Remind me not to do THIS again.

Do you ever bite off more than you can chew? And then do it again? I am a full time working mom. Every so often I get this idea in my head that I can do some sort of side gig for extra money. Here’s how that has worked out and what I’ve learned.

My sister used to do, and sometimes still does, this amazing thing called Dinner Divas. People come once a month and make or pick up slow-cooker meals they can freeze to cook later. She graciously let me make pre-made oven meals to sell. I told myself it would only be once a month, and the extra money would be worth it.

Yes this was only once a month, but that once a month period of time was longer than I thought it would be after planning, shopping, prepping, loading, and selling. Sometimes there was extra money made. Sometimes I broke even.

Fast forward a few years later. I had the brilliant idea, along with the rest of the world, to refurbish and sell stuff online. I told myself I could work on projects in my spare time, and the extra money would be worth it.

Spare time?!?! Ha! And when I was able to finish a project, selling it online was way more than I bargained for. Taking pictures, posting, negotiating, and scheduling pick ups to have people not show up was pretty time consuming.

Fast forward a few more years. I was recently invited to an online Usborne children’s book party. I completely fell in love with the books and signed up to be a consultant. I told myself the online parties would work well since I could do it from home, and the extra money would be worth it.

Yes I could do the parties from home, but I then was on my phone or computer in the evenings instead of paying attention to my family. When I signed up I was told about how much time parties took to put on, but that didn’t include helping customers with payments and customer support issues.

In my professional life I am always committed and industrious. So it seems weird that it I can’t stick with a side gig. After thinking about it though, here’s what I’ve learned:

• No matter what I am told or how long I think it will take, I need to go ahead and double (heck triple) that time.
• My time right now is more valuable than extra money. My kids are young, and I already work. No amount of money is worth taking away any time I can spend with my family.
• Having extra money would be nice, but I already have everything I need. I can save for the stuff I want.
• It’s hard. To anyone keeping up with a side gig, I applaud you.
• Apparently every few years I forgot that I don’t have spare time and don’t have to have extra money.

So the next time I am getting ready to try and dive into a new side gig, will someone please remind me not to do THIS again?