Why I Schedule Time in My Workday to Work on My Books

As a work-from-home freelance writer, I spend a bit of time planning out my week. This is so I can make sure client work gets done while putting in time for my personal projects.

The free version of Asana is amazing for this purpose.

Lately, I’ve been scheduling time specifically to work on my books throughout the day. Although some people don’t do this because they don’t want their creative works to feel like a “job,” I have a few distinct reasons why it works for me.

Remembering to Work on the Books

One of the most profound reasons why I schedule time for writing manuscripts is to help me remember. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, am incredibly busy, or a mixture of both, but I often forget to write my books.

By scheduling blocks of time in Asana, I remember that I want to spend a certain amount of hours working on my next masterpiece.

This goes to show that even things that are important to you can be forgotten when there is a lot on your mind. I’m constantly under stress as I work on client projects, my blogs, or preparing YouTube videos.

By the time I have a bit of free time to myself, all I want to do is melt into the couch. I think a big part of that is the fact that I need new glasses and stare at a bright computer screen all day.

In any case, it’s not always easy to remember the things you want to do when you have so many tops spinning in all directions.

Guaranteeing I Have the Time

To meet my goals in 2023, I am prioritizing the things I want most, which includes my health and publishing more books. As such, I need to guarantee I put sufficient time into these elements.

Because I am so busy, setting aside an appropriate amount of time is quite difficult. This is why I started sacrificing some of the smaller projects at the end of the day.

When I set my next book as a priority to have the first draft done before Halloween, I was able to meet my goal. In fact, I finished writing two weeks earlier than anticipated.

By creating blocks of time in Asana for my daily tasks, I’m guaranteeing I’ll be able to spend time writing and editing. If I don’t, I am more likely to get sidetracked by other things.

So, why don’t I write after my “workday” is over? As I said, I just want to curl up somewhere and rest by the time I’m done on any given day.

A lot of people don’t realize just how mentally taxing it is to be a freelance writer, especially when you have demanding clients. And when you write between 5,000 and 6,000 words per day, you really don’t want to think about much of anything afterward.

It Never Feels Like a “Job” to Me

Now, I know some authors don’t want to view writing their manuscripts as part of their daily job. For me, though, I don’t really view it as work, in the traditional sense.

As a writer, anything I do that progresses me in that direction is time well spent. The blocks of time I spend on working on my book only help me reach certain goals sooner rather than later.

I don’t want to be one of those authors who spends five years working on a single book. I have a lot of stories to tell and look forward to telling them.

Even though I set up blocks of time for my books as part of my workday, I never feel as if it’s actual work. Then again, I feel like this with most of the personal projects I work on.

I simply love to write, whether I’m blogging for myself or writing a new tutorial for a client.

One of my YouTuber friends called me “a machine.” She marvels over how much content I create on a daily basis. For me, it’s just a Tuesday.

The reason I can do everything I want without burning out is because of how passionate I am about the things I do. The end result is accomplishing a great deal in a short amount of time.

I’m Burned Down by the End of the Day

As I mentioned before, I am usually burnt to the wick by the end of the day. Mentally, I’m exhausted to the point where I just want to sit in a vegetative state, drool, and watch MASH on Hulu.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some days when I feel like adding a bit to my manuscripts after hours. And I often write more in the books on the weekends when I don’t have kids asking me for everything under the sun.

Still, I’m taxed most days and don’t want to worry about writing much after 6 pm.

By scheduling blocks of time in the day to work on the novels, I can work on them before the onset of mental exhaustion. In reality, it helps me create some of my best work as I am more focused and alert during those blocks of time.

When I started writing professionally in 2012, I learned relatively quickly that writing late at night is not ideal for me. I often had to fix articles for clients the next morning as my head wasn’t fully in the game.

Once I was able to quit my job and write full-time, I began to create my best articles. This was because I shifted my writing time during normal business hours. A lot of that was because most of my clients were business folk who needed me available between 8 am and 5 pm.

I’ve been focused on these work hours ever since.

How Do You Find Time to Do the Things You Love?

Now, I’m not saying that if you’re writing a book, you should include it in your daily work activities. Working from home, it’s a lot easier for me to make scheduling adjustments.

From my point of view though, it’s just so much easier to finish writing my book if I make it the first thing I do after my clients are taken care of.

What do you do to find time in your day for what you want to do?