One of the most common pieces of advice you’ll hear is to schedule your time. You can apply this to anything, from building a business to learning a new hobby.
However, I’ve found that I can’t stick to a specific set of time blocks. And I’m sure I’m not alone.
Time blocks don’t account for the flexibility that we need sometimes.
Now, I do have a routine. That routine keeps me on track regarding my client work as a freelance writer. It also helps me build the other side of my business with ads, affiliate links, and digital products.
An Example Routine
As a morning person, I generally wake up around 7 or 7:15 in the morning. I give myself until around 8 to relax and get ready to work.
Since I work from home, I don’t have to worry about commute time. Around 8, I’ll head to my office corner in my studio. For the next two and a half to three hours, I’ll do client work.
I eat an early lunch around 11, though I sometimes take my break earlier or later than that. My break can be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
Then, it’s back to my desk for another one to two hours of client work. I have a daily income goal I try to hit each day.
Once I finish that, I might take a small break. When the weather’s nice, I’ll take a walk, or I might use the treadmill.
After that, I get to work on the rest of my business. Sometimes, that means doing admin tasks, like invoicing. On other days, I’m writing blog posts for my blog.
Pretty much every day, I make time to post and engage with others on Instagram.
Takeaways
Time blocking works well for some people. They won’t get anything done if they don’t schedule every minute of their day.
But I like a bit of flexibility. I sometimes felt like a failure for not being able to stick to a strict schedule.
Once I realized I could still create and follow a routine, things got much easier. So if you struggle with scheduling as well, try following a routine.