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How to Have Side Hustle and a Social Life (Hint: It’s Possible)

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CentrumFunFlavors #CollectiveBias

We all love to be “busy” in this day and age. It’s almost trendy, isn’t it? In fact, I often don’t even know what to do in my true “down time”. Whenever I don’t have a concrete obligation like attending class or going to work, I’m hunkering down drafting blog posts, scheduling social media, planning/revising my editorial calendar, etc. Of course, I love blogging. I wouldn’t trade this job for anything, despite the challenges (and seemingly endless workload) that may arise! However, with the holidays and some travel coming up, I’m absolutely exploring ways to maintain a side gig while also saving time for a killer social life. And trust me, it’s possible. Without further ado, let’s get into some of my favorite hacks for achieving that side hustle/social life balance. And that’s where Centrum® MultiGummies® come in…

prioritize your health & wellness

The most important element of creating a side hustle/social life balance is prioritizing yourself and your wellness above all. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in a to-do list while also trying to juggle social commitments but, the truth is, you’re not going to be able to do any of these things well if you’re not feeling your best. For me, taking Centrum® MultiGummies® makes me feel good about my health. I have major issues with swallowing pills, so I love this brand. It makes staying healthy easy to enjoy, not a struggle! These multi-benefit multivitamins also include 100% or more of essential nutrients, Vitamins B12, D, and E. These B Vitamins aid in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, while antioxidants such as Vitamins C, E and Zinc help to support normal immune function.* And did I mention that Centrum® MultiGummies® are gluten-free and have no artificial flavors or sweeteners? You guys know how important this is to me and how seriously I take my wellness, so I love that I’ve found a product that I feel good about taking.

Ultimately, you have to decide for yourself what empowers your health and wellness routine, but I know that for myself, activities like eating clean, doing Blogilates, and taking my Centrum® MultiGummies® daily help me to feel like I can do it all. It’s trial and error in figuring out what works for you, but make developing a wellness routine an absolute, non-negotiable priority. Trust me, you’ll notice a major difference when you’re trying to juggle what feels like one billion commitments between your side job and your social life. After all, how productive can you really be and how much time can you really save to do what you love when youre not feeling totally on point?

This is what happens when you don't plan quick, clean eats! This is what happens when you don’t plan quick, clean eats! And this... And this…

plan quick, clean eats

This semester was one of my busiest seasons yet. Taking 18 credits, doing an internship, and trying to keep up with the blog was tricky. It got even more challenging in November when I had my best month yet in terms of profitability. It felt amazing, but there was a lot of work that needed to get done. One of my favorite time-saving hacks that saved me though this semester was meal planning. I’ve mentioned it before, but this is still a topic that I’m going to do an in-depth post on. For now though, I’ll just stress how much easier it can be to manage both a side hustle and social life when you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to eat. Planning each meal for the next week and doing one big grocery shopping trip over the weekend was a lifesaver this semester. There’s tons of healthy meals you can plan that take under 10 minutes to make (will do a post on this soon, too), if you just think ahead of time! Some of my favorite finds at the store include:

  • Microwaveable sweet potatoes
  • Microwaveable brussel sprouts
  • Frozen veggie burgers (add fresh avocado and a sandwich thin, too)
  • Pre-cooked turkey sausage
  • Microwaveable quinoa and brown rice

See this post for a few more ideas on some cheap, clean, and quick eats. 

Take a breather

If you’ve read this post, you know that podcasts are practically the new Netflix to me. In one of the shows that I listen to, the host constantly talks about “the grind/hustle” and working harder than anyone else. I love it, but there comes a point when enough is enough. This particular entrepreneur talks about staying up until all hours of the night doing work, just to be back at it in the morning. I respect his enthusiasm and work ethic, but you should know when to take a breather. Sometimes you’ll hit a wall or other creative block, and the absolute best thing you can do is take a step back and, you guessed it, go have some fun! Go out with friends, read a book, binge watch Vampire Diaries on Netflix, etc. You never know where the next dose of inspiration or motivation is going to come from, but it certainly won’t appear if you keep staring at your computer screen and stressing yourself out. This is something I admittedly struggle with, but a huge part of maintaining that side hustle/social life balance comes down to knowing the appropriate times to work and the appropriate times to go out and have a good time. You can eliminate distractions and cut down on the amount of time it takes you to do some tasks (i.e. cooking) to save more time to have a social life but, no matter what, you shouldn’t feel guilty about giving yourself a bit of a break!

keep an agenda

Three words.

Agendas. are. everything. 

They’re a total essential to maintaining a work-life balance, and I even recommend maintaining multiple calendars. I have one agenda that I use strictly as an editorial calendar and another that includes all of my college deadlines and social commitments. Some people like to have everything in one place, but I find this to be overwhelming. Whatever strategy suits you though, it’s so important to get everything written down. You may be able to keep track of everything now, but once business is booming and your social life is packed to the brim with engagements, you’re bound to lose your bearings at some point. Keeping all of your commitments written down will ultimately help you save time too, because you won’t have to keep going through a mental checklist to see if you’re forgetting to do anything.

So tell me, what helps you maintain a side hustle/social life balance? What do you think of the tips above? Anything I missed? 

I love sharing BTS secrets with you guys, so I hope you enjoyed this peek into how I manage the craziness of blogging as a business while also going to college and having what seems like a million other commitments to hold myself responsible to. Also, don’t miss this coupon for Centrum® MultiGummies® ! I do all my wellness routine shopping at Walmart, because let’s be real, I’m a #brokecollegegirl, but why not save even more with offers like this ?

*These statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.


Holly Habeck

Holly is a millennial travel and lifestyle writer based in New York. With ten years of experience in digital publishing and photography starting with her work writing for College Fashionista and Her Campus at Ithaca College, Holly has been featured in publications such as Southern Living and Lonely Planet. She enjoys sharing her travel expertise as well as lifestyle inspiration in categories such as home décor, DIY beauty, and fashion. More importantly though, Holly is a true Hufflepuff, and her Starbucks order forever remains a grande Iced Sweet Cream Cold Brew. When she's not writing or editing photos for this site, you can find her reading anything in the Sarah J. Maas universe or cuddling with her chihuahua x pomeranian pup Pixie.