Nowadays, I think it’s very easy to feel like we need to be always be doing something of note.  Between social media, blogs, and books detailing the adventures and successes of others, there’s a pressure to jump in and make a name for yourself as well.  At least, I know I feel that way sometimes; the pressure of trying to do it all is definitely there.  The tricky part is knowing what to go for and finding the time to go for it.

As you probably know by now, I write this blog in addition to working 50 hours a week at my full-time job.  I’m not complaining, because I love both equally, but it does get a little tricky trying to plan for both.  For example, I work about every other weekend for my normal job, depending on when we have events and whether or not I need to be there for said events.  Sometimes I work two weekends in a row and am off three weekends in a row and sometimes I work only one weekend a month.  It really just depends.  Which, as you can imagine, makes it a little bit difficult to plan little weekend trips unless I know well ahead of time and can request them off.  It takes some of the spontaneity out of my travel plans.

But, as I said, I love both my jobs and I don’t think (actually, I know) that I would like to have a typical 9-5 Monday-Friday job.  I like that everything is up in the air, most of the time.  It only gets a little bit frustrating when I’m trying to plan for a project I need to get done in a specific time frame and I can’t nail down a weekend to go.  As a result of these circumstances, I’ve gotten very good at projecting which weekends will be busy and which weekends I can coerce Mike into checking out some new Midwestern destinations.  I’ve gotten better at planning larger trips well ahead of time so I can request the days off months in advance so someone can cover for me.  It takes some work, but I’m happy to do it.  It’s been awhile since I could truly say I like my day job.

While I do think it is entirely possible to have both a career and a successful side hustle/passion project, it certainly does take quite a bit of work and time-management.  Being passionate about both things in equal measure is key, and so is having a good support system behind you (thank you, Michael!).

Anyways… those are my musings for today!  I hope you can relate and that this particular post lets you know that yes, it’s hard, but you’re not alone in the hustle.

How do you deal with the pressure of trying to do it all? What tools and tricks do you use to be most productive?