The Easiest Side Hustle You Can Do From Your NYC Apartment

Most side gigs in NYC send you somewhere. Deliver food. Drive someone. Sit with someone's dog. Get there by a certain time.

This one doesn't. You stay home. You do what you were already going to do. And you get paid.

Here's exactly how it works

Shift is an app. Companies pay Shift to collect footage of real people doing real household tasks — cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, running a quick errand. They use it to train AI and improve home products.

You record those tasks on your phone. You get paid $20 for every hour of footage you submit.

That's it. No commute. No interviewer. No gig platform deducting fees.

What tasks count

You don't need to do anything special. The whole point is that it's ordinary:

Making breakfast or dinner
Cleaning your bathroom or kitchen
Doing dishes
Folding laundry
Tidying up the living room
Walking to the bodega and back
Vacuuming

If you live in a NYC apartment, you're already doing most of this every day.

Why this works especially well in NYC

NYC apartments are small, which makes them easy to record. You're already spending time inside because going out is expensive. Your daily routine — cooking at home, cleaning a small space, quick local errands — is exactly what Shift needs.

No need for a big house or fancy kitchen. The more normal your space is, the better.

What the money looks like

1 hour of tasks recorded: $20
2 hours/day, 5 days/week: ~$800/month
2 hours/day, every day: $1,200/month

You don't have to hit the maximum. Even recording for 45 minutes while you make dinner a few nights a week adds up to real money.

Getting started takes about 10 minutes

Download the app. Set up your account. Hit record before you start cooking. That's your first session.

No background check. No interview. No equipment to buy. Just your phone.