Most of us are busy with a side hustle or side business of our own. We’re putting in extra hours on top of our day jobs. We’re waking up earlier and going to bed later. Weekends that were once full of leisure have become prime time to devote to our side hustle. Keeping up with your day job and side hustle requires a certain amount of sacrifice, all of which will be worth it once you reach career or financial goals.

One area we tend to neglect when pouring ourselves into our side business is our own health and well-being. As important as it is to give your side business your full effort, it’s equally important to take care of yourself for long-term sustainability of your business.

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is one of the first luxuries to go when building a side business. In fact, starting your day earlier is a great way to find extra time to work on your side business. However, sleep plays a key role in our health and can have a direct effect on our productivity, so striking a balance is necessary.

The amount of sleep required varies from person to person. Be aware of how much sleep you need to function well and aim to get that amount of sleep as often as possible. Determine which times of day you’re most productive. If you work best in the morning, continue to wake up early, however trade off by going to bed earlier at night.

Enjoy life

Building a side business in addition to working full-time requires excellent time management skills. In addition to prioritizing the tasks you need to complete, you should prioritize non-work related events, too. Arrange time in your schedule to enjoy time with your family and friends. Make sure you prioritize special events such as birthday parties, weddings, and visits with out of town friends. After all, we only have a limited amount of time, so it’s important we enjoy it.

Take breaks

It’s easy to get caught up in your work and forget to take breaks. For example, I like to use my lunch break to work on my side hustle. However, I’ve learned that sometimes in order to maintain focus, I need to take a break instead. Something as simple as taking a walk on my lunch break or dining with my coworkers is a little break I need to ultimately be more focused on my work.

While it’s important to carve out extra time to work on your side business, it’s equally important to take a break to re-energize yourself. Give yourself a break every day, even if it’s only 10 minutes at a time. Spend this time doing something enjoyable. Take a walk, throw a ball with your dog, or listen to music. By giving yourself regular breaks you will feel refreshed and in turn become more productive.

The key to maintaining balance between your fulltime job and side hustle is taking good care of yourself. While some sacrifice is necessary in order to reach your side business goals, one thing you shouldn’t sacrifice is your own health. As the saying goes, if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.