Do Side Hustles Make You a Better Person and Employee?

Side hustles are not only in favour of your bank account: the value of these extracurricular activities extends to your professional and personal life. For one, you feel proud, develop a sense of responsibility, and significantly improve your time management skills. All these skills serve you well in your personal life, likely boosting your confidence and mental health.

However, a divided focus should become more pronounced, leading to errors and faulty decisions in both your regular job and your side gig. After all, splitting yourself and granting equal attention to two side projects can be incredibly challenging. So, let’s explore side hustles and how they affect your inner and external world.

Brief intro: side hustles

Side hustles are a buzzword tossed around in many conversations and refer to people’s additional income sources (likely outside their 9-5). For example, after your shift ends at your regular job, you spend your evening driving people to their destinations or working on personal projects (such as digital products or businesses).

These examples illustrate side hustles that do require a lot of time and true dedication. However, not all side hustles are the same.

In some cases, you can earn money online without feeling the pressure or working around the clock to meet the deadlines you had set. One such example is JumpTask, a service that lets you perform various online tasks and get paid for them. You may need to participate in a market research survey or test a new application. As soon as you’re done, you see the promised reward.

Of course, you may also sell stuff on Vinted and Etsy, which are also less intimidating side hustles to try.

How side hustles affect people

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how side hustles affect people. Managing multiple ventures online may require extra caution, such as using the best identity theft protection to secure your accounts and personal data. If you’re running a small venture, such as performing microtasks or flipping thrifted clothes, you’re unlikely to experience elevated stress levels.

We can highlight the following effects of side hustles on people. Let’s start with the positive:

Positive influence of side hustles

• A busier lifestyle can cure boredom and reduce time spent scrolling through social media.
• Running a side hustle improves your critical thinking and creativity, meaning you can adapt and resolve issues faster.
• Side hustles also likely involve learning a lot of new things. For example, paying taxes is on your priority list before you start receiving additional income.
• With more plates spinning, side hustlers know the value of their time and can likely achieve more in shorter periods.
• One of the most significant advantages of a side hustle is that it can boost your happiness and satisfaction (especially if it lets you follow your dreams). For the luckiest folks, a side hustle is a hobby they get paid for.
• Side hustles make you more versatile, meaning you are knowledgeable about more than your regular job.

The less pleasant reality of side hustles

• Being responsible for multiple ventures could cause more stress and tension.
• A busier schedule also means less downtime. Even if you make additional money, you might have no time to take the weekend off.
• Side hustles can be a gamble, and failing or seeing little to no results can significantly affect your confidence.
• With multiple affairs on our plate, you could start neglecting one of them.

What should you consider before starting a side hustle? 

Before starting to build your little empire, you should answer a few questions:

• What is your attachment to the side hustle? For example, people who have always dreamed of releasing a video game will be much more invested in this side hustle. Yet, if you’re running a side hustle because it seems lucrative, but not necessarily satisfactory, you will feel differently about it.
• Where will the additional income go? Of course, having more money is a problem everyone looks forward to solving. Yet you should attach a purpose to the extra income. It could be used to support your family, or invested or saved.
• Do you want your side hustle to become your main job? Many hustlers have a clear goal: to expand their venture enough to quit their regular job. If that’s the case, your attitude and the investments you need are quite different.
• Is your family or significant other supportive of your venture? Since side hustles can eat up your free time, you should consult your loved ones. They should understand the price of success, meaning that you might not have that much free time to spend with them.

Make additional income, but don’t lose yourself

After starting a side hustle, monitor your feelings and how comfortable you are with your setup. Sometimes, the stress can become too much, making you sacrifice your mental or physical health to finish tasks or meet expectations. So, even if you start a relatively successful side hustle, prioritize your health and well-being. No amount of money can reverse the effects of long-term stress, burnout, and exhaustion.

Conclusion

Side hustles can be a fantastic way to express yourself and earn some more funds in your bank account. In many ways, it improves how you solve problems, adapt to new environments, and approach new opportunities. However, it can also make you more distracted, especially when you attempt to give equal attention to all of your ventures. Of course, not all side hustles require your undivided attention 24/7. Some of them can be more recreational and serve as a hobby (but one that pays).