2020 was the year all our side hustles came to the fore. Folks had the time suddenly (very surprising for me, honestly) to turn hobbies into side hustles. Jobs became scarce and unsatisfying, so much that we decided to use our professional skills to create a side hustle of our own. I toyed with the idea too. I had a lot of people ping me and ask me how to build a fantastic customer service team, or about how to identify good customer service folks. I wondered if I should start a CBC (cohort based course, for those who are not keeping up with us fancy startup folks) on building a great customer service culture. I even signed up on one of those platforms. I might just do that next year and you can all troll me then.
I had former colleagues pinging me asking me why I don’t run a side hustle, a course, a finishing school to train regular call centre professionals into empathetic customer experience team members. I will admit, this is my hugest strength and I thought of all the moolah I could make. Because that’s what it seems like: people raking in the monies through their side hustles.
The more time I spent thinking about it, the more I wondered why those of us who had full time jobs, those of us who are privileged enough not to need another stream of income (I mean, who doesn’t need more money, yes, but then, who will also clean up, spend time with family, yourself, read, write, watch an unending Netflix stream — tell me? Who?) still wanted to do side hustles. I examined my own motives, money aside. And they looked like this: Using my skill-sets to help others? Naaice. The world needs my skill-sets. Suuuure. If I were to be honest with myself, none of the reasons were compelling.
Then it hit me. Is there a weird restlessness, ambition to keep doing more? To keep pushing hard for time, energy, motivation and what not. I also started wondering how many women with full-time jobs and kids were doing these side hustles. I couldn’t find too many (If you do, kudos to them and you!).
I literally wait for Sunday so I don’t have to get out of bed to *do* something apart from grab the coffee from my husband’s hands and retreat with my Kindle. I try to block away my son’s jabber and fail terribly, I plan elaborate meals that I want to eat and then because I need to pitch in, resort to asking for a take-out or end up saying ‘I feel like eating amma’s food today.’ Or worse, eat bread because I’ve missed carbs through the week. I look at the dust accumulating on my books, my bookshelves, the laptop that calls me lovingly to prep for the week ahead (apparently, that’s the secret to having a productive week ahead, and I’ve come to believe that too) or my son’s toys that I trip over literally beg me to put them back. My dog seeks cuddles, my husband wants a break from his domestic duties, my own cluttered mind wants to clean that wardrobe of mine, call the dhobi, pay all the bills, water the plants… phew!
WHERE IS THE MIND SPACE AND TIME FOR A SIDE-HUSTLE? I used to be a huge believer in ‘if you want something, you will make time for it’ person. I still feel like the same person with work. But good Lord, I’ve stopped judging folks who chill, and stopped being harsh on myself as I wait for the work week to begin — I truly enjoy what I do and use the time very effectively. And this is good enough for me while I figure out time and energy for a side hustle I can’t do while being perennially exhausted. I prefer reading fiction, catching up with family (I’m getting softer as I get older) and spending time figuring out how to garner enough motivation for my next day’s run.
On that note, this thread made me think hard and validates my thoughts: https://twitter.com/NirantK/status/1380687485252947969?s=20
So, this is what I think. I think I don’t want to convert what I enjoy doing for fun, leisure into a possibly monetisable side-hustle. It’s already a side-hustle when you enjoy talking about it, when you enjoy brainstorming with your colleagues/friends about it — it’s all already there. It’s okay if you aren’t talented enough to have a side-hustle. Or, have no time to do something apart from your job.
It may seem hypocritical but side-hustles are a huge spike in the startup +VC world. Shows enterprise, hunger and ambition. I wonder now, if I also want to view this as an activity that is done by folks with no family around, no expected social life around (I live in the same city I grew up in, so I have a mind-boggling variety of friends and family) or no full-time job. Running a side-hustle needs focus, motivation and time. Focus and motivation come along when you are less tired, when you have had your fill of fun or leisure. And really, leisure helps me think more clearly, do better work at my job. Helps me raise my son to be a better human being, man or not. Helps me practice my principles because I’m in no hurry to let them go.
I vote for more leisure time. I go on solo do nothing vacations once a year and I highly recommend it to everyone. Do it. Changes your life in no major way (considering it happens once a year) but gives you time to read and think and come back recharged!
(P.S. I think maybe my side-hustle is to do a course on how to write the most important things in parantheses)
