I have three positions, or roles right now. All in effect are separate jobs. I am not getting paid for them all however, and I am finding it difficult to give attention to any one of them for an uninterrupted period of time. I think since it is summer too it is even harder!
Job #1 is as a postdoctoral researcher at a university. It is really contract work on an as needed basis. So I may work no hours or I may work 20-30 hours a week. I enjoy the project, and the flexibility. In the long run it does not pay very well, but I am doing it for the experience, contacts and possible publications in the future.
Job #2 is completely volunteer at this point. I am part of a newly developed group of independent consultants (whom I will call the GROUP from now on) that was formed so that we could bid on contracts that normally one or two people by themselves could not bid on. We bring together our collective experience to form a loose association, but maintain our independence as well. Because the GROUP is still in start up mode I am finding myself frustrated with the amount of administration I am having to do for it AND for my business, since it is replicating itself. I love the concept, but it is creating extra unpaid work for me, and is taking away time from my own business.
Job # 3 is my business (joint partnership with Mr Wooly). THIS IS SUFFERING! I have proposals to write and websites to make and contacts to follow up on and I am not making the time!
I needed to write this down so it is clear in my mind. I am focusing a lot of time and energy on # 2, which, at the moment, is the least likely to make any money for me. Or at least any larger contracts, such as those which I need to write up for job #3.
This all does relate to my finances, since many of these tasks will either lead to money or need to be finished in order to lead to money (the marketing part). I have added a to do list to my sidebar so I can't forget to focus my priorities!
All three roles (except maybe the post-doc work) seem quite volatile and speculative. It'd be nice if you could get some on-going work to stablize things a bit for you (and provide a steady paycheck you can count on).
When I started doing long-term contract work after trying to start my own company, I couldn't believe for quite some time how nice it was to get a paycheck twice a month.