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Yesterday, I shared with you that I didn’t validate my first paid product idea, which resulted in me spending over 100 hours creating a product that just 2 people bought. Ouch.

But the fourth biggest mistake I made on the way to side hustle success is NOT SLEEPING ENOUGH.

I’d stared at a computer screen ALL DAY at my day job, and then all night at home working on my side hustle. My eyeballs literally hurt. I Googled exercises for eye strain and practiced those just to get some relief.

I started to see WAY more lines around my eyes which I’ve decided to blame on working too much. I swear it has nothing to do with me turning 39 this year because I wouldn’t be aging at all if I had gotten enough sleep while I was side hustling (that’s what I like to tell myself anyway).

Then I’d go to bed around 9:30 but I’m probably not asleep until 10:30 – 11 because I’m watching documentaries on Netflix to distract myself from all the racing thoughts in my mind so I could actually fall asleep.

Then I’d wake up in the middle of the night, and read the internet or turn on the TV to again distract myself from all the racing of an overloaded schedule.

To make up for poor sleep, I’d drink coffee all day, and then it was no wonder I drove downtown for a meeting on the wrong day and felt like I was totally winging it all the time.

Now that I’m full-time self-employed, if I’m tired in the middle of the day, I’ll take a nap instead of pouring caffeine down my throat. I try to put down the screens, and I started listening to meditation podcasts to fall asleep instead of watching documentaries. And two cups of coffee in the morning max so I know I’ll be able to sleep.

Overall, my sleep quality is so much better now that I’m not on a computer 16 hours a day.

If you’re struggling with this, it’s time to set some boundaries around when you’ll work, because if you get into this habit now where you’re never giving yourself a break, your body will eventually force you to take a break.

And tomorrow, I’m going to share with you mistake number 5 on my way to side hustle success, spending to little time with my family!