Life is getting more and more expensive as time goes on. There is only so much that we can do to continue to pay for the things that we need with one income. In order to afford the increasing costs of living, it may be necessary to work two jobs.
Balancing a healthy lifestyle, handling a jam-packed schedule, managing your family events, maintaining a personal life, and upholding all of your responsibilities can be very challenging. This article will help you prioritize your time and figure out how to efficiently manage your life while working two jobs.
5 tips to help you balance two jobs
Finding the perfect job that pays you exactly what you need is definitely possible, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be difficult. It all starts with being confident in your current job and then you can add a second job into the mix. All it takes is organization, time management, money management, proper health, and a sense of being realistic.
1. Organization
A lack of organization causes stress, which stems from feeling overwhelmed. It is easy to become overwhelmed rather quickly, but thankfully, it’s also easy to avoid this feeling, too. Start by making a list of the tasks that you need to accomplish throughout the day, week, or month. This will help you learn how to prioritize the more urgent tasks that need to be done first.
Focus on weekly and monthly planning
Weekly and monthly planning is essential no matter how many jobs you work. It is very important to plan out your schedule weeks, or even months, in advance. Having a plan gives you something to fall back on, which will help you stay focused so that you can achieve your short-term goals.
Create schedules and to-do lists
Write everything down! We cannot emphasize this enough. Writing everything down can make or break your schedule. Not only will your notes serve as constant reminders of what is most important, but they will also help you relieve some of your stress because you’ll stay focused.
2. Time management
Time management is the keystone to successfully working two jobs. It can be a struggle to balance your work schedules, but with time management skills, it will be more than possible.
Buy a planner
Purchasing a planner will help you successfully manage your time and plan out your schedules. Daily planning sessions should be done either every night or each morning, depending on what works best for you. Your planner can even be a notebook if you prefer that over an actual planner.
Reference your planner
Refer back to your scheduled plans as often as possible. Doing so will ensure that you keep your goals at the forefront of your mind and make decisions that align with your goals. While it can be fun to divert away from your scheduled plans, in the long run, it only serves as a distraction from what you really want in life. Use a planner to keep yourself focused.
Complete your tasks
Adding deadlines and tasks to your planner will ensure that you accomplish everything on your to-do list. Make sure you put all of your chores, tasks, errands, meetings, and job schedules in your planner so that you have your responsibilities all in one place.
3. Money management
Money is the main reason why people apply for another job and work two jobs at once. While it’s true that some people like work and just want to work more because they can, most people work a second job because they need the money. Managing your money wisely is important.
Enjoy multiple payment schedules
Working two different jobs means you’ll increase the amount of money you make as well as how many paydays you participate in every month. With different pay schedules, you will likely get paid more frequently throughout the month, too. Make sure you write down your paydays and your bill due dates. It will help you organize your payment schedules to avoid confusion in the future.
Remember the goal
Remember why you started a second job in the first place. Don’t use your extra income and become more of a consumer, especially if debt was the reason for your second job. Make sure you prioritize paying off your debt as soon as possible, too. If the reasoning was to buy a second car, then save up for a car. Try not to get shiny toy syndrome and buy something enjoyable instead of focusing on reaching your goal.
Give yourself a safety net
It may be wise to keep the second job for a little bit longer than necessary because it can help you increase your safety net, even if only by a few hundred dollars. Every little bit helps. Many people like to have a safety net of three months worth of expenses, while others prefer a six-month safety net. It all depends on your personal preference.
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4. Health
Our mental and physical health is more important than anything else. Bodies need rest and relaxation. Our minds need to be treated well. Taking care of yourself, both mentally and physically, will ensure that you can manage more than one job without burning out.
Prioritize your brain
The brain is very resilient. It can perform an outrageous number of tasks, and it thinks of so many thoughts per day, according to discovermagazine. However, our brains can only function to such impressive degrees if they are properly cared for on a frequent basis. That’s why it is so important to prioritize your mental health.
Work out to stay in good shape
Setting aside anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour or more a few days a week and spending that time exercising can make a major difference. The body needs some sort of physical activity in order for it to continue to perform at its peak performance. It can be difficult to find time to work out with such a crazy schedule, but that’s one of the major benefits of a planner!
Maintain a balanced social life
Extroverts and introverts alike should all have some sort of social life. We all need human interaction. Even if your social life is only five minutes per day, something is better than nothing. Plan to meet up with friends or family for coffee on your days off work. On your busiest days, you can always try calling a friend or family member on your commute.
5. Realistic job expectations
Your second job is supposed to help make your life better, not harder. Look into the details of the position before you agree to the job. Is the commute long? How many hours are required of you? Is it going to be the job that pays $25 an hour or another liveable wage? There are many questions to ask, but they all come down to figuring out if the job expectations are realistic.
Time
Knowing how many hours of work will be expected of you is crucial to your second job. Having a solid understanding of your work hours will help with the whole planning process. Remember to include travel time when creating your combined work schedule and calendar.
Finding work-life balance
Working a second job can be hard and stressful. Following the tips above will help you manage two jobs with flying colors. You can also make it easier with RoarMoney, which can help you stay on top of your finances with the spend report tracker and Financial Heartbeat features. These financial tools will help you leave your second job faster, creating more time for yourself and your own personal needs.
