As much as I hate to admit it, I'm one of those people who devoured books like I Will Teach You to Be Rich and The Four-Hour Workweek. I was enamored by the future they promised: one of wealth, flexibility, and possibility. One of the secrets? Start a side hustle.
So I did. I started a side hustle, thinking that soon, I'd kiss my full-time job goodbye and bask in the freedom and extra cash Ramit and Tim promised. But instead, something unexpected happened: freelancing made me better at my full-time job. And people began to notice. I started getting more responsibility, more interesting projects, and more respect.
Here, I'll share why I think side hustling made me a more well-rounded employee—and how you can make the same happen for yourself.
8 ways a side hustle boosted my full-time performance
A side hustle prepares you to go off on your own. But it also gives you the skills and experience to excel in your current role—regardless of whether you're DJ-ing, pet sitting, or flipping old furniture. For me, it was freelance writing. Here's how my side hustle made me better at my full-time job.
1. I got extremely organized
Keeping track of all of your full-time work and your side hustling work is a big challenge that you can only overcome if you're hyper-organized.
That's why all the side hustlers I know have a documented, practiced, and highly refined project management process. They've tried more project management tools than the next person, and they know exactly what works for them. Despite their work and personal commitments, they've learned to hone their focus.
Of course, you'd be hard-pressed to name a job that doesn't benefit from excellent organizational skills. And while I already saw myself as a fairly organized person before having a side hustle, pursuing it forced me to get really good at keeping things in order.
Early on, I built guardrails into my workflow, so nothing fell through the cracks. For example: if I sent an email knowing that someone needed to reply to me, I'd create a draft as soon as I sent it. Then, every week, I'd go into my drafts and see which emails I needed to follow up on. Definitely not sophisticated—and now Gmail automatically nudges me—but it definitely worked.
For my freelance work, I also added cards to a personal Notion board with reminders two days out from the deadline (which I set as one or two days before the client's deadline). Because I also wrote my assignments in my Google Calendar, it seems like double work, but it was a safety check—if I forgot to put something in my calendar or vice versa, I had a backup reminder.
2. I was forced to prioritize
When you have more time in your day, it's easier to procrastinate. And we all know that doesn't always yield the best results. Staying busy between your work, side hustle, and personal life forces you to be judicious with your time and prioritize the things that matter.
I'm a people pleaser by nature, so this was a tough but critical lesson, especially as I transitioned into management.
A low-tech prioritization exercise I used was putting every assignment into my work and personal Google Calendars in a different color based on type. This showed me how booked I was on all fronts, giving me the information I needed to decide whether or not I had the time, space, and energy to take on additional side hustle work.
When I was done with each block of tasks, I'd delete the invite and see what was next on the docket. I never left thinking about what to do next or tried to squeeze in too much stuff.
3. I developed new, valuable skills
While companies are investing in L&D, they can only administer so much learning at scale. So to get ahead, you've got to do some learning on your own.
What I learned about side hustling is that I had to learn new skills to stay in business. And unlike most traditional learning experiences, I got hands-on experience implementing and applying those skills in real-life projects. Those skills then transferred over to my full-time job.
4. I adopted a business mindset
When you own your own business, you develop a greater appreciation for the backend operations and processes that go along with running a company.
In terms of how that translated to my full-time role, I noticed myself caring a lot more about saving money, working efficiently, and collaborating well. I became laser-focused on ROI. And I took more time to learn how the company worked and understand the effects of my team's decisions on other areas of the business.
Here's an example. At my full-time job, I was part of the buying consideration committee for many of the vendors and systems we used. After starting my side hustle, during vendor evaluations, I became much more discerning, asking tough questions about the value vendors offered in relation to their competitors and pointing out parts of contracts that didn't make sense or weren't advantageous to our organization.
I also learned to apply my negotiation skills during renewal periods, bringing up product requests we'd asked for in the past during renewals and seeing if we could get discounts.
5. I became a better people person
Side hustles force you to become a better account manager.
You need to please your customers and clients to stay in business, so you find ways to streamline your onboarding process, massage frustrations, and communicate expectations, learning a ton about yourself and customer service along the way.
My role at my full-time job was customer-facing, so becoming a better people person directly contributed to my effectiveness. It also helped me tremendously in my work with partners. Sussing out what they actually wanted or needed pointed me in the right direction from the get-go, ensuring that I didn't waste my time on activities that weren't that important.
But even if you're not in a customer- or partner-facing role, being a better people person is good for networking, internal collaboration, and exercising empathy for the end-user your product is serving.
6. I became more flexible
When you start a side hustle, you have to accept that there are a lot of unknowns, and you have to figure out how to deal with the unexpected.
This is particularly important at startups where priorities are always changing. Side hustling helped me feel more comfortable being uncomfortable, viewing unexpected changes as a learning experience rather than a huge disruption.
7. I felt accomplished
A 2021 study from The University of Iowa found that working side hustles "generated positive emotions and positive energy that helped boost performance in full-time work." This was absolutely the case for me.
When I wasn't getting exactly what I wanted out of my full-time job, I got a lot of what I needed from my side hustle. It makes sense: when I got recognition from a customer in one way or another, I felt more confident—and I brought that attitude to my full-time job.
It also made me feel less competitive and less involved in work politics. I had something that was all my own: something to work toward and focus my energy on.
Growing up, I was a competitive figure skater. Most elite athletes ditch traditional schools for tutors to give them a more flexible training schedule. But I went to high school full-time, and these dual lives helped me refocus my energy on the positive. The days I bombed a test or social anxiety was getting the best of me, I still had a chance to make up for it with a great workout or practice session. The days I felt off on the ice were made a little better by the cool thing I learned in science class or the recognition I got from a teacher on a job well done.
Having something outside of your full-time job is a nice way to give you a second chance every day when things aren't going exactly the way you want.
8. I learned what I wanted
Managing a side hustle (even a "small" one) and a full-time job is no joke. It's hard work, and it'll lead you to have conversations with yourself about your career. If you learn you love your full-time job, that's great! Channeling that energy into your day-to-day will set you apart from your peers. If you realize you don't love your job, it'll help guide you to something more fulfilling.
Ultimately, I decided to go full-time with my side hustle. That was a huge decision, but I felt better knowing that if my heart wasn't in my current role, I wouldn't fully invest in it. And because I'd tested the waters first, I knew I'd be happy with my decision.
Getting out of your full-time job faster is actually helpful to employers, too. The more time you give them to hire somebody else who will bring their A-game to the job, the better. Some companies like Meta and McKinsey encourage their employees to take sabbaticals after a certain number of years of commitment to the company. The ones that come back truly want to stay.
Take the leap
If you're waffling on starting a side hustle, hopefully I've persuaded you to try it out. Feel free to share this with your manager if you need anecdotal proof that it helps you become a better employee. (Hiding your side hustle can lead to a lot of complexity—I don't recommend it!)
If you're looking for more tips, here are a few articles I found helpful as I navigated working a side hustle and a full-time job:
