We all have the same amount of time.
No one has more minutes in the hour or hours in the day. It’s how we make use of our time that can determine whether we reach our goals… or just keep up with our daily to-do list.
I have two small humans who occasionally require my time. Therefore, my copywriting business must keep pace with my available time, or lack thereof. BC (before children), I worked 6-8 hours each day and I packed a lot in. A lot of work and a lot of faffing about.
Now, I don’t have 6-8 hours of available work time in a week, let alone a single day. I can just about keep up with reviewing the work posted by students of my Copywriting Master Class, my content marketing of blogs and videos plus a minimum level of social engagement.
I’m keeping Copywrite Matters ticking over. Maybe you know that feeling?
And that’s been okay because I ditched corporate work to become a freelance copywriter so that I could work from home, around my family. I’m extremely aware that my little beasts will be big beasts all too soon.
But things are changing.
Ideas I’ve had percolating are starting to boil. I want to get more done. A lot more.
The challenge is when.
With limited child-free time at my disposal, I have decided to take rather a drastic action.
I’ve started getting up at 5am.
Why 5am?
I can confirm that it’s both a horrible time and wonderful time to be out of bed. It’s cold and dark for starters. But it’s also quiet. So quiet.
And the truth is that I’m usually a little bit awake anyway. I’m not wide awake but I’m not asleep either.
By hauling my ass out of bed, I am not only giving myself some perfectly luxurious alone time to drink a hot cup of tea and meditate, I’m adding 6-7 hours to my weekly work time.
That might not seem like much but it’s more than doubling my work time during the week. More than double!
First, I wasted time
On the very first morning, I whipped my inbox into shape and caught up on notifications so that I could hit my usual work time (during nap time) with a clear deck. Sounds productive, doesn’t it? It felt productive.
I quickly realised that it was a monumental waste of my time.
What did I really achieve? Admin that I could actually do while cooking dinner! Was it worth getting up at 5am for admin? No way.
I decided that the work time I’m creating at 5am is only to be used for tasks that make my goals happen.
And I’ve set myself some ambitious goals this year.
I am running my Copywriting Master Class three times, not two. I’m writing and launching another copywriting course as well as launching my own exclusive writing and coaching membership. I feel a buzz of excitement just writing that. I’m also switching up my blogging and marketing in a pretty major way (more on that to come).
But to do all this, I need to chip away at an extremely long list of tasks.
So, I’m making time. And getting on with it.
Am I tired? Yes.
Am I so tired that it’s not worth it? Not even close. I am ticking things off my to-do list but I also have quiet thinking time to brainstorm and plan. That’s almost impossible to get in a house with two small (noisy) humans.
Will I do it forever? Maybe.
Maybe I’ll be one of those business people who, when talking about their insane productivity, explain that they get up at sparrow’s fart* and work while everyone else sleeps. That’s where I got the idea from, after all.
* very, very early.
The right motivation
The vision of my success excites me enough to keep going.
I don’t really want to get up at 5am and work but I do want to achieve what I’m setting out to do.
I remind myself of that when I contemplate hitting the alarm snooze. Or turning it off altogether.
And all this productivity is surprisingly addictive.
The truth is that if you can’t motivate yourself, you won’t be the success story you desire.
It helps to have a goal that excites you enough to make it happen.
Do you?
I’d love to know what extra steps you’re taking to make shit happen for yourself.
Belinda (AKA The Copy Detective)
Before you go, my Copywriting Master Class is open again very soon. It’s not for the faint-hearted or course junkies. It’s an intensive copywriting course, more like a semester at university or college. It’s broad and it’s deep. It has homework.
It takes time and it takes effort.
The payoff? A solid foundation in the copywriting techniques and processes you need to write exceptionally effective copy, time and time again. And when you’re confident in your writing, you can start commanding higher rates.
Get on the prelaunch list for updates and first dibs on the launch bonus.
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Photo by Rose Erkul on Unsplash
14 Responses
So many times I’ve thought of getting up at 5am. But I’m so tired from the previous day that it’s not happening just yet. So I put in time on the weekends now a few hours here and there. That’s helping!
I do the same (a few hours here and there) but I’m frustrated that I don’t really get a clear break from it all. My work happens every day because I’m grabbing these small chunks of time, here and there. I’m making some progress but I’m hoping this early morning time will push me forward on the projects that give me a great ROI for my time. Fingers crossed!
P.S. I will mention that I go to bed reeeeeeally early these days!
I have many times done the 5am and once or twice 4am, its quiet and its amazing what you get done. I get up that time if I have a deadline and need to put in a few more hours, its a great time to just get on with it and you seem to achieve more.
The early morning does seem to be the time to get shit done but 4am?! YIKES! That feels like proper night time 😉
Great bit of advice Belinda.
I can totally relate..
I often wake up super early and then sit at my laptop like I am now and procrastinate or look for motivation for the day (this is how I actually found this blog post) and before I know it, the family is up and iv actually done nothing productive :/
Once the kids are off does my brain actually get into work mode, its so wierd..
Motivation is definitely key..
I’m so glad you found my post! You could always reframe your time as cruisey, quiet me time… the time you get to randomly surf without interruptions of guilt that you’re looking at your phone while the kids are around. Or… you could get some shit done! I feel like if I’m sitting at my laptop, I need to execute. If I don’t want to work, I’d rather sit with a podcast and my dot-to-dot book… with tea, of course.
So the question is: how do you want to feel at the end of your early morning? If you want to feel productive, get some shit done. If you want to feel chilled, step away from your lap top and enjoy some chill.
But don’t stop reading the blog now that you’ve found me 😉
Hi Belinda:
The wee-hour wake-up is my default. I regularly get up at 5AM–and for the last year or so at 4AM.
As with you, early morning rising started when my children were young and I had my own copywriting and content marketing business. I worked a few hours before they woke up and a few hours when they were at nursery school.
At night I passed out!
Today I’m back in corporate content marketing. Between the commute and long hours in NYC, I’m gone from home around 12 hours a day. The early morning hours and midday at lunch are the only time and headspace I have for my own blogs, passion projects and self care–exercise, meditation, etc.
For me the key is setting a routine–I organize tasks, appoint time limits and don’t waste precious minutes on email or online research.
And they are precious minutes! Whether it’s dark and cold or light and warm, when you’re working against the kid’s internal clock you need to focus! And work fast.
Your days sound long. I’m glad to hear you’re still making time for yourself. And for stopping in here to comment!
Hello Belinda,
At 5am I’m still enjoying the comfort of my bed. Maybe because I go to bed late. Sometimes 3 and sometimes 4am.
Whatever one can do to add extra work hours to his time, it’s so worth it. Kudos to you. Combining all of those is not easy.
Emenike
Oh my! Even if I wasn’t getting up at this ungodly hour I could never stay up late. I’m not an early bird but I’m no night owl either. That possibly means I’m just lazy 😉
Thanks for stopping in Emenike!
I feel like this is just what I needed! It’s one of those thing my subconscious knows I need to start doing, but I haven’t let it come to the forefront (maybe on purpose!) Either way, I’m trying to find time to launch my own copywriting business with a full time job and a 5 month old and I sort of feel like you do at 5am.. brain turned on a little, but not totally awake. I think I could make it happen. Thank you for the post!
Oh, so you have one or two things on the go then! I salute you Kristen!
I hope it works out. I hate it but I’m persisting!
Hiya Belinda, greetings from America! I’ve been getting up at 5am for about a year now and I guard this time like my life depends on it (because it does). I’m a single mom of two kids, in school full-time studying Philosophy and Tech Writing, with some additional training in Editing and Document Design. I found your blog because I’m looking to add to my skillset over the summer; my first copywriting brief is on the list!
At 5am, I usually brain-dump in my blog over freshly ground coffee, take an hour to sort out my thoughts, check in with myself, enjoy the quiet, and make (or revise) plans. My best ideas come either in the early morning or on the mountain trails that I run before class. It’s highly productive, this time, and the rewards that come from consistent early rising yield measurable results.
Thank you for creating such a personable, inspiring blog!
Firstly, GO YOU. I have a lot of respect for you, managing all these things. And for keeping up the 5am starts for a year. I’ve made it to March and I feel preeeeeetty proud of myself. I guard the time quite jealously too and I find that if I don’t get up for whatever reason, like my baby deciding she’s going to party all night, then I feel robbed.
Most mornings I want to go back to sleep but I know well enough that sleep doesn’t come back and I would much rather be up and productive than lying in bed, awake and a little resentful. By gosh do I loooove bed… so it’s hard!
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Have you see this post about copywriting briefs? https://copywritematters.com/the-secret-to-mindblowing-copywriting/