During the previous year, an individual worked 60-hour weeks at a full-time marketing position while simultaneously managing a side business selling handmade stickers online. Then she discovered one simple Google Sheets template that changed everything.
Now? She works 35 hours a week at her day job, her side hustle brings in an extra $3K/month, and she just got back from a two-week Costa Rica trip. The difference wasn’t working harder—it was working smarter with the right tools.
Here are the exact resources that helped Rachel (and me) boost income without burning out:
1. The “Time Audit” That Changed My Life
(No fancy apps needed – just pen and paper)
What it is: A brutally honest log of where your hours actually go.
How it works:
- For 3 days, jot down what you do in 30-minute chunks
- Highlight time-wasters in pink (mine was “group chat rabbit holes”)
- Circle high-value work in green
Rachel’s discovery: She spent 7 hours/week making TikTok videos that brought in 2 sales, but just 1 hour/week on Pinterest (which drove 80% of revenue). She dropped TikTok and 5X’d her income.
2. The “Side Hustle Matchmaker” Sheet
(Because not every skill should be monetized)
I created this after wasting months trying to turn my mediocre photography into a business. Now I use it to coach others.
The 3-column test:
| Skill | Who’d Pay For It? | How Much? |
| Excel wizardry | Small biz owners | $50/hr |
| Knitting | Hipster Etsy shoppers | $20/scarf |
| Guitar playing | …my cat? | $0 |
Pro tip: If column 2 is blank, that skill stays a hobby (and that’s okay!).
3. My “Lazy Person’s Tech Stack”
(Only 4 apps that actually matter)
After testing 50+ tools, these are the keepers:
- Notion – Where I dump every business idea so my brain can sleep
- Wave Apps – Free invoicing that auto-chases clients when they ghost
- Clockify – Tracks time so I know which clients are underpaying me
- TextExpander – Types 80% of my emails for me (game changer for freelancers)
Real results: These cut my admin time from 12 hours/week to 3.
4. The “Money Map” That Keeps Me Honest
(My Google Sheets secret weapon)
Most income trackers are overcomplicated. Mine has just:
- Income streams (color-coded by how much they pay per hour)
- “BS Tasks” section (work I keep doing despite terrible ROI)
- Monthly “Why?” reminder (“You’re saving for that cabin, dummy”)
How it helped: When I saw my “quick” client calls actually took 6 hours/week prep, I raised my rates 40%. They stayed.
The Magic Happens When You Combine Them
Here’s what Rachel did:
- Time audit revealed she wasted hours on low-return tasks
- Matchmaker sheet showed her Excel skills were her real moneymaker
- Tech stack automated her sticker shop logistics
- Money map proved she could quit freelance gigs paying <$30/hr
3 months later, she’d replaced her worst-paying clients with better ones—working less but earning more.
Your Turn (Start Small)
Pick one tool to try this week:
- Do a 2-day time audit (you’ll be shocked)
- Make the 3-column skill list (10 minutes max)
- Download one app from my lazy stack
Remember: This isn’t about adding more to your plate—it’s about cutting the useless stuff so you can finally get paid what you’re worth.
The best part? Once these systems run themselves, you’ll have more time for what matters. Like Rachel’s now using her extra hours to teach Excel to single moms in her community.