Let Me Be Prolific

By the end of March, I had three platforms open in three tabs and no real plan (if you missed how that happened, it's all in The Math Started Mathing.)

(Spoiler Alert: By May, I figured out I was doing too much.)

100% credit where credit is due – for sure about Clickworker: it got the ball rolling. It was my first real taste of getting paid for random tasks online. Not only will I continue to keep it as a focal point in my side hustle, I'd be lying if I said I don't kind of have a soft spot for it.

But, in the Spring, with the blooming of the flowers, the work and the ideas were growing as well. I was starting to fully recognize the parts of Clickwork that didn't work so well or were more grind than they were worth – small tasks, small dollars, repeat. Totally fine if that's you – no judgment – but I needed more for my sanity. Looking up after an hour was gone with only a couple of bucks to show for it wasn't going to do much for my retirement but get me there faster.

So when Prolific (https://www.prolific.com/participants) came along, I was ready.

Kid in a Candy Store

Here's the thing about getting into Prolific after the Clickworker grind: everything looked good. The surveys paid better, they were easier to follow, and they were better organized. I'd spent months trading an hour of my life for pocket change so I said yes to everything.

Something that paid $8 for 25 minutes that I had no idea what it was about? Sign me up. Video reviews? Sure. (And please forgive me being in my pajamas with crazy hair on camera at 10 o'clock at night.) Some of it paid off and some of it just became a learning experience – same process as Clickworker.

I was working hard. And very slowly (and still am!!) learning how to work smart.

We're So Connected

Meanwhile, Connect (https://connect.cloudresearch.com/participant/) just kept showing up – always steady. Better surveys than Clickworker, consistent work, and generally available at any one time. It also had none of the video or download tasks I kept running into on Prolific. It wasn't exciting but it was reliable and a reliable number two is worth more than it sounds.

Clickworker Gets a Job

And Clickworker had settled into being my voice task platform. When the voice work was there, I worked it. When it wasn't, I was usually somewhere else. It didn't need to be my main thing anymore – it just needed to be good at its one job.

Let Me Be Prolific About This

So, in May, after an aggressive April, my approach changed. I got a little pickier and I quit chasing every big fish. I eased up on doing everything I could because aggressive turned out not to be the same as productive.

Then came the real puzzle: how do you spend a side hustle day across three platforms without burning out? Which one first, which one when I'm tired, which one when I only have twenty minutes? Nobody hands you that answer. You work it out one day at a time, then adjust. If this kind of thing is for you, you will find your rhythm.

Reflections

If I could talk to the guy who started this last November, I'd tell him to grind long enough to learn the basics, then move on. Try the next platform and expect to go overboard at first. Then find a pace you can keep. Don't sweat the mistakes, remember the principle of consistency backed by honesty, don't give up, and keep putting that muscle in your hustle because the real payoff isn't today – it's when you are living your best retirement life!!

Coming Attractions

So, by the end of June, I was in a groove. Then summer showed up...universities closed, kids out of school, vacations everywhere...but that's a story for the next post. The numbers tell the rest of this one.