By: Tim Denning Aug 21, 2020

https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/the-eye-opening-schedule-of-a-part-time-entrepreneur-4a72dba69a07

You don’t have to quit your job to be an entrepreneur.

Many people burn their dreams to the ground by quitting their job to become an entrepreneur.

*Plays holy gospel music*

They quickly go from resourceful to desperate. Accidentally.

I fell for that lie too. I got fired and thought full-time entrepreneurship was for me, too. After a few months of sitting at home and trying to make my main passion of writing the thing that paid the water bill, I gave up.

I like to create art for the sake of art. Not to earn a living.

So with a lot of experimentation I came up with my own version of part-time entrepreneurship. I expanded my income from a single customer, known as a 9–5 job, to two customers: a job and a writing hustle.

To be a part-time entrepreneur it’s all about your schedule. If you set up a process to manage your time in advance then you can crush it as a part-time entrepreneur.

All except my 9–5 job are what I consider to be part of my part-time entrepreneur schedule. I split my time between each of these income-generating activities.

• Clients I write for
• Creating eBooks
• Writing for royalties
• Coaching
• Consulting
• Coming soon: online education
• A 9–5 job

9–5 job four days a week

I work my 9–5 job four days a week: Monday-Wednesday and Friday.

I try to contain my hours to be between 9 AM to 6 PM. After 6 PM I turn on airplane mode on my work laptop and phone. Having separate devices is key to my success as a part-time entrepreneur. If I had the same devices for both then there would be no separation.

When your day job blends into your part-time entrepreneurship schedule, your day job will rule. The time you had will be lost to your job.

Being disciplined with the hours you do work is key.

No lunch break

On the days I work my 9–5 job I don’t really take lunch breaks. The reason is that I am motivated to work a lot harder in my normal job because I have one less day than everybody else to succeed.

Many people make the mistake of thinking they will be less effective by working fewer days in a normal job. I have found the exact opposite.

Mornings to hustle at business

Between 7 AM and 9 AM is where I do the hardcore business stuff: pitches, invoices, taxes, prospecting, etc.

First thing in the morning is when I find my admin/hustle brain works best. I normally need a few hours before I can switch on my creativity to write.

This time before my 9–5 job starts is sacred. It’s the time where I can finish, feeling productive. That feeling of productivity carries into my 9–5 job, making me more effective as a sales guy by day.

Whole writing days

Podcaster, Tim Ferriss, taught me to batch similar tasks.

I write between roughly 7 AM and 6 PM on Thursdays and Saturdays. All this time is spent writing and getting my thoughts onto the computer screen. There is no phone, notifications, or interruptions.

I have trained my work colleagues like dogs to know I won’t be around on Thursday. The reason this strategy has worked is because my day off from my 9–5 is always the same, so it’s not confusing. I don’t make a big deal about it either or wear part-time entrepreneurship as a soldier’s hustle badge of honor.

I tell people how it is: “I’m not in on Thursday. Is Friday good for you?”

My schedule feels effortless because it’s clear. There are no blurred lines or “just this one time.” You’d have to be dying in the hospital for me to consider changing my writing days.

Early nights

Rest is key to make this part-time entrepreneur schedule work. I go to bed between 9:30 PM and 10 PM each night. I make sure I don’t work myself into the ground or work so hard that life and work becomes a blur.

Time to work and time to play

Work, work, work will destroy you without play. I set aside plenty of time before and after work to watch movies, hang out with my girlfriend and watch weird movies like Donnie Darko.

This time is scheduled in advance, typically in the evening. I throw random holidays in twice a year, as well as on long weekends. Those holidays are rarely planned to add spontaneity to my schedule.

In-between time

I rarely waste time. I try and have my laptop around so that if there is blank time waiting for a medical appointment, then I can keep working on my business. I fill up in-between time because I love what I do. That doesn’t mean you need to, too. You can sit and be alone with your thoughts during in-between moments (I like to do that as well).

Writing for free versus paid writing
I do my best not to mix work I create and give away for free, with work I get paid for. If a client is paying me to write an article, then mixing that mindset with creative writing about life, doesn’t work for me.

Paid writing has a sell.
Free writing is entirely for the reader at no cost.

I like to go in and out of both modes of creativity.

My Ideal Day as a Part-Time Entrepreneur

Doing work you love trumps everything. I love to write. It’s my drug. It doesn’t feel like work or entrepreneurship at all. Here’s an ideal day:

• Wake up at 6 AM
• Drink a liter of water to hydrate
• Open my messages and reply to readers
• Post a 1300 character text post on LinkedIn to inspire someone’s day
• Say hi to my fellow writers on Slack
• Make someone’s day (a free gift is an easy way)
• Start writing at 8 AM
• Explore black holes, portals, gaps in thinking, false assumptions, esoteric ideas from interesting people
• Stop and take a break at 11 AM to eat vegan food (don’t judge me — I’m addicted to high levels of energy and this diet gives me that)
• Continue writing at 11:30 AM
• Punch out 5+ blog posts that people will find helpful
• Stop writing at 6 PM
• Have dinner and watch a movie until 9:30 PM
• 10 PM — sleep, knowing I did my best

Part-Time Entrepreneurship Doesn’t Have to Become Hustle Porn.

This article might make you think I’m advocating for hustle porn. I’m not.

My schedule does look extreme for some and that’s okay. You do you. I work stupidly hard because, for me, a lot of this is not work at all. It’s joy. I often forget about where I am and what I’m doing. The people I get to help beats the paycheque. Seeing people win is intensely gratifying.

If you haven’t got the message by now it’s this: you can work a 9–5 job and have a business on the side. It’s your choice. And you’re not weak if you decide not to choose entrepreneurship. But if you do choose part-time entrepreneurship then a schedule with clear separation can work for you — and it doesn’t have to be extreme hours to work.

Part-time entrepreneurship is less about the hours you work and more about why you want to build something of your own. Discover that — and the right schedule will come to you with little effort.