SUMMARY POINTS

  • Micro jobs are a great way to earn some extra pocket cash
  • Micro jobs can be done with minimal time commitment
  • Follow simple steps so the side hustle doesn’t interfere with your job
Remember how back in school you used to fantasize about being an adult, with a real life job and tons of money?

Oh how we used to dream and scheme about all the things we would do with our dollars?

With no parents to tell you “no” and no school work to bog you down, life would be a playground! Right?

Well, now we’ve grown up and we understand why our parents said “no” so often to us when we wanted them to buy us something.

Paying student loan debts, forking out for ever-increasing rent, making sure bills are covered and providing the household essentials like food and clothing, it can feel like your paycheck is gone before it even hits your account.

There’s barely enough money left over to enjoy the present let alone save for the future.

It’s a shitty reality for a lot of us.

And while this is kind of the norm and to be expected when you first start out working, you can sometimes get 5, 10, 20 years into your career and feel like you’re stuck in the same old cycle.

The only way to get out of it seems to be to find another source of income or hit the lottery (unlikely).

We all need something that can act as a buffer and be tapped for big things like buying a house, college fund for the kids etc.

Or even for some of the smaller unexpected costs in life like getting the car fixed, repairing the dishwasher or out-of-pocket medical services.

Or simply for some extra “beer money” for the weekend.

They do say that you need seven income streams to become a millionaire. So, having two or three isn’t a bad start.

While a weekend job seems like an obvious choice, that has the downside of cutting into family time and working 7 days a week is a fast track to burnout.

The great thing about today’s digital age is that it gives us more options. So, what’s a less time-intensive, digitally-enabled alternative to a weekend job?

A micro job.

It’s not going to make you a millionaire - no way. But, a thousand-aire or hundred-aire is definitely doable.

We think it’s a great way to earn a little extra pocket cash. The kind that will pay for going out to lunch once or twice each week or that daily frou-frou coffee blend you can’t go without.

Micro Job, Massive Opportunities

A micro job is usually a temporary and task-focused job, meaning that it doesn’t require a huge allocation of time or a long-term commitment.

These jobs are perfect for earning a little bit of extra dough - and it’s not the same as starting a full side hustle business, which requires a much larger investment of your time, finances and attention.

The humble micro job comes with some awesome benefits.

Diversify Your Income

One great thing about micro jobs is that you can have a few that you do from time to time, allowing you to diversify your revenue streams.

One micro job won’t make for a consistent revenue stream, but if you can string together two or three on an on-going basis, it can be.

Especially when times are tough, having a number of different income sources to fall back on can be a huge asset.

Be Your Own Boss

Micro jobs, for the most part, put you in control.

You can decide when, where and how you work - as long as your work has the desired outcome or result, the ‘how’ doesn’t matter as much.

Imagine if your day job was like that. We’d all feel a lot less stressed without having to deal with a control freak boss.

Easy To Get Started

With most micro jobs, all you need is a device and an internet connection. After a few minutes of setting up a profile, you’re pretty much good to go.

Some jobs might require you to have something more - for example, a car - but those are the kinds of jobs you would only go for if you already have access to what’s needed.

What’s also important is knowing what a micro job is not.

If you’re looking to make your millions, this is not the route to go down. Sure, there’s the occasional rags to riches story of an eBay mogul but those are exceptions, not rules.

If you’re looking to build your own business, then a major side hustle business is for you.

A micro job isn’t about making a name for yourself or about fulfilling your life’s purpose. It’s just a means to make some extra cash.

And if that’s what you’re looking for, then lucky for you we’ve collated a list of some of the easiest micro jobs that you could start - today.

8 Micro Jobs You Can Do During Your Lunch Break

sandwich lunch laptop
One of the barriers for a lot of people wanting to earn some extra money is time. We’re all so busy, all the time.

We barely have time for our family and friends, so where will we find the time for a whole extra job?

The best place to look is time that is already filled with tasks that you’re willing to sacrifice. Look no further than your daily lunch break at work.

Chances are, you often work through your lunch break anyway - just without being paid for it! So why not turn that hour of unpaid time into a cash generator?

And it doesn’t have to be a big, scary jump into the unknown.

Mostly, you’ll be doing something you’ve done before or at least something that’s familiar to you. Maybe you just never thought about turning it into a source of money. Until now, that is.

One important thing to really make this work for you and be successful is to maximize your lunch hour for this effort.

And, the best way to do this is to eat your lunch before or after lunchtime. This way, you can devote the entire hour to the micro task.

1. Sell Stuff Online

Most of us have bought or sold something from a site like eBay or Etsy before but if you put a little bit of effort in, this can be turned into a great money maker.

You’ll need to take some time to decide what to sell and take good, high quality photos. But once you’ve done that, most of the work can be done on your lunch break.

From writing product descriptions to answering customer queries to running to the post office to send a package - all this can be done without your boss noticing a thing.

Start by taking a look around the house and in the garage at what you have that you’re happy to give up.

We all have so much crap in our homes that there’s bound to be a bunch of things that are still worth something to sell. Hell, some of our stuff still has the original tags on ‘em.

If you’re a bit of a bookworm, perhaps you have some old out-of-print books to list on Amazon.

If you’re a fashionista who’s running out of wardrobe space, maybe ThredUp or Poshmark is for you.

If you’ve got lots of random gadgets or bits or really unique things, the old standby of Ebay works.

The key thing here is smaller, lighter and more valuable things are best. They’re easier to prep for sale and cheaper to package up and ship out.

If you’ve got larger, bigger and/or heavier things that are still valuable and worth something, then using Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, LetGo or Craigslist is ideal because the transaction can take place locally without packaging or shipping.

Just choose the right platform for what you’re selling, set up your online account, and watch the money roll in.

2. Become A Dog Walker

Love dogs? Who doesn’t, right?

Not many of us get to take dogs to work, so, why not hang out with one during lunch and get paid for doing so?

Simply sign up to a dog walking site like Rover, or make your own flyers and distribute them to houses near your office.

In no time you’ll be spending your lunch breaks getting a good work out, enjoying the company of furry friends and getting paid - instead of eating at your desk while you try to avoid getting dragged into the latest office gossip.

If you’re lucky, you could be paired up with a dog owner that lives super close to your office, like within a 5 minute drive, and wants their dog walked daily during lunch. This would be a great consistent micro job Monday through Friday.

3. Join A Task Site

Micro jobs have become such a normal part of our everyday lives that there are apps specifically designed to match people who need a job or task done with those willing and able to do it.

TaskRabbit, Gigwalk and Amazon Mechanical Turk are all legit sites where all you need is a profile and you’re good to go.

You could be doing anything from picking up dry cleaning to excel data entry but it’s up to you to accept a job when you’re able to do it - so you’re in control of the timing.

VIDEO: Micro Jobs: Top 3 Places To Make Money Online
YOUTUBE: The List Show TV
LENGTH: 1:45
Summary points:
  • TaskRabbit tasks could be pretty much anything
  • Gigwalk gigs will always be a short distance from where you are
  • MTurk gets you to do things that computers just can’t do - yet
The great thing about these platforms is that you can pick the tasks that are doable during your lunch hour at the office or even after work or on the weekends if you feel up for it.

4. Join A Freelancer Site

One of the best ways to make extra money is to do what you already do in your day job but on a freelance basis. Alternatively, you can make use of those skills that you wish you could do more of in your day job.

Got a way with words?

Then you could be a freelance writer, editor or proof reader.

Always getting compliments on your presentations?

There are a ton of people looking for a PowerPoint wiz.

Know how to set up and work a pivot table in an excel database?

People are looking for excel gurus to help them make sense of all the numbers.

Whatever your skill, you’ll likely be able to find people willing to pay money for it on sites like Freelancer and Upwork.

5. Take Online Surveys

Instead of wasting your lunch hour scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, why not make a few bucks with your scrolling?

Did you know you can get paid to take online surveys?

Brands and market researchers will pay in cash and/or vouchers to get your feedback and opinions on everything from products to current affairs.

Online surveys can be anywhere from a few questions that only take 5-10 minutes to more in-depth questionnaires that can take a half an hour or more.

In a lot of cases, your profile and/or pre-qualifying questions will determine whether or not you’ll be asked to participate in the survey. So, keep in mind that you won’t qualify for every single survey out there.

While you have to complete a lot of surveys to make any real dough, spending an hour each day will add up.

You can easily make a profile on sites like Swagbucks and Survey Junkie and start earning in minutes.

6. Become A Website Or App Tester

If there’s one thing that everyone knows how to do, it’s browsing websites and using mobile apps.

Companies of all sizes from big brands like Facebook and Walmart to early stage start-up companies know how critical usability is for the success of their websites and apps.

So, many of these companies use beta testing services to help them find issues and areas for improvement.

These beta testing services often crowdsource their users from normal everyday people like us. They don’t want someone who is an app developer or website coder. They seek out normal non-techie users.

However, depending on what the app or website is all about, you may or may not be a qualified tester.

It’s like this - if you’re married with kids and the app or website is about singles dating, chances are pretty good that you’re not their target user, so you probably won’t get selected to test.

One of the bigger players in this space is a company called User Testing.

They’ll pay out $10 via PayPal for every 20 minute video you complete where you explain your experience using the website or app.

You’ll need to download a screen recorder to your PC and have a decent microphone.

7. Become A Mystery Shopper

Every one of us has gone out during lunch to buy a thing or two. Why not get paid for it?

Brands that rely heavily on retail storefronts to sell goods will often pay people to spy on their workers.

Okay, it’s not as 007 as it sounds.

Basically, they’re just checking up on their customer service reps, retail process and experience. But the title ‘mystery shopper’ does sound pretty cool, right?

All you have to do is buy something (the brand covers the cost) and then report back on your experience.

Check out Market Force and Secret Shopper to get started on your lunchtime gig as a professional shopper.

8. Write Resumes

There will never be a shortage of people that are actively job hunting or preparing for job loss and so becoming a resume writer is a great micro job for the long haul.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a pro resume writer, spending a few hours online researching tips and best practices will give you all you need to get started.

There’s no professional certification required, just your willingness to help out a jobseeker improve and polish up their resume.

And a little side bennie, helping someone with their job search can actually bring you lots of joy and satisfaction, especially when they do snag that next opportunity. It’s kinda like when the coach sees their athlete win.

You can find resume writing gigs on sites like Indeed and Upwork.

And one last thing...diversify!

The key to success here is that you don’t rely on just one micro job category but have several going on at the same time because most aren’t consistent, except for the dog walking gig - that can be awesomely consistent.

To keep the bucks coming in consistently, you’ll need to diversify the micro jobs.

And this is made super easy by the fact that most of these gigs require you to make a profile and then either check back regularly to apply for a position, or - even better - have potential employers get in touch with you.

Having multiple micro jobs on the go isn’t as admin heavy as it sounds, after the initial set up.

So, while waiting for your thing to sell on eBay, complete an online survey or line up another freelance MS Office project request, etc. You get the idea. You gotta keep things moving.

This is micro hustling, baby!

That said, finding the work is really only the first step. If you want this to be sustainable, you have to think seriously about how to make it work without affecting your real job.

How To Juggle Your Real Job With Micro Jobs

phone laptop woman
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

This is the quote that comes to mind when we think about micro job side hustles.

Remember, your main job is your primary source of income and should be your main focus. So there are a few things you must do to make sure you don’t inadvertently get your ass fired in the quest for some extra bucks.

1. Don’t Let It Negatively Affect Your Job

Whatever adventures your side hustle takes you on, it’s important to always put your main job first. Don’t let your micro job make you late for work. Don’t allow your attention to be diverted during working hours.

And definitely make sure your performance and work quality doesn’t drop as a result of the new gig - especially if your team knows that you’re doing these other gigs.

You don’t want to give your boss any reason to think that your head is no longer in the game. While the micro jobs might add an extra boost, your main job is your investment into your future career.

So, don’t fuck it up.

2. Set Specific Goals & Objectives

Before you start out with your side hustles, make sure you’re clear on what you want from them.

Sure, we know you want extra money. But how much?

Do you need a few thousand for a downpayment on a car?

Do you want a consistent income of $500 a month to clear some bills?

Or is it enough to have it pay for a Chinese take-out dinner once a week?

Be very specific because if you don’t, you won’t be focused.

If you’re just trying this out for the first time, set a really low target, like $20 and focus on selling something from home that you don’t need or want anymore but still has value. Take 2-3 very clear pics and post it up along with a good description on Facebook Marketplace or whatever platform you’re familiar with.

Just get to the first $20 and what will happen is that it will spark more motivation in you.

Having a specific goal will also help you calculate how much time you need to dedicate - and stick to it. 

3. Create Boundaries & Structure

And speaking of time, it’s important that you create boundaries around your micro job.

From the get go, decide how much time you’ll spend on it. Is it just the hour lunch break and an extra couple of hours over the weekend?

And on the other side, be sure to set boundaries for work. You don’t want your work tasks to be taking time away from your lunchtime hustle.

Decide things for both sides and then stick to it.

It’s also good to set up a structured routine of when you’ll check on your profile and/or messages. Maybe you’ll check every morning and evening. Perhaps only once a week, if the jobs tend to take longer to complete.

The key here is to create healthy boundaries and a routine structure so you don’t end up allowing your micro jobs to creep into the day job, family time or personal downtime.

Micro Jobs Are Perfect For A Little Extra Ca$h

coins money growth
Usually when we hear about side hustles, it’s about people who hate their fucking job or boss and are trying to get out of their current situation.

Budding entrepreneurs and creatives who are stuck in office cubicles craft their escape plan on the side and build it up until they find success - then they jump ship.

But what about those of us who want to stay put - but also want to end up with a little extra moolah in the wallet or bank each month?

These micro jobs are perfect for this.

Sure, when you imagined your future life back when you were a kid, picking up people’s dry cleaning or walking random dogs probably wasn’t in the picture.

But as the world changes, those who adapt and keep up are the ones that come out on the winning side.

Whatever micro job you choose, it’s not going to be glamorous.

But that’s okay, because you’ll feel like a star when you can finally start treating yourself or your family with a bit of extra weekend money instead of watching all of it disappear into bills & necessities.

Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]

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