The Truth About Time Management

Greetings readers and writers alike,

Welcome back to Writer’s Juice, the weekly newsletter that didn’t show up the past 2 weeks!

Life’s been hectic recently to say the least, but I put some time aside today to write about Time Management, an important topic for Freelance Writers like you and me.

We’re all cursed by that feeling of time slipping through our hands. Most people just can’t get a grasp of their time. They fail to see one clear thing; something so obvious, it’s hidden in plain sight.

Today we’ll investigate the myth of time management and see what options we have at our disposal as victims of the 24 hour circadian cycle.

OK let’s hurry up, the clock’s ticking…

✍️ The Myth of Time Management ✍️

Here’s a little secret: You cannot manage time!

There, I said it.

I mean let’s be honest, who between us has the divine capability of stopping seconds, multiplying minutes or hastening hours. Nobody, that’s who.

Jet-set CEOs and sidewalk hobos have the same 24 hours per day as you or I do. So too does the retired dentist, the tireless toddler and the single mum working 2 part-time jobs.

The stark difference between the successful and the wasteful is how they appreciate their (lack of) time and how they go about managing their priorities.

Look at John Grisham for example, an overnight success once he published A Time to Kill, right?

Wrong.

John was up at the crack of dawn every single workday, prioritising his project over his sleep. John had a story inside that needed to be told, but as a lawyer he also had court cases to handle and judges to impress.

He incorporated a strict habit into his routine to make sure his writing project kept on track. Habit is the keyword here.

You may think of habits as bad things like smoking or drinking, but behaviour that is done repeatedly to the point of auto-pilot can be considered a habit.

Grisham realised that in order to find the time to execute on his project, he needed to retrieve it from somewhere else - his sleep. And the only way to beat sleep was through creating a highly effective habit.

Considering that Grisham actually had to write his story out by hand, without the plethora of digital productivity tools we have at our disposal today, should help hammer this point home.

The takeaway is that if something is important to you, the time must be found. But it’s consistency though effective habit forming that’s key to making your priorities stick and your success a priority.

🎯 Take Action 🎯

1. Prioritise your most important tasks. Create a short, simple to-do list for the day ahead; not a giant bucket list of nice-to-haves that will never be achieved.

2. Block time for intentional work. Get yourself into a zone of deep concentration and eliminate distractions well in advance. If the task at hand is truly important, make this a non-negotiable block in your day. A short 60-90 minute burst of deep work will be far more productive than 3 or 4 hours of distracted work.

3. It may sound counter-intuitive but try to practice strategic procrastination. Your brain needs a breather from all the deep work you’ve been putting it through. The magical part is that while your brain sends you off to clean your desk, it’s likely chugging away in the background working hard on one of your problems. Personally, I find strategic procrastination to be a good divider between creative work and more technical or editorial types of tasks.

If this topic hits home then consider following it up with these articles:

• Time Well Spent, Writer’s Juice

• 3 Time Management Tips That Actually Work, James Clear

🐝 What’s Buzzing? 🐝

Here’s what caught my attention in the world of freelance writing over the past few days:

• Bloggers unite! Medium is hosting Medium Day on August 12th, the writing platform’s first-ever virtual conference.

• Freelance platform Fiverr launches an updated suite of Business Solutions as well as Fiverr Neo, a new smart matching solution to help buyers find the right sellers.

• ChatGPT launches on Android. This list by OpenAI shows which countries & regions are currently supported.

💗 Show Some Love 💗

Are you getting value from this newsletter? I hope so!

My goal is to help unlock your potential as a Freelance Writer. I’ve poured countless hours into researching and crafting these juicy tips for you.

If you’d like to show your support, you can collect my sketches over on OpenSea. I’ll be posting exclusive 1-of-1 pieces to complement the newsletter topics. As they’re 1-of-1s, it’s first come, first served!

Here’s today’s sketch: TIME. I drew this one in Krita using my trusty wireless mouse.

You can grab this digital collectible here.

🏆 Win-Win-Win 🏆

I created this newsletter to guide writers along their freelance journey. But it doesn’t stop there.

Whether you’re an aspiring writer, project founder or business owner, here are 3 more ways I can help out.

Everybody wins!

1. Join the free Writer’s Juice community where you’ll find a ton of useful resources, writing-themed discussion channels and a friendly network of likeminded writers.

2. Need support with your project’s online content? Why not pass by my Contra portfolio site and let’s work together.

3. Want to share your product or service with an audience of passionate writers, digital nomads and fast-rising freelancers? Send an email and let’s discuss sponsorship details.

Thanks for reading.

Talk to you next time,

Jason

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P.P.S. I’m off on holiday for the next two weeks. I’ll be taking some TIME for some much needed rest and relaxation.