5 ways to find extra time

5 Ways to Find Extra Time While Working 9-5

I just had to share this post. I am a part of a very special Facebook Group ran by the very special Heather Crabtree. Within this group there are like-minded entrepreneurs. These guys and gals (mostly gals) are ALWAYS there to help and inspire. Yesterday just happened to be one of those inspiring days as I saw Brittany Trama’s post. And to be honest… There are definitely MORE tips than just 5… This is for the hustler, the working Mama, the person that wants to grow her side business while still paying the bills… This is for you.

Being that I have went from a SAHM of two years to suddenly having an 8-5 job (with commute) AND dealing with my (almost) 2-year-old in the process, I have been searching for ways to help my transition. I even created a new Pinterest board if you haven’t checked out my boards lately – all around things to better myself and what I am dealing with. And with all of these changes, I have yet to find more time for myself especially to grow this blog. Yes, the struggle is real. So it was such a REFRESHING post to read yesterday. I sure hope you agree. I can’t wait to implement most of these… especially the sleep app! Don’t forget to visit Brittany’s blog to the entire 9-page guide on this topic. Link is at the end of this post or if you just can’t wait, click here.

So here we go… Straight from Brittany…

5 ways to find extra time while working 9 to 5

 

 

“[How I found 10 extra hours each week to work on my business while working a 9-5 job]

Waking up at 5:00 am was a game changer for my business. But it wasn’t always like that. Four months ago, I couldn’t wake up past 7:15 am to save my life. And even that was a struggle.

I had a love-hate relationship with the snooze button.

When my alarm went off, I’d think to myself “I just need 5 more minutes” (it was more like 2 hours).Then, I’d roll over, slap the snooze button, and go right back to sleep. Oversleeping became a normal part of my morning routine.

For 2 years I tried to wake up earlier. And failed miserably every. single. time. So, why would I even go through all this hassle of trying to force myself to wake up earlier?

No, it’s not because I’m a sucker for punishment.

The reality was that working on my business after work wasn’t cutting it.
I worked at least 45 hours per week at an extremely stressful job. So by the end of the day, my brain was drained.

When you factor in an aggravating 45-minute evening commute in bumper-to-bumper traffic by the time I made it home, I was BEAT!
Then I had to eat dinner, clean up, and walk my dogs. By that point it was already 8:00 pm and all I wanted to do was relax on my couch and watch Netflix (while snacking on delicious gummy bears).

In my mind, I was rewarding myself for dealing with all the b.s. at work and I was going to savor every moment, dammit! On the rare occasion when I did attempt to work on my business, I couldn’t stay focused for very long.

My brain would go into overdrive and I’d start to feel overwhelmed by everything I needed to do. Wasting time on Facebook seemed like a much easier alternative. I felt guilty that I wasn’t making as much progress as I could have. I thought I just didn’t have the willpower to do it. I told myself that I needed to just try harder tomorrow.

In order to wake up sooner, I knew I’d have to go to start going to bed a lot earlier. There was no way around it. Initially, I was resistant to the idea of having to be in bed by 10 pm every night. I felt like I’d be losing my fun time!

Since then, I’ve created a bedtime routine that allows me to wake up by 5:30 am every day. As a result, I had 1.5 to 2 hours of extra time per day to work on my side business.

First, I set an alarm on my phone for 9:00 pm as a reminder that it was time to get ready for bed.
Next, I outlined my bedtime routine:

1 – When my alarm goes off, turn off my laptop

2 – Pick out my clothes for tomorrow

3 – Put on my amber glasses to block out blue light. Artificial light, especially blue light, shuts down melatonin production and makes it harder to fall asleep. Wearing these glasses before bedtime helps me feel sleepy, so when 10 pm rolls around I’m ready to go to sleep.

4 – Do something fun! This could be either reading a book or coloring in my coloring book.

5 – Right before I fall asleep, I turn on my Sleep Cycle app so that I can track my sleep duration and quality. This played a big roll in my success because the alarm goes off during the times I’m NOT in a deep sleep. So when I wake up, I feel refreshed instead of groggy.

Even though I quit my job last week, I’m still going to continue waking up early because I really enjoy having extra time for myself before everyone else wakes up.”

What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to finding more time to work on your business? What are you struggling with the most?

 

Brittany Trama

Brittany Trama is a Productivity Coach who helps ambitious entrepreneurial women with busy lives maximize their time and get focused, so they can get their first paying clients quickly and turn their side-gig into their full-time gig. Get her free 9-page guide: “How to Wake Up Early (and find 10+ hours each week to work on your side business)” — free for Sentimental Mama readers.

Bre. Geiger