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6 Ways to Balance a 9-5 and a Work From Home Job at the Same Time

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For most people, when the clock strikes 5pm it’s quitting time. When you work a second job, it’s time to refocus and prepare for working for the rest of the night. The truth is, working one job doesn’t always cut it. Some households rely on a second income to make ends meet. When you have a part-time work from home job and a nine to five, it can be difficult to keep up with your responsibilities and find the right balance between fulfilling your commitment to both jobs without losing your mind.

Check out these simple tips for successfully balancing your regular job and your work from home gig:

1. Be Sure to Plan Your Week Ahead of Time

One of the best things you can do for yourself when you have a lot of commitments is to keep a close eye on your schedule. Unexpected events can easily pop up and ruin your productivity. What’s the solution? Try taking some time each weekend to focus on the things you must do in the upcoming week.

Perhaps there’s a company event or happy hour you want to attend on Friday night, and you’ll need to shift some of your work at home gigs to a weekend night or another day of the week. Also, once you’ve figured out how you are going to tackle your workload, you’ll be able to decline any invitations that pop out during the week that you didn’t plan for.

2. Determine Your Earning Goals

Whether you work as a remote customer service agent or you’re a freelance writer, the great thing about working from home is that most gigs offer great flexibility. Figure out how much extra money you need a month to run your household or pay off your debt and only work the hours you need to reach your goals. This will help free up more time for relaxing and spending time with family and friends.

3. Ditch the All Work And No Play Attitude

It’s easy to get stuck in grind mode especially when you’re fortunate enough to be able to earn money right from the comfort of your home. But you’ll need at least one full day off during the week to rest and recharge. When you have a work at home job, it’s easy to get caught up in working on a project when you have the day off.  Whether it’s watching a Friends marathon or baking cookies, it’s important to find time to do the things that you love. It’s the only way you’ll keep your sanity.

4. Don’t Think About Work on Your Day Off

When you are juggling two jobs, your mind is most likely always centered around working, whether it’s worrying about expense reports or how much time it’s going to take you to finish a freelance project before you can start the next one. It’s easy to let your mind take over on your day off and there’s no magic cure to stop it from happening. 

If you find that you’re really anxious about what you have to do and what you’ve actually managed to get done, consider making a list of all the tasks you have to do and check off the ones you’ve successfully completed. This reinforces in your mind that you’ve actually taken care of your responsibilities. Once you are assured that you have taken care of what needs to be done, try to relax your mind by doing something you love to do. Turn off your work phone and shut down your computer so that you don’t have constant access to work.

5. Come Up with Quick Fixes for Normal Life Tasks

When work takes over, it’s easy to forget about the normal things that help you lead a healthy and balanced life, like working out regularly or cooking dinner. When you’re working a second or third shift, doing such normality’s can become increasingly difficult.  What should you do? Since staying active is important, you can find ways to get in a quick workout throughout your working day.

For instance, instead of taking the elevator to your floor at work, consider using the staircase or taking a walk during your lunch hour. Maybe you can squeeze in a quick workout with a thirty-minute workout video.

There’s also a number of ways you can simplify your cooking routine. You can meal prep on the weekends when you have some extra time. Preparing and freezing your meals for the entire week can make things much more efficient because all you have to do is pop your meals into the microwave when you get home from work.

Crock-pot meals are also fast and easy to make. All you have to do is throw a bunch of ingredients into the pot and it’ll be ready to eat by the time you make it home from your first job. Making triple batches of your family meals is also another great option because you eat off leftovers for days.

6. Learn to Say No to Time Wasters

When your second job is at home, it’s relatively easy to take on other unimportant tasks or veer from the weekly schedule you’ve created for yourself. A one-hour detour from your schedule may not seem like a big deal but when you realize how much work you’ve missed during that chunk of time, you’ll be angry at yourself. Also, detours can throw off your entire schedule and before you know it you haven’t tackled any of your projects. What’s the solution? Be committed to sticking to the things you have to prioritize and say no to time wasters who eat into your important tasks.

When you have your end goal in clear sight, you’ll be motivated to see both of your jobs through. Whether you’re working a work from home job to pay off a debt, save for a car and help start your own business, when you know what you’re doing it for, you’ll look at your jobs as a means to an end.

My name is Casey Kell. I’m a regular guy that’s been all around California working in all sorts of industries. It wasn’t until I was 28 that I gave up a career in the Entertainment field, moved to San Diego and realized there are a lot more ways to live & make ends meet than I had imagined. I enjoy writing about how I make my living because I'm slowly training myself to turn the grind into a passion. Head over to motivationniche.com for more content!

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Success Advice

Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)

The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

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Why one-size-fits-all leadership doesn’t work
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Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)

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What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)

Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
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In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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