A Method to Madness: How to Handle Having Both a Full-time Job and Freelance Gigs

I have not done a post in this feature, A Method to Madness, in a while. When I saw how some visitors seemed to like what I wrote about taking that leap to start freelancing, I thought it’s time for another follow-up post that is related to it.

Freelancing takes some effort, passion and dedication in order for it to pay off. In other words: It’s still like any other job, except that you get to work at home and your work hours are more flexible. When you have a full-time job, you have a strict schedule to follow. You have company rules and policies to adhere to. (But there is free coffee and your co-workers can become wonderful friends.) Some freelancers I know are full-time at it while others, like me, still have their day jobs. What if you belong to the latter group of freelancers, like me? I know it sounds crazy to even take up freelance gigs when there is already a stable job. Reasons vary and to be honest, I have two main reasons why I still keep my day job:

1. The job is stable. Ergo, I have a regular flow of paychecks coming in.
2. I love what I do. Hey, I work on websites and I could not ask for more.

I freelance at times but I make sure I still keep everything in order. It was a bit messy when I first started out freelancing a couple of years back. Since then, I have learned to be more conscious of my decisions and actions. I have learned to weed out what works for me and what doesn’t. Having a full-time job and taking on some freelance projects can be tricky. Here’s what you can do to save your sanity (and time!):