Trust me, I get it.
Making time for your side project can be extremely difficult. We all have so many important activities competing for our limited amount of time outside of work each week.
Full-time job, family, socializing, commute, exercise, meal prep, hobbies, relaxation, having fun, the list goes on.
Here’s where I need your help…
I’m one of those crazy ass morning people.
Not afraid to wake up at 4:30am to get started on my side projects (like this blog).
However, in the years I’ve been running this blog, speaking with readers like you and working with students in my courses, I’ve learned that 4:30am isn’t for everyone. Not like that took a rocket scientist to figure out.
Some of us are just wired differently. So the time of day that’s best for me to work on my side hustle, may not be as great for you.
On the other hand, many people simply lack proper motivation—and therefore come up with excuses for why they don’t have time instead of being a force of change that has the power to create the time.
…
That’s why I’m doing a little experiment…
I want to know, what time of day do you work on your side project?
Over on Twitter, the consensus looks like evenings and nights after work…
Is that true?
Last week, I heard from several of you.
Like Michael, one of my course students who prefers working on his blog after work during the evenings—why? He’s not a morning person. Outside of the hours he spends at his full-time gig, the evenings are when he works best, so he embraces that.
Paula gets her side hustle time in during the mornings before work.
And Ian manages to (somehow) squeeze in time for his side hustle in the mornings, during lunch AND evenings after work. What!
I’ve heard back from dozens of readers, but I need more data for this experiment.
I want to hear from you.
…
Share with me in the comments below answering these two questions.
1. What time of day do you work on your side project?
- Mornings before work?
- Evenings after work?
- Late nights?
- During lunchtime?
- Weekends only?
(Bonus points for listing specific hour ranges, like 8pm—10pm or 6am—9am).
And
2. Why?
Is it out of necessity from your work schedule?
Because of family commitments?
Is that the time of day you’re mentally at your best?
…
Comment below telling me what time of day you work on your side projects and why.
I’ll include you in my upcoming study and you’ll be the first to get updates on our findings!
89 replies to “What time do you work on your side project?”
Great post! I work on it all the time now. I am now looking for a full-time job in Web development. Thanks!
I work on mine before work 5:45am until 7:00am and then a little after work from 8pm to 9pm or when I fall asleep. Weekends I tend to save for family things, but catch myself always tinkering with my project, twerking, and just pondering how to increase profitability but not only financial profits but the whole enchilada.
I attend to my side hustle in the evening after I have done my mommy duties and full time job duties. Btwn 9pm and 11pm
I work on my side project during my day job lunch break, and after my day job in the evenings. I also work on it when I have some time during the weekend, and sometimes on weekday mornings if I wake up early enough.
I start my day work on project from 9.30am to 5.30pm
I have lots of side projects. Our co-working space (ACOLLECTIVE) was a before (7-9) and after work (6-10) activity, as well as many weekends, before it started it look after itself.
Evening after work and sometimes Sundays
during lunch time
Awesome post! I try to use any free evening I can to work on freelance design work—usually from 5:00-9:00PM, with a quick dinner in between. There’s always something to do, whether it be working on creative, sending concepts to clients, trying to improve business-related documents, watching webinars, or catching up on some helpful blog posts. Weekends are also pretty productive for me, I try to put in another few hours when I can, usually first thing in the morning!
I’m more productive late afternoon in projects after I have finished ad-hoc assignments, but if working as a team then I do more round-up checks in the morning to pickup what tasks have not been completed then follow up in the afternoon
Occasional lunch breaks during the day at work, but usually between 8-9 p.m. weeknights because the kids have gone to bed and my hubby is playing video games. 10:30 is bedtime. I am just ramping up my new side hustle so within a month I’ll be doing more like 8-10 p.m. every night plus as many weekend hours as possible.
I work on my side project during lunch time and in the evening and some times at the weekend, when i have chance to wake up early in the morning.
Work late in the evening and at night because I am a night owl. It is easier to focus at that time and sometimes I go to sleep at 4:00 a.m. … 🙂
I try to use my lunch break (noon ’til 13:00) during the working week. The main reason for this being that my line manager is off site for that hour.
At weekends, I prefer to get up early to work on my side project. I’m at my most productive in the mornings so making a start at around 05:00 is perfect for me.
My co-founder is a night owl, and I’m an early bird. I’m a full-time single dad, so I try to get an hour in before my son gets up at 7am. I work from home for my day job, so I usually try to get some code in, or maybe test something over the lunch hour, then after my son is in bed around 8:30 or 9pm I get on Google Hangouts with my co-founder and we can discuss any urgent issues, new or potential customers, or delegate tasks. I usually work until around 10pm, sometimes 11pm or 12am depending on how much fun I’m having. So, 3-4 days/week I’m working on it for 2-4 hours, the weekends I usually don’t touch it. And once a week or so, I just sluff off, and read a book, or watch a movie.
At night after work when everyone is asleep and the house is quiet. This is my best time for a side hustle. I can focus better at this time.
Evenings after work and late nights
I wake up at 5am to work away until 7 when the kids get up. On Saturdays and Sundays, I sleep in until 6, and work until 8:30. Once in a while, I have some energy after the kids go to bed, but not frequently.
Late evening most of the time. Sometimes early mornings before the workday gets started. It depends on when I can single out dedicated time to focus on the project.
Currently it’s all day long, but if I can, I prefer to focus on it early in the mornings before everybody wakes up. That’s the time when I am fresher. If I have lots of things to do, then also in the evenings. Weekends is a good time too.
Mornings before work, evenings after work, and I try to get an hour or two on Sundays as well. Evenings are my most productive time because I’m awake, so I try to work on clear, non-creative tasks in the mornings when I’m less awake.
I work on my site business every evening from 1-4 hours and weekends 2-8 hours usually in the morning.