Maggie McVay Lynch
Nov 6 · 2 min read

A agree with much of the theories you described. However, I disagree with the solution of a side hustle. For some people that may work but, as others have pointed out, when you work 8 hours a day you need time to do other things besides work (family, friends, sleeping). A side hustle takes away from all of that.

One thing none of the theories seemed to look at was changing the work environment. There are other things, besides the actual work itself, that makes a job at least enjoyable if not meaningful. Encouraging workers to have fun together. Giving workers some input into processes and making things work smarter instead of harder. So many times I’ve seen organizations that have a specific way for people to solve a problem that is both time-consuming and doesn’t make sense. When employees have the opportunity to make suggestions they feel empowered and sometimes it mean they can actually do more work that is needed.

Having done the side hustle thing for a decade before I retired, in order to make my dream job my full time job, I’m not sure I would choose to do it that way again. I tried to work a full time job that required 40–50 hours per week or more, plus do enough writing to actually build a career (at least 30 hours per week). It was not a sustainable model and, from a financial and health perspective (both mental and physical health) I wouldn’t recommend it again.

If I had it to do over again, I would make a different decision. Either to keep the high paying job and do what I loved without the desire or plan for it to become my full time job. OR make a decision to cut down hours at the day job — which means accepting half the pay and changing our lifestyle to fit that — so that I could spend the other half time doing what I loved. The second one is a hard decision to make, especially if you are the primary or only wage earner. It’s hard to choose to give up things like a comfortable home for something smaller, or a vacation, or dinners out. It’s also hard to make choices if you have a value of putting your kids through college or at least helping them with those expenses. However, it is likely that when you go full time you will have to do exactly that unless you create a product or industry that takes off quickly and provides consistent income.

    Maggie McVay Lynch

    Written by

    A geek-creative with 21 books published, I write stories about people making heroic choices one messy moment at a time. Learn more at maggielynch.com