Collis Journal

Lessons I’ve Learnt About Time Management While Working Full-Time

Trying to allocate time to work on a new idea while working full-time can feel almost impossible. When you first think about starting something on the side, it’s exciting. The idea feels fresh, the potential feels huge, and you imagine yourself finding hours every evening to push it forward. In reality, it rarely feels that simple.

Speaking from my own experience, I was in a relatively fortunate position when I began building my startup. I worked four days a week for around eight to nine hours a day, and I had flexibility in my schedule, which meant I could start earlier and finish earlier if I needed to. When I got home, I didn’t have anyone depending on me, and I didn’t have major commitments taking up my evenings. That gave me a significant advantage because I had time available to work after work.

At the beginning, using that time was easy. I had a new idea, a clear end goal, and a strong sense of direction. I was learning new skills, having new conversations, and taking steps that felt meaningful every single day. Each small action provided a sense of progress, and that progress created motivation. It felt like everything I was doing was building toward something.

However, that initial momentum doesn’t last forever.

After about a month of consistently working on the idea every day, I started to notice a shift. The novelty began to wear off. The work became more repetitive, especially in the early building stages. Tasks such as designing a website, creating products, organising systems, and refining small details required concentration but didn’t always provide immediate visible results. That is when procrastination started to creep in.

It wasn’t obvious procrastination like doing nothing at all. It was more subtle. I would choose easier tasks that felt productive but didn’t really move the business forward in a significant way. I would tweak small details, reorganise documents, or focus on minor adjustments because they gave me a quick sense of achievement. Meanwhile, the larger, more uncomfortable tasks that would actually progress the business were left untouched.

I’ve watched plenty of videos where people suggest tackling the biggest task first in order to overcome procrastination. I decided to try it properly rather than just nodding along and ignoring the advice. What I found is that it genuinely helps, both practically and mentally. When you complete the largest or most difficult task early, you create visible progress. Seeing that progress gives you reassurance that you are moving forward, and that reassurance builds momentum. Momentum, more than motivation, is what keeps you consistent.

For me, one of the most challenging phases was the building stage of the business. This is the phase where you are laying foundations but not yet seeing external validation. You are designing, creating, refining, and building systems without immediate feedback. It can feel slow and isolating, especially if the work is new to you. There is no applause, no sales yet, and no clear sign that what you are doing will work. It is simply repetition and discipline.

But once that foundational work begins to take shape, something changes. When the core systems are built and the base is stable, the focus shifts toward growth. Growth involves conversations, feedback, refinement, outreach, and iteration. Those activities feel more dynamic because your input starts to generate visible reactions. That stage feels more engaging because you can directly connect effort with outcome.

What helped me most during the slower building phase was planning.

Not complicated productivity systems or expensive templates, but simple planning that suited my lifestyle. I began writing down the tasks I needed to complete the following day. When I woke up, I already knew what needed to be done. There was no delay caused by thinking about where to start. The decision had already been made the night before.

Planning reduced friction. It removed the mental negotiation that often happens when you are tired after work. Instead of asking myself whether I felt like working on the business, I simply followed the list. Some days I had two focused hours. Other days I adjusted based on energy levels or other commitments. The important thing was that I had a structure to follow.

I realised that consistency is less about motivation and more about reducing unnecessary decisions. When you are working full-time, your mental energy is already being used throughout the day. If you leave all your business decisions until the evening, you are relying on willpower alone. Planning ahead protects you from that.

The most important lesson I have learnt is that time management is personal. The plan that works for one person might not work for another. Some people thrive with strict daily schedules, while others work better with weekly targets. The key is understanding your own commitments, energy levels, and limits, and then building a system that supports them.

Working full-time while building something on the side is not easy, even if you have favourable circumstances. There will be periods where motivation drops, where progress feels slow, and where procrastination becomes tempting. What matters is having a structure that carries you through those periods.

For me, that structure was planning ahead, focusing on meaningful tasks first, and accepting that the building phase is supposed to feel challenging. Once I stopped expecting constant motivation and started relying on structure instead, progress became more consistent.

If you are in the early stages of building something while working full-time, my advice is simple: create a plan that works for you, commit to it, and allow yourself to go through the slower phases without assuming they mean failure. Progress is often quieter than you expect, but it compounds if you stay consistent.