Many people these days tend to work two or more jobs consecutively. This can be as a result of preference against working one full-time job or to improve their financial lifestyle. Regardless of the reason, the act of finding balance amongst working more than one job is imperative to success. Some keys to juggling two jobs and what you can do to guarantee success are listed below.
Scheduling is Important
The importance of scheduling yourself properly cannot be overemphasized when you are juggling two or more jobs. Do not overschedule yourself or overlap your schedules. You need to determine how much and how often you need to work and make sure you work out schedules with your employers that support that and that will work in unison.
Organize Yourself
Organization is paramount when it comes to balancing two or more things in your life. Keeping a well-managed calendar is a great way of doing yourself a favour. This can be done on your smartphone; laptop and you can also make use of to-do lists. This will help keep your anxiety and stress level low and will also help you to be consistent with your organization so as to have absolute success.
Don’t Overextend Yourself
As much as you should make your work flexible and available to your employer when they need you, you should also make sure you are not over committed with your activities. You might end up in a position where you are not able to meet the expectations of yourself and your employer if you overextend yourself.
Be Reliable
Reliability is important in pretty much all situations but can be especially so when you have committed yourself to more than one job. It’s important that you complete any commitment that you make; your success in this area can tie in directly with the importance of not overextending yourself. You may need to re-evaluate the jobs you’re holding, or the projects you’ve committed to if you find yourself running late consistently, not meeting deadlines, or constantly being crunched for time. When you commit to more than one job, it’s vital that you retain discipline to succeed.
Avoid Burnout
The goal of everyone is to succeed at whatever they lay their hands on and pushing yourself is very important. You however need to recognize your limitations. If you take on more than you can handle and consistently push yourself too much, you can become a victim of burnout; although hard work is to be admired. When this happens, you’ll find it’s hard to succeed one hundred percent at any job you’re performing and it may place you at risk of losing a job. Learn to pace yourself.
Variety is Key
Mixing it up can go a long way towards the success you find in holding more than one job. If you’re working two jobs that require you to use different skills or that offer very different environments, you’re more likely to enjoy those jobs individually and have less potential of experiencing burnout. If one job requires a lot of physical exertion, for instance, you may want to try your hand at a more mentally challenging role for your second job.
Choose Local Jobs
If you spend your time commuting between jobs, it is going to be very difficult and stressful to maintain more than one job. The jobs you are choosing should be close to each other and possibly to your house so that you will not be stressed by the constant travel or run the risk of being late to work.
Take Time for Yourself
This works hand-in-hand with burnout. Make sure you take time out for yourself. You need to understand that you cannot work 100% of the time regardless of your financial situation or priorities. It’s not healthy or conducive to a balanced lifestyle. Be sure to leave yourself sometime in the day, and an entire day or two as you can, to focus on other priorities, relaxation, and refreshing yourself.