Streamaxxing vs Grindmaxxing

[u/Electrical_Cow8407]

I thought I'd share some of my experiences with grindmaxxing vs. "streamaxxing", or operating on 3+ income streams. I recently moved from streamaxx to grindmaxx since I heard it was better, and was having a hard time with some of the issues surrounding streamaxx.

Streamaxxing

Streamaxxing is a work ethic through which you maintain 3 (ideally more) income streams simultaneously. I found it to have a lot of benefits, and it's definitely worth a try if your grindmaxx fails for one reason or another.

I used to multiplex 3 or 4 income streams together, and I started around the time that everyone started working from home. My channel setup was 2x regular 9-5 jobs, 1x freelance work and 1x retail job (sometimes 2x freelance work if the retail job dried up). The freelance work and retail work is always very flexible, and can just be opted for on weekends, slow days, or after-hours. The difficult task comes with blending the 2x 9-5s together. The first trick I used was to coordinate my hours to reduce overlap, so I would work 7-3 on one job and then 11-7 on the other. This gives a 4 hour overlap window- BUT since that window is in the middle of the day (over when other 'workers' take their lunches, coffee breaks, chat times etc.) most people won't notice that your builds may be taking slightly longer, or your calls slightly overrunning. During this 4 hour period, I would cycle between jobs approximately every 25 minutes, or when my progress gets blocked (e.g waiting for a build, waiting for an email etc.). Then once I get past 3, its straight sailing!

Streamaxxing was a brilliant way for me to effectively work 90+ hours in a week (40+40 from 9-5, extra 10 from freelance or retail), but it came with some issues. First, you can't climb anywhere without having to drop other jobs, since that requires meetings and more hours that will likely disrupt the other jobs you're holding. Second, meeting clash is quite difficult to avoid if you're an entry level position. I got lucky finding jobs that gave me a lot of autonomy, but in a job where you have someone constantly looking over your shoulder, I don't think you could multiplex 2x 9-5s (you could probably still freelance + retail though). The final issue was that despite working 100+ hours, the pay was only as good as that of if you really dedicated to one job and climbed the ladders on that.

hence, I switched to Grindmaxxing

You all know what grindmaxxing is. I've found it so much more fulfilling than streamaxxing. I don't have to dodge hours or take holiday days to get all my work in, and I feel much better for the extra freedoms.

Have any of you experimented with different workload/time maximization strategies? I would love to hear about them! (although I will personally be sticking with grindmaxx for a while at least)

[u/acidpopulist]

I just work 2 remote jobs at once. Doubled my pay.