The essential question: how to earn money, make a living, and still have time for yourself? Having money is important to, well, live; but how do you set time to live life as well? Largely due to the internet and app-culture, finding a side hustle (or a main hustle for that matter) is easy to do and accessible given whatever training or background that you might have.
The ideal gig is one where you can earn a livable income, but still have time to yourself—to develop your other interests or to spend time with family. With that in mind, the ideal extra-income gig is one with a flexible schedule and/or a gig that is high paying so you don’t have to work as much.
The hospitality industry will shock you with how high-paying it is. And most of us at some point will wait tables or bartend. Restaurants are always hiring and once you get your serving or bartending style down you can walk away with some serious cash at the end of the night. One of the highlights of working in the restaurant or bar industry is that it’s (fairly) easy to come and go. There is no commitment or contract, so if you’re in a bind and you need money ASAP but don’t want to maintain a side hustle forever, you can always wait tables until you’ve met your financial goals and ditch the job easily. Also, the hours themselves can be ideal—shifts are usually under 7 hours, they’re generally at night so you have the day to yourself. And a bonus: these jobs are usually pretty fun and are a great way to meet other people. Those working in restaurants tend to bond and you can develop rapport with your regulars. Do keep in mind that restaurant jobs are physically demanding– you’re on your feet, you’re moving quickly. On top of that, most are high-stress and fast paced; but of course, these are the restaurant jobs where you can make the most money.
But above all, seek out a gig with a flexible schedule. Apps like Uber, Lyft, and Postmates have surged in popularity because of how easy they are to do while juggling another job or other life moves. This is why a lot of drivers tend to be stay-at-home-parents or those in the midst of a career-change. Generally, too, the background requirements are pretty easy to meet—you usually just need a license, a modern-ish car, and a clean record. And if you don’t fit these criteria, you can always bike courier with a delivery service. The Postmates, Grubhub, and Doordash apps are set up so you can do your deliveries on your bike! What’s great about these apps is that you’re usually paid based on the deliveries you make so you can essentially bike around until a delivery is available in your area. Some folks even do errands on their bike while waiting for deliveries—a perfect situation for multi-tasking: exercise, errands, and earning money.
Freelance gigs are especially flexible. Popular freelancing gigs include content writing, copyediting, graphic design, and web development. These jobs are often assignment-based, so you have a deadline but the time you set aside to complete the assignment is up to you. Are you a student? Bust out that assignment at night before you go to bed. Or as a single parent, write that long-form article while the kids are at school. These jobs, too, have an element of creativity and mental stimulation, as you can learn from and grow in your field with each assignment.
It is worth mentioning that perhaps the most ideal situation is earning money doing the thing you love. This of course is easier said than done and can take some true job market savviness; but it isn’t impossible. Living out your passions and getting paid for it is truly a win-win. While working in the agriculture/farming industry isn’t generally high-paying, if you can’t imagine not being outside every day and are happiest digging in the dirt, why do anything else but that? There is the starving artist archetype, sure, but plenty of musicians, for example, can make extra-income teaching private lessons. And most artists can score contracting gigs through public-works programs or guest teaching in public schools.
The important thing to keep in mind is that your time is valuable. Make it worth something: work a job with flexible life-work balance and work a job that allows you to live your life—whether that’s financially or through the job itself.
