Is Hustling the Best Way to Do Things?

With so much talk these days about hustling and side hustles, have you ever stopped to ask if that’s actually a good idea?

Why should you work more hours than a full-time job requires? Why have a day job and then also do some other job in your off-hours? Would you really be earning enough money to sacrifice your time, a very valuable resource?

I understand not having enough money. I get having a full-time job that doesn’t quite pay enough money to cover everything it needs to. Houses are expensive, even in lower cost of living areas. Using some of your free time to earn more money so you can afford luxuries (or even just to make ends meet) is a decent use of your time. If you’re making some money, it’s not just wasted time.

But what is the cost? How are your stress levels? When was the last time you got 9 hours of sleep in one go? How much time do you spend with your family, your friends, or your dogs? Is the time you spend with them fulfilling and enjoyable, or is it tinged with stress?

Elon Musk likes to work two jobs and then sometimes start other companies on the side. You’ve got to do that to change the world, he claims. I get his point, but is it accurate? Do you really have to work 80+ hours per week to make a positive change in the world, or even just in your life?

You can make a positive impact on the world and still work a normal amount of hours, have hobbies, and even get a healthy amount of rest. You can even take vacations, too.

One guy that I like in the entrepreneur space is Gary Vaynerchuk. I like his in-your-face style and prolific use of glorious expletives. “Gary Vaynerchuk loves his side hustles,” and he’s not afraid to tell you about it. He makes excellent points, but his advice is not for everyone.

Side hustles are A LOT of work.

It’s all about the best use of your time.

How long has it been since you’ve sat down and read a book? What about watching three episodes of a show on Netflix…all at once?

I know these activities don’t earn that sweet side money, but they do enhance your quality of life. Well, they have the potential to enhance your quality of life. I suppose you could pick up a terrible book to read!

If you need more money, you’re going to have to work hard to get it. Ask yourself how are you gong to do it and maintain your sanity. How long will it take you to hit your financial target, and is a side hustle the best way to get that cash?

Say you start an affiliate website business to promote some niche products. How long will it take you to build up enough content, traffic, and readers/viewers/prospects to make it worth your time? How much money will you have to spend on advertising to drive enough traffic to turn a profit?

How long will it take you to build up a consulting business?

How hard will you have to work buying and flipping appliances from Craigslist to earn enough money to do whatever it is you want to do?

How much hustle with that take?

Weigh the hustle against your time

You’ve only got a variable amount of time left in your life, and it is finite. How do you want to spend it? Is making extra money worth it? Is a lot of extra money worth it?

Can you “make” extra money by optimizing your budget? If you pay off your credit cards and suddenly find an extra $2400 per year in your bank account, would that be enough?

Working hard has to be weighed against what you get in return and what you sacrifice to get it.

I’m not saying don’t work hard, but rather don’t work unnecessarily hard. And definitely don’t work extra hard if you don’t get anything in return. That would be the “spinning your wheels” hustle.

Hustling for the sake of hustling is pointless. If you look like you have a lot of things going on, but having nothing to show for it, you’re just wasting time.

You’re wasting energy.

At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if you’re wasting the remaining time you have left.

Ask yourself if all this hustling is worth it.

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