Side-hustle Arguments - Pros and Cons

There are not a lot of articles that include side-hustle arguments.  All of the ones I come across start from the position of any side-hustle being a good thing.  Then, the story shows us how to embrace and succeed in that area.  We are easily lured into seeing only positive side-hustle arguments as the end is examined without much regard for the journey.  I think this sells us short on deciding how to live our life.  Therefore, let's step back and determine whether all this extra work makes sense for us.

Focus related side-hustle arguments

The obvious potential for success or failure is whether a focused approach or multi-tasking is better in the long run.  Many factors come into play when we consider these two opposite approaches to getting things done.  More importantly, these factors can contribute to our longevity, our ability to persevere, and even the quality of our life.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

Energy levels are a significant factor in our ability to add no a side-hustle in our daily life.  Thus, this area of side-hustle arguments is very personal.  In fact, this area points to a side-hustle as something you are far better to pursue in your youth.  At least from a physical stamina point-of-view.  On the other hand, we can utilize tips and tricks experience taught us to be more economical in our efforts as way age and learn. That brings us back to energy being a personal examination.  You may be young at heart or energized by the work you are doing.  This can completely negate the fact that you are in your 30's, 40's, 50's, or beyond.  I want to add a warning about this particular factor.  It is easy to start strong and be energized early on in a pursuit.  This "honeymoon period" often fades.  That makes it worthwhile to re-examine your energy levels and desire on a regular basis.  A better approach than that is to build in constraints to your side-hustle that force periodic sanity checks.  This approach helps you step back and decide if you want to continue.  It is a form of computing risk vs. reward on a regular basis.

A Greater Experience

Although we started by considering focus vs. multi-tasking, there is also a related area of learning.  Is your goal to be broad or deep in your knowledge and skills?  This is a crucial question.  One approach is well-suited to a side-hustle while the other is not.  Of course, this leads us to our favorite subject to consider in any endeavor.  That is for us to remember the "why" of our career, calling, or even hobbies.  When you keep that in mind the side-hustle arguments are easy to see, review, and measure.  Thus, we can make the correct choice for ourselves.