Side Hustler’s Series Part 4 of 4: 6 Ways to Carve Out Time to Grind & Execute Outside Your Day Job
A PROVEN SYSTEM FOR KNOCKING SHIT OUT EACH DAY
Hands down, the #1 thing creatives like you tell me you struggle with the most? Finding time to grind on your side hustle.
I’m hella qualified to talk on this topic because I’ve gotten pretty damn good at:

carving out pockets of time in my day
to knock out my top priorities
that align with my main goal/vision.

In five years, I’ve been able to build Perspective-Collective, freelance, and handle a weekly podcast all outside of my full-time job. Not to mention, I’m a husband and father to the dopest little dude this side of the Mississippi.
This shit isn’t easy, and I’m not trying to brag. I’m just trying to convince you that if I can do it, anyone can.
If finding time to grind is one of your biggest pain points, I feel the following system can improve your productivity immediately.
Note: I also have this available as a guide in the Side Hustler’s War Chest. In case you missed that, you can download it here.
#1. Take One Bite at a Time
It’s easy to feel like you’re not doing enough when you see someone else crushing it. Often, our ambition is larger than our reality, and we feel we have to eat the full pizza in one bite.
While it’s great you want to start a weekly podcast, vlog, and newsletter all at once, biting off more than you can chew can set yourself up for failure if you:

Attempt to do all of this outside a day job
Have family responsibilities
Don’t have a defined process built into your routine

I started posting consistent drawings on Instagram in the spring of 2014. I then took on weekly blogging in June 2015, then added a newsletter in October 2015. I began the weekly podcast in August 2016. In between, I’d sprinkle in some freelancing, public speaking, teaching workshops, and selling products.
There’s no way in hell I’d still be trucking along had I attempted to do all of this right from the jump.
I suggest taking things slow and steady, as we’re looking to accomplish long-term consistency.
Start with one bite at a time by setting ambitious (yet realistic) expectations and taking action.
Once you lock down your process, take a bigger bite by slowly baking the next thing into your routine.
#2. Plan Your Attack
I’m discovering the most successful people I look up to don’t roll out of bed and shit productivity—they schedule their success.
When I stopped winging it and planned my daily attack, it made decision-making so much easier.
Here’s how I plan my attack:
1. MAKE A WEEKLY TASK LIST ON SUNDAY
You can list these by hand or with digital apps like Wunderlist, Notion, or Evernote. Update your list accordingly as things pop up during the week
Carry over the remaining tasks from the previous week.
2. PRIORITIZE THEM WITH MY CREATIVE GRIND (ABC) SYSTEM*

List up to 7 tasks per each letter (7 days in a week = 1 task a day)
A1-A7: High Priority Tasks to Attack that move the needle forward
B1-B7: Medium Priority Tasks that are cooking on the Back Burner
-C1-C7 Low Priority Tasks that would be Cool to get done or should be delegated
D: Insignificant Tasks should be Destroyed

*Those in my coaching program get to be the first guinea pigs for a basic and more advanced version of my Creative Grind System.
3. PLAN YOUR FOLLOWING DAY’S TASKS
Here’s a quick glimpse of how I list my next day’s attack:

Each night, I plan out the next day’s blocks of time I have to grind (morning, lunch, breaks, evenings)
I’ll create fields for tasks A1-A3, B1, and C1
I’ll then pluck from the top weekly tasks list and plug them into the designated fields
When you knock out your A1 task, cross it off your daily attack and weekly list. Then proceed to A2 and A3.

Sometimes, you may only have a small window of time so knocking out the B1 task makes sense.
Only knock out the C task if you get through all A and B tasks for that day.
THE GOAL
The goal is to knock out and cross off AT LEAST one A task a day.
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