After Hours: #200mg of Throttle with Meghan

 

Let’s start with your side hustle—or hustles—what do you put time into after hours?
Outside of my job as a freelance web developer, I’m focused on building my company, Great Lake Supply Co. I manage the business, and do a lot of creative work (writing, design, and photography) for it, so that takes up a lot of my time. I’ve also had a few poems published recently—it’s a dream of mine to publish a full-length book, but I’m starting small!

How do you make sure you stay motivated after you’ve had a long day, or if you just don’t feel like you have any energy left in the tank?
Luckily, the things I do after hours are things I really like doing, so I usually don’t struggle to find motivation. But, like most people, sometimes I just don’t have much energy. I’ve found that building good habits is the best way to get a few small wins in. I’ll re-energize by reading, spending time with family, cooking, or going for a ride on my motorcycle.

Are there any habits or practices that have been crucial to you finding time and energy for your passion projects?

I enjoy working on different projects at once, so when progress is slow on one I switch gears. I do like to keep track of long-term or time-sensitive tasks in a bullet journal and on a Google calendar.

I also give myself permission to take breaks. I’m a human being, and that’s why people are connecting to what I do. I’m not a content machine, and I try to stay authentic, so that means parsing off plenty of time for me to be myself and enjoy my life.

Turning your dreams into a side business is often romanticized. What’s the biggest misconception you’ve encountered about following your passions on the side?
The amount of sacrifice and perseverance it takes to hit the moving target of success. Although I think most people expect this on some level, I think you really have to live it to truly understand how hard it can be.

That being said, sometimes working a lot can be detrimental. I try to trust myself if I’m feeling off-balance, so I’m in a constant state of checking the scales and adjusting accordingly.

What about the biggest hidden gem? Or benefit that you didn’t see coming?
There are a surprising number of social benefits from making stuff happen. Even if I never sold a single item in my store, people are approaching me because they’re interested in what I’m doing. I’ve met awesome people just because they like a design, find me interesting, or have a collaboration in mind.

So, if you’re that person quietly and persistently showing up and making real progress, people notice.

See an additional NoDoz After Hours Story from John.

Check out how blogger, @fitcityblonde wins her day with NoDoz caffeine pills

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