5 Unapologetic Tactics to Protect Your Side Hustle From 9–5
Not so long ago, I lived for Saturdays while the rest of the week felt like a chore — Maddening Monday, Timid Tuesday, Whiny Wednesday, Tiresome Thursday, Finally-over but last-minute Fridays, and the looming Sunday Scaries.
Despite having a backup plan, a side hustle strategy, and designated planning time, my dream took a backseat.
The struggle?
Protecting the dream from the 9–5 grind that threatens to overshadow it every damn minute. Is that something you are struggling with too? Creating and scratchin on the same to-do list every day just to find the last mins of the day to mull over what could have been?
Let me share some tips that helped me pick up the pieces of the week & find time to establish a $300k side hustle.
1. If it has taken 10 — don’t let it take 15
Protect your time — guard it fiercely.
Some people ‘flourish’ by taking your energy and time & have no use for your brains and intellect. Whenever someone gossips to me or tells me about how difficult my new project / new manager would be — the only thing they are receiving is a smile & a thanks for looking out for me — no more words, no energy expenditure, no time wasted on overthinking or responding.
“A well-placed silence is more powerful than a perfectly crafted retort.”
Time is your kingdom, not the office water cooler. You’ve got side hustles to conquer, and they won’t conquer themselves amidst office chit-chat and lukewarm coffee.
It takes time to master this, especially when you know you have brilliant comebacks that come to you back during the shower.
You, inside, are calm, caffeinated, and ready to slay your side hustle dragon while they’re still arguing about who ate the last cookie. Remember, time is your treasure and guard it fiercely, with silent smiles and strategic shrugs — every minute matters. Reserve your brilliance for your goals and not for the gossip vampires.
2. Lose sleep over it, literally
The key concern for me was to find time, find more time to action than to plan. Find something that is now more famous than ever- a flow state. Needless to say that came out from the alarm snoozing times, my Netflix time, cursing work in commute times and my 2 hr chat with a friend.
Alarm clocks and I never saw eye to eye. Instead, I embraced the night owl life, claiming my flow state under the stars. Pick on that — make commutes more effective with Podcasts turning into learning sprees, phone notes morphing into brainstorming sessions, and audio books becoming the new travel companions.
Well — don’t you want to be lost in thought and build your life instead of running like a puppy behind the ‘MVP’ bosses and colleagues who just want to see a trail of humans behind them as they walk to their throne.
3. Protect your dream
Don’t tell your boss — protect it from colleagues.
Keep it a secret. You would be amazed how jealous people get when they find out you have the cojones to go out and take a risk.
Develop your own cryptic vocabulary to talk about the time out from office — instead of “side hustle,” call it “volunteering for a non-profit,” “taking a creative writing course,” “exploring a new hobby” — just enough to satisfy curiosity without revealing the heart of your ambitions.
One more thing to do with the curious cats is — pretend your dream is just a fleeting fancy, nothing serious. Feign disinterest. A nonchalant, “Oh, that little thing? Just messing around in my free time” throws off the scent without sparking suspicion.
4. Blocking time is not enough
Let me ask you one thing. Do you block time in your work calendar for the side hustle? Calling it doc’s appointment, focus time, emails and check-in time, 1:1 with a friend who is aware of the Clark Kent underneath the Superman, etc etc ? But you hardly end up doing any constructive work during that time?
After shamefully wasting my 133 ‘doc’s appointments’, I realised that it was important for me to first treat this time as sacred — have a One Simple Thing to tackle instead of opening my planner Pandora’s box of ideas or giving this time away for any last minute meetings or for some ‘collaborative’ colleagues who would die if they didn’t speak to me at that time.
Mark that time — Mark it Black — Distinguish it, Own it.
Write that one chapter, design a logo, answer 10 emails — Just one tangible action that propels you closer to your side hustle goals.
5. Don’t say NO — The art of micro-YES
This one may be counter-intuitive.
Let’s talk about Sarah. Sarah’s visionary manager asks her to take on the opportunity to lead on a project which is to be submitted yesterday. Sarah said No because… she is sane.
But Sarah still ‘gets’ to do the project because she is an amazing team player, just this work will land her the next promotion, will get her in front of the CEO and maybe the country’s president, as per that visionary!
So she actually wasted her precious half-a-day trying to get to a well-meaning NO.
Next time, unleash that micro-yes- Offer a quick fix, point a lost soul in the right direction, or, heck, just share the planning sheet.
“Remember, strategic “yeses” are the secret sauce to career rocket fuel, not the dead weight of well-meaning “No’s.”
Your hustle (and sanity) will thank you.
So protect your dream this year — guarding your time, losing your sleep, quieting the chatter, blocking your time for actions and finally, saying a yes — a Micro-Yes!
