30. How Do I Start a Side Hustle When I Work Full Time?
Week 2 of The Second Act Starter Series: Time
If you opened your phone right now and checked your screen time from last week, would it surprise you? Not in a judgmental way. Just honestly.
For a lot of us, the answer to “I don’t have time” is sitting right there in hours we didn’t even realize we were spending scrolling.
This is something most of us don’t want to look at too closely, but it matters. When you actually see where your time is going, it changes how you think about what’s possible.
You’re Busy, That’s Not the Problem
Let’s be clear about something first. You are busy. You have a full-time job. You have responsibilities at home. You have people relying on you.
So when someone says “just start a side hustle,” it can feel completely unrealistic.
The shift is not pretending you suddenly have tons of free time. The shift is realizing your time is already being used, and some of it is happening on autopilot.
Once you start paying attention, you’ll see that there are small pockets of time that could be used differently.
Where Your Time Is Actually Going
Before you try to create more time, you need to understand how you’re currently using it. This is where things get interesting.
For a lot of us, the biggest surprise is our phone. Scrolling, watching videos, checking things out of habit. It adds up quickly, and most of the time we don’t even realize how much.
Your phone already tracks this. You can go to your settings and check your screen time. It will show you exactly how many hours you’re spending and where that time is going.
This is not about cutting everything out. It’s about awareness. When you see the numbers, you start to make different decisions.
There are other areas where time slips away, too. Watching shows at night because you’re drained. Filling space with background noise instead of being intentional. Saying yes to things that aren’t really priorities.
None of this means you’re doing anything wrong. It just means your time hasn’t been directed yet.
The Fringe Hour Changes Everything
This is where things start to feel doable.
You don’t need huge blocks of time. You need to use the edges of your day more intentionally.
I call this the Fringe Hour.
These are the pockets of time that already exist. Thirty to ninety minutes here and there that usually get lost to scrolling or passive activities.
This could look like early mornings before work, quiet time after dinner, or weekend mornings before the day gets busy. Even small pockets during the week can add up. You don’t need ten extra hours a week.
Five to seven focused hours are enough to get started on something real.
What a Real Week Actually Looks Like
This is where most advice goes wrong. It paints a perfect schedule that doesn’t match real life.
A realistic week might look like this:
Monday is a reset day, and nothing gets done. That’s fine.
On Tuesday, you spend about 45 minutes after dinner.
On Wednesday, you do something light for 30 minutes.
On Thursday, you get in a focused hour of work.
Saturday morning, you carve out a couple of hours.
Sunday is optional for planning or catching up.
That adds up to about four to five hours.
It’s not perfect, but it’s consistent. Consistency is what actually moves things forward.
Small Pockets Work Better Than Big Plans
It’s easy to tell yourself you’ll dedicate a full day to working on something. That usually doesn’t happen.
Life fills those big open spaces quickly. Plans change, family needs come up, and suddenly the day is gone.
Small, repeatable pockets of time are easier to protect. They fit into your life instead of competing with it.
That’s how your second act starts. Not with a huge leap, but with steady, manageable progress.
The Mindset Shift You Actually Need
It feels like the problem is a lack of time. Most of the time, it’s a lack of awareness and structure around the time you already have.
When you start paying attention, you can decide if you’re spending your time in a way that matches what you want.
If it does, that’s fine. If it doesn’t, that’s where change begins.
A lot of women are waiting for a calm season where everything opens up.
That season usually doesn’t come.
You build this inside your current life, not outside of it.
What to Take With You From This
You are busy, but your time may be more flexible than it feels when you really look at it.
A lot of time gets lost in small ways, especially on your phone. Checking your screen time gives you real data, not guesses.
The Fringe Hour is where your side hustle fits. That’s where progress actually happens.
You only need about four to seven hours a week to get started. That is enough to build something meaningful over time.
Your Next Step
If this made you pause and look at your time a little differently, that’s your signal.
That’s where things start to shift.
If you want help figuring out what to do next, I created the Second Act Pathfinder. It walks you through where you are, what season you’re in, and what your next step could look like in a way that fits your real life.
If this resonated with you, share it with another woman who keeps saying she doesn’t have time.
