Being busy is a good problem to have when you're a professional writer. But you may be wondering, what does a busy day in the life of a professional writer look like?
Great question! And the quick answer is that it all depends.
For example, I could be busy sitting in front of my laptop all day while writing magazine articles, blogs, resumes, or website copy. On others, I juggle those same responsibilities with client meetings, networking events, personal matters, and piles of administrative work.
Don't get me wrong ... not every day is a busy whirlwind of events. I have my share of downtime and balance between work and play. But when it's time to work, I believe in being productive. And these days, I'm blessed to say there's plenty of that to go around. Here's an example of what I had going on last Wednesday:
5:30 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. – Wrote a blog article for a local photographer/videographer
6:30 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. – Helped get our two boys out of bed and ready for school
7:00 a.m. – 7:20 a.m. – Took our youngest son Jackson to school
7:20 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. – Started writing a blog article for a local chiropractor
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – Zoom meeting to prepare for an upcoming networking meeting
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – Finished writing the blog for the chiropractor and started working on another article for a sales training company
9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – Vendor phone call
10:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – Left the office for a quick doctor's appointment
11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Finished blog article for the sales training company
12:15 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Phone interview for an upcoming magazine article
12:45 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. – Wrote another short blog post for the sales training company client
1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Quick lunch break
1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Phone call with a prospective client for a website project
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Workout (some much-needed "Me Time")
3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. – Made quick edits for a resume client
3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. – Personal downtime (this felt really good, by the way)
5:15 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – Networking/Charity event
8:00 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. – Wrote a blog article for a local estate planning attorney
9:15 p.m. – 11:45 p.m. – Watched TV and hung out with my beautiful wife before bedtime.
How to maintain your sanity on those busy days
That was quite a busy day in the life of a professional writer. But now you're probably asking, how do you keep your sanity on those busy days and make it all look easy?
Here are a few tricks I've learned over the years:
1. Use a calendar – Calendars help us schedule our personal and business time. There are benefits, the biggest one being they take the guesswork out of our busy lives by telling us where we need to be.
2. Take advantage of "downtime" – If you noticed, I tried not to waste valuable time.
3. Find fun places to write – Switching things up, even if it's writing something while sitting in your car or before bedtime, can help you be more comfortable and get those creative juices flowing. Writers write in unusual places, so go out there and find your happy place to write.
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Thank you for reading!
STEVE GAMEL is the President & Owner of Edit This®, a writing and editing services company in Denton, TX. He is also the author of Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion For The Written Word. Steve handles anything involving the written word. Give him a call today to help give your business a clear voice.