There is no doubt about it. Mystery shoppers are some pretty busy people, and thankfully mystery shopping is a job that allows you to earn some extra cash around your busy schedule. How many assignments you can complete and how much money you can earn, however, are dependent on well well you can manage your time. Here are some great ways you can find more time for mystery shopping assignments and earn some extra cash to line your wallet with!
1) Keep a Calendar. For so many people, a day that started out seeming to be pretty light on activities turns out to be jam-packed with hardly time to sit down and catch your breath. Yet other days may be just the opposite, where you think the day will be incredibly busy and you find yourself twiddling your thumbs about halfway through the day. Obviously both of these scenarios can pose some issues with mystery shopping. As a mystery shopper, you want to give yourself plenty of time to complete the assignments you sign up for, but also book up your time with assignments as much as possible. To make this happen, you should keep a schedule or calendar of your planned activities, with everything from personal errands and chores to your regular job activities, kids’ events, and more. For a fully effective schedule, put a start and end time for each event in your calendar as well as the area of town you will be in. This will make it far easier for you to find assignments to fill up empty spaces in your schedule in the part of town you will be in.
2) Schedule Downtime and Travel Time. The last thing you want is to fully book your schedule so full that you are running around town without a moment to relax. When you are scheduling personal and professional activities and booking mystery shopping assignments, be sure to factor in travel time between activities and allow time for rest and relaxation, too. You don’t want to fill up every free minute with assignments unless you just really need the extra cash. You will find that when you do plan to enjoy downtime, you will be far more efficient and productive when you are working, which can help you to complete more assignments in far less time.
3) Focus. For so many things, a task that could probably take thirty minutes to complete may be extended to twice that long to complete simply because of distractions. When you are working on mystery shopping assignments, treat that time just as you would any other working time and focus on the task at hand. Avoid getting distracted by friends and family calling on the phone, children interrupting with trivial matters, and more. When you commit to focusing on the work in front of you, you will find that your time and energy are used far more efficiently. Then after your work is done, you can return phone calls, help the kids make cookies, or whatever other issues came up while you were working.
These are just a few of the ways you can fit more mystery shopping assignments into your busy schedule. What works best for you? What have you tried in the past? Contribute your ideas to fellow shoppers. Add your comments in the form below!