I’ve been working two jobs for about two months now. The first is the job I’ve been at for 3.5 years (office job, Project Coordinator), 7:30am – 4pm. And most recently, I have been going to tutor little kids/students right after, from 4:30-8pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, some Thursdays, and Saturdays 10am-12pm.
And I LOVE it — the tutoring job.
So a few tips for juggling two jobs:
Tip #1: Get a second job you’ll have fun at or enjoy
I think that’s the trick to juggling a few jobs if you need to, whether it’s to get experience somewhere, or whether you need extra money (check on both boxes for me) — you have to like your jobs; especially your second job because you don’t want to dread going to job #2 after a long day at job #1.
I think that’s why it took me a long time to start applying to a second job. We’ve been needing a bit of extra money for a while, but I kept seeing job postings and thinking, Omg, I can’t drag myself to do that after working all day or, That’s not worth the minimum wage pay! etc. But this tutoring job is so fun and rewarding. It’s fantastic!
An example on the other side of things: I have a friend who was working a second job and the first job she loved, it’s her workplace now, but the second one was a pain in the ass. They were taking advantage of her and frankly, some (or most, lol) of her co-workers were a bit clueless, and she was just not happy there. She ended up quitting that job, and Yay! She’s much happier now.
Tip #2: If you can, I recommend finding a job that’s only evenings during the week.
Let me tell you, yes — working 12 hours a day Monday to Thursday is a lot. But still having my weekends off is GOLDEN and irreplaceable. Yes, I work Saturdays, but only 2 hours from 10-12, so I don’t count that as working on Saturdays to be honest. If anything, it gets me out of the house faster in the mornings to get errands done, so it’s perfect.
That being said, I only work until 8pm when I work during the week. That’s not too late and I still have a few hours at home to do whatever I want. It would be different if you had a second restaurant job or cashier job that went until 9/10/11:00pm. In that case, maybe only work one or two evenings a week that late so that it’s not too much, but there are jobs out there that are only 3 or 4 hours in the evening, after a regular 9-5 job. Before I got this tutoring job, I was applying to all of those kinds of jobs because I knew that anything with longer hours would burn me out, so:
Tip #3: Don’t burn yourself out
It’s a lot, I know. People in my life keep telling me not to overwork myself. But for real, SO FAR SO GOOD, folks! And who knows, maybe in 6 months I’ll feel differently, but right now, it’s great. And OMG the thought of being around these kids at Halloween and Christmas time, I’M SO EXCITED (Yep, I definitely have my Tip#1 down pat).
I know myself and I know when I’m burnt out, and right now, I am not. So trust your body and your mind and if working two jobs is too much for you, just don’t do it. Maybe cut costs somewhere to save money, or get a job where you start off with one extra day a week, or try online jobs (i.e. selling things, writing transcripts, online tutoring, etc).
And to be really real, the money is so worth it. I get paid twice a month with my second job, and I’m not worrying about bills as much as I did, so that’s a HUGE plus and brightens up the idea of working that second job.
Tip#4: If you can’t cut costs anywhere and have to get a second job, make sure to take some time for YOU.
By yourself or with your loved ones. I relax in the mornings before work (coffee & radio listening, chilling with Dishka on my lap), I go home for lunch at job #1 (something that I never used to do, but it allows me to take a mid day break & recharge — and see my puppy!), and when I come home at 8pm after working all day, I just RELAX. I don’t stress about cleaning, I don’t force myself to work out, I don’t stress about my big to-do list — I RELAX. This usually includes relaxing with Ed & Dishka, because I want them to know they’re still important to me and even though I have two jobs, time with them is not going to be put on the back burner. And if Ed happens to be out or busy when I get home, then I can fit in my to-do list, but other than that, I just have to do everything on the weekend! Ed’s been a great help, too, with cleaning. So that’s been a big weight off my shoulder, not having to clean all the time.
Tip #5: Eat healthy & fit in workouts when you can, but don’t stress about it
Before I got my second job, I had started my new work-out routine. I was working out 5 days a week, killin’ it, feeling great. Then I got the job and found out work would most likely be Monday to Thursday nights, and I was like, Crap! There goes my badass workout plan.
So how am I fitting in my fitness working two jobs?
Well, I’m making sure to stand at my standing desk as much as I can. Or if I’m having a lazy or tired day at work, I make sure to get up as much as I can if I choose to sit for the day.
I am choosing to eat healthy. Not a huge stretch because I normally do this. I mean, this past weekend, I basically ate all the cheese aka pizza I could because of my no cheese life (5 days in, 85 to go!), but other than that, I’m eating well. Also, thanksgiving is this weekend, so no promises, lol.
We walk Dishka every day, so that’s another way I’m fitting being active in, when I can’t fit in a full workout. Other than that, I’m going to try to work out the days that I’m off (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and the Thursdays I’m off). So far, it’s not going the best, but I’m working on it! We’ve been way too busy on weekends for me to even fit in 20 minutes of something. I’ll keep trying for the consistent work outs!
One last thing I try to do is stretch every day or do a few yoga moves. It makes me feel so good and loosens me up and calms me down. I also try to fit in doing a few minutes of planks when I can as well as push ups. I have a list on my phone of how long I can hold my planks and how many push ups I can do. I try to beat my last day. Ideally, I’d like to do this everyday because it takes less than 5 minutes. But sometimes even that 5 minutes can seem a bit much to fit in after a long day. Again, work in progress. But anything counts!
Also, don’t stress about it! I think that as long as you’re eating healthy, walking, and stretching, you don’t have to stress about not getting your fitness in — especially if you’re busy. If I see myself gain weight in the next few months or if I start to feel crappy, then I might have to reconsider, but so far so good & healthy!
All that being said, this is coming from a woman (hi, me) that doesn’t have kids and I’m not going to school right now (other than studying for French).
But that’s the thing — right now I CAN work two jobs. When I have kids, I definitely won’t want to be working two jobs, ever, so now is the time to do it.
So while you can, DO IT.
Honestly, the extra money is great and the experience is even better.
Unfortunately, some people work 2 or 3 jobs and don’t like any of their jobs, so my heart goes out to those people and I admire them because if they’re doing that for their family, or to get ahead in life, good for them! And I hope their time comes when they end up with one job they love. And if not, I hope all of that work makes it worth it for them to support their family.
Anywho, off for the weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Wear your fat pants!!!
Jessica 🙂
Birthday Cake Body 