Even without recession, it’s often a regular setting for most consumers to have more than one job. The additional job that we often do after our regular eight hour work shift is usually for the additional bills. Some even use the additional job as a means to save more money for something they want to buy or a vacation they want to experience as soon as possible. Whatever the reason, you’ll always meet a person that has two or more jobs to deal with consistently.

If you’re planning to be part of the bandwagon of those who has more than one job, you are free to do so but you have to be prepared. Not everyone has the mental and physical strength to deal with two or jobs. You need to be aware that there are certain conditions that you have to deal with in order to be successful not only in one but two careers.

Covering the Basics

Before you starting looking for a second job, be sure to ask your boss about it. You don’t have to tell your boss you new job – you just have to know if the company will allow their employees to work after hours (also called moonlighting). You should have a go signal from your main employer so that you don’t have to face some serious legal battle because of moonlighting.

Some companies, in their bid to protect their company secret, will never allow you to work on other companies. If you want to assure your employer that you are working on a non-rival company, inform them of the name of the company and the nature of their business.

Set the Time Rules

If you do found a job make sure that the time of your two jobs will never overlap. Give yourself at least one to two hours between shifts even if the distance between your two work areas is just a stone’s throw away. An hour or two is more than enough to get you recharged for the next task at hand. Without any rest, you can easily breakdown or feel the fatigue and might not work well. This will not only affect your day job but your next job as well.

This should be arranged from the HR of the company you want to work for so that you can be clear in your working ours.

Planning is the Key

The only way to properly deal with multiple jobs is to properly plan your actions for the day. That means you know where you’ll be and what you’re doing at a specific time. But your scheduling should not only be base your work. You should also know when you’ll be resting. If you just plan your work, there is a possibility that your resting hours will be used for work. What that happens; you’ll end up exhausted even after just two weeks at work.

Having more than one job is ok. Just make sure that you cover the basics and properly plan your actions and day-offs to avoid exhaustion.