Side Hustles While Parenting | 3 Ways to Deal with Guilt

When I first started my side hustle, there was something I couldn't ask anyone...

A side hustle I started for my family.
While I wanted to increase my income streams, I also felt anxious about neglecting time with my children...

I think every mom who has a side hustle
has probably felt this way at least once.

In this article, I have summarized

three specific ways I actually deal with guilt into
three points.

If you are feeling that kind of anxiety right now, please give this a read.🌿

The guilt of letting them play alone while I face my PC

There was a day when I had work that had to be finished by the end of the day, so I let my child play alone while I sat at my PC.

“Mom, look!”
“Mom, play with me!”

Even when they said that,

I found myself saying,
“Wait a minute.”

To be honest,

there were times when I wished,
“Just watch YouTube and be quiet for a bit,”

“I wish they would take a nap soon.”💭

It wasn't just for side hustle work,

but also because “I want to reply to X,”
“I want to re-read my note draft.”

The moment I realized I was thinking that,
I felt a chill...

“I’m prioritizing work over my child.” I thought.

“If it’s like this, wouldn't it have been better not to do a side hustle at all?”

I've thought that so many times😭

But is that really true?

Looking back now, I realize that

“neglecting them”

and “trying to cherish both
within limited time”are

completely different things!!!

The fact that you feel guilty is proof that you are thinking about your children properly.

People who are truly neglecting them wouldn't even feel guilty in the first place.

Once I realized that, I shifted from
“erasing”my guilt to
“managing it well”✨

Here are the 3 specific things I did.

① 5-minute rotation system
② Mood sensor method
③ Doing it while doing chores

※Please judge my naming sense for these items
after reading the content🤣

I'll write about them in detail below👇

① 5-minute rotation system

After focusing on my side hustle for 5 minutes,
I stop for a moment
and focus on my child for 5 minutes.

I just repeat this over and over🔁

You might think it doesn't make any progress, but trying to create a “solid block of time”
is what makes it exhausting.

I decided that “short bursts are fine!”✊

Of course,
I'm not using a timer precisely,
and sometimes it's just based on how I feel.

So,
if you want to switch your mindset properly,
it might be good to try using a 5-minute timer
to the extent that it doesn't stress you out!

② Mood sensor method

In step 1, I broke things down into 5-minute chunks, but
a child's mood changes depending on the time of day.

So,
if the child seems to be in a good mood,
I don't stop after 5 minutes and keep working.

If they seem grumpy,
I ignore the rules
and stop immediately to prioritize the child.

For example,
even if you decide to "work until X o'clock,"
kids don't always cooperate, right😭?

"I'm hungry!"
"Mom, help me, it's an emergency!!"

You hear something from somewhere (lol).

So, instead of being tied down by rules,

I look at the child and make a decision on the spot!!

This alone made my guilt feel much lighter.

③ Working while doing chores

I always make miso soup for dinner, but
I work during the few minutes
it takes for the soup to boil📱

For example,
・Replying to X posts
・Rereading my note articles
and so on.

Instead of creating new "work time,"
I layer it into the gaps of existing chores.

Even on days when I can't find a solid block of time,
this makes me feel like "I made some progress today"✨

Even when I worried about it, the guilt didn't go away

Honestly, when I was worrying about it,
the guilt didn't go away at all...

What changed was when I stopped trying to
"get rid of it"and changed how I
"deal with it"!

If there is anyone out there right now
thinking the same things I was back then,
I want to tell you!!!

Just doing this will
make you feel a little lighter🌿

“So, how exactly did I earn 10,000 yen a month
using those small pockets of time?”

If you'd like to know more in depth,
please check out this article as well🫧

Thank you so much
for reading until the end✨

Feeling guilty is proof that
you are genuinely committed
to both your child and your side hustle.

Let's manage our emotions well
and create days where we work hard,
and days where we don't☺️