How to manage two or more part time jobs
Think You Can't Juggle Two Or More Part-Time Jobs?
Holding down two or more part-time jobs can be a huge challenge, but it can also be worth it in more than a financial way. Apart from the obvious concerns about how you will fit everything into each day, the main challenge will be to organize your time so that your efforts will not only maximize your earnings, but you will also have a good quality of life outside of your work.
If just the thought of having more than one or two part-time jobs makes you break into a sweat, you might be interested to learn that there are many people who manage to do this effectively and efficiently. But how do they do it? The following hints and tips could help you to reconsider your working schedule and fit that extra part-time job into your routine with ease.
Tips To Help You Keep Your Chosen Number Of Balls In The Air!
To begin with, you're probably thinking that you do enough already, but, on the other hand, you would like to earn the extra money that an additional job will bring. Getting tied up in knots about your existing workload won't help, but the following suggestions might help put things in perspective:
1. Conduct a three day experiment: Keep a diary note of everything you do for two whole days. Include every single thing you do during those days, from how much time you spend working at your existing part-time jobs, to how many endless (and sometimes unnecessary!) household chores you perform during that time, and everything else in between. On the third day, sit down with your diary record and look closely at everything you've done. Was your time used efficiently? Or, could you go without doing some of those things that seem to eat up your day? You'll probably be surprised at how much time you've wasted!
2. Get the whole family involved: If you've got a family to look after, as well as working more than two part-time jobs, then get your spouse and children involved in helping with the new routine. Draw up a rota/schedule of chores that the kids can do, and ask your partner to take control of the family meal for a few evenings each week. Friends and neighbours can be a great help with child-minding too, but remember that you will need to return the favour also.
3. Safeguard your health: Working more than two part-time jobs is bound to take its toll. Regular, healthy meals are vital to keep you performing well in all your jobs, as well as providing you with the nutrition you need to protect your well being. Don't fall into the trap of relying on takeaway meals, unless it's a once in a while treat. Instead, try cooking some family meals in bulk and freeze half for another evening. This is something you can get the whole family involved in too.
4. Use your free time wisely: You're bound to feel pretty tired if you're working all of those jobs, but staying on top of things in your personal life can help your working life run that bit smoother. Don't allow chores like laundry and ironing to pile up to the point where you just can't face it - and don't put off treating yourself either. Try to keep up the things you normally do such as trips to the hairdressers or social engagements you previously enjoyed. Recreation is a necessary part of life and remember what all work and no play can do!
5. Don't pick jobs that just won't go together: No matter how well you think you can organize your time, some jobs won't work together. For example, steer clear of punishing schedules such as the one outlined below, and try to concentrate your workload into as small a time-frame as possible:
Job 1: 8am to 12pm
Job 2: 5pm to 7pm
Job 3: 9pm to 2am
Think Carefully Before You Take Too Much On
Perhaps the most solid piece of advice there is about managing two or more part-time jobs is that you need to ask yourself, seriously, if this is really what you want to do. You may feel fit, well and buzzing with energy, but have you thought about how you'll cope mentally? For a lot of people today, there are financial pressures that previous generations have never been subject to. If this is the sole reason you have to take on so many jobs, then you don't have the luxury of a choice. But if you really don't need to do it, make sure you've thought it through for maximum success.