning of November and the end of February. That’s one third of the year when I’m pretty much home most of the time, except for Christmas. Over the warmer months I find it much harder to fit my usual content creation into my schedule because every few weeks it gets interrupted by time away. Every week in winter tends to be much the same. And I don’t mind being indoors, sitting at my desk creating content, because so often it’s pretty miserable outside.
When you’ve got kids spring and summer are likely to be busier with events and getting together with friends. There’s so much more on offer to do and if you choose to side hustle you’re going to miss out. It might not even be an option because opting out isn’t something you’re prepared to do.
So whilst I often talk about building a routine so that working on your side hustle becomes automatic maybe it’s time to create several routines for different times of year. Let’s think about what they could look like…
Winter is ideal for work that requires focus and creativity. As I already said, you’re more likely to be spending evenings and weekends at home, indoors, so it’s a great time to get some content banked. Think of it like money. You’re working harder and putting what you create into your content bank account so you can take it out later in the year when you’re working less. Activities to do during this time would be:
Writing blog posts or sales email sequences
Recording lessons or writing workbooks for your course
Making physical products
Designing new products (physical or digital) to create later in the year
Creating social media posts in Canva
Spring always makes me feel enthusiastic about the future; new beginnings. A time to look forward. You may therefore want to focus on:
Launching your new products that you’ve created over the winter
Posting on social media more often - maybe you’ve got more to share now on Stories as you shake off the winter blues and get out and about. This could help grow your email list.
Send out those email sequences promoting your new products, a workshop or a challenge
A good time to schedule content for the summer months. If you can schedule it now then do so, as it will reduce your time in front of a screen on those long, balmy summer days.
Now you’ve got all that content scheduled summer is the time to:
Dial down your side hustling and let things run.
Only do the bare minimum - tasks you haven’t been able to schedule
If you want to side hustle then do so, but if you’ve implemented your winter and spring routines there shouldn’t be a lot for you to do.
Enjoy life without feeling you’ve got to miss out because you’re a side hustler.
Autumn can then be the opportunity to evaluate your routine with the following questions:
How much did you work over the summer? If it was more than you wanted, why was that?
What could you do differently next winter and autumn to make the summer even better?
Did your side hustle suffer because you took time out or did things run smoothly?
If the idea of being a seasonal side hustler appeals then schedule some time this week to look at your year as a whole. Do you have any holidays booked? How will life be different over the summer? Make a list of the activities you could do over winter or even just on those dismal days (because unfortunately we get some of those in the warmer months in the UK as well) so you can take time out when the sun shows its face without feeling guilty that you’re not working on your side hustle.